Arnaud Billeaux in a red jersey.
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Philippe Naudin
He is the one who scored the equalizing goal at the very end of the match in the 5th round of the Coupe de France for Saumur and preserved the chances of qualifying in this competition.
Arnaud Billeaux, defensive midfielder, will be one of the key men of the petit poucet against Toulouse this Wednesday evening (6:45 p.m.).
Return to Saturday October 17.
France does not yet live to the rhythm of curfews or certificates.
In the middle of autumn, the sun shines.
That day, the Olympique de Saumur, little thumb of National 3 (5th national division) which welcomes Toulouse (L2) this Wednesday evening (6:45 p.m.) in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France, plays its 5th round of the competition in the south of the Vendée.
At la Châtaigneraie, resident of the same group of N3 as the Saumur residents.
During most of the meeting, the players of Maine-et-Loire are eliminated from the competition.
The Vendéens opened the scoring in the 20th and are moving towards a qualification without history.
But the beautiful… story just happens.
When you least expect it.
At the end of additional time.
Arnaud Billeaux, defensive midfielder, equalizes with a cross shot.
The hero sees himself there: "I never use my left foot and there, I do not know what took me, I used it!
I do not know why.
I knocked without asking any questions.
"A few seconds after the" miracle "," the referee has whistled the end ".
Shoot to the net.
And there, the miracle continues, at the end of a badly started series, Saumur qualifies.
“I shot first and made post, post and goal!
», Laughs Arnaud Billeaux.
Trained at Stade Lavallois
Seven months later and some victories snatched (in the round of 16, success on penalties against La Montagnarde), here is the Olympique de Saumur qualified for the first round of 16 of the Coupe de France in its history.
The first also for Arnaud Billeaux, 35 years old.
Formed by Stade Lavallois, this defensive midfielder has scoured the clubs of the large northwest region with a small preference for Sarthe.
Mixed up: La Vitréenne, Alençon, Sablé-sur-Sarthe, Le Mans then Saumur in 2018. At La Vitréenne, he doesn't like his job in a fast food restaurant.
He will only make one season while he nevertheless appreciated the coach Oswald Tanchot.
At Le Mans, he participated in the progressive renaissance of the club (climbs from N3 to N2 then N2 to N1), but packed his bags after two years.
"I did not agree with the coach Richard Déziré and the president to continue, it can be a regret for me not to have been able to try to scratch playing time in National", admits the one who was born in the North to Seclin.
N2 or N3, Arnaud Billeaux ultimately never passes the course above.
A N2 or N3 player, and that's it
Today, with great lucidity, he makes his “self-criticism”.
“It is not trivial to remain so many years - almost fifteen years - at this level.
It's that I deserve it and I have limits.
It's not just the green rectangle, it's what's going on in your head too.
"Anyone who is shelving in a supermarket and who has created his car cleaning business does not hesitate to" flog himself "when he looks in the retro.
“As soon as I played little, I sulked.
We can't afford to do that.
I clearly lacked the maturity to play higher than the N2 or the N3.
This was one of my limitations.
“Moreover, this father of three children admits that apart from“ taking information, no high-level club was interested in him ”.
Today, with this round of 16 against a professional club, will he experience this moment as a personal revenge?
“No, I take this game like that, it's just fun.
We just know that if we lose against Toulouse, the football season will stop for us [the amateur championships have stopped] and we don't want that.
"On the way to a new little miracle with Arnaud Billeaux then?
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