OL welcome this Friday (9 p.m.) their neighbor from Saint-Etienne, for a 124th derby under high tension, due to the two complicated sporting situations, in Lyon and at ASSE.
Current 20th in Ligue 1, the Greens are in great danger of relegation, 18 years after their rise to the top flight.
If by chance Sainté spun in L2, what would be the reaction of his "best enemies", on the side of Lyon?
"Derby: They're dying... Finish them off!" All it took was a Lyon 1950 banner, curtly condemned by OL on Twitter on Wednesday, to revive the debate on the limits of fervor around such a match. Angry at the reaction of their club, Lyon supporters fear that their derby will be "sanitized". Some fear, even more, not to experience a 125th episode between neighboring enemies anytime soon. Because before a high-stakes meeting this Friday (9 p.m.) at Parc OL, the Greens are last in Ligue 1, with only two successes in 20 games.
“Like any OL supporter, as soon as the season calendar falls, I watch the two dates of the derby, well before the matches against PSG or OM, indicates Thierry Greco, vice-president of the Canuts de OL, located in the south bend.
It would therefore piss me off to see the Stéphanois in Ligue 2 because I want this regional supremacy that we keep for six months, provided we win in the direct confrontation on the ground.
I have family in Sainté, and work colleagues who are fans of the Greens, and I am all for our chambers with them.
No, really, I would miss our best friends.
»
"It would suit me very well if this club disappeared in DH"
If Thierry Greco (57), who lived his first derby at the end of the 1970s, therefore wishes the Greens "to finish 17th", not everyone is of this opinion.
“When I see how no defeat makes me as sad and angry as against ASSE, it would even suit me very well for this club to file for bankruptcy and disappear in DH, launches Richard, a supporter of the south bend.
I don't like the Stéphanois, and for me, the derby goes beyond chambering.
So I can't wish them something positive like maintenance.
But maybe I will end up regretting the absence of the derby if there are no more in our next five seasons.
»
This configuration, Richard has already experienced it, like all Lyon supporters over 35, during ASSE's previous tenure in Ligue 2 (from 2001 to 2004).
This does not spare the neighbor from Saint-Etienne.
As we were always champions in those seasons, I didn't care a bit about the absence of the Greens.
Afterwards, finding them and humiliating them every time was a nice bonus.
»
ASSE supporters have still not been able to go to Parc OL
The Stéphanois will indeed be spoiled from 2004 to 2009, with a record of 2 draws and 8 defeats, including a cruel 2-3 loss for the reunion in October 2004 in the Cauldron, after leading 2-1 until the 87th minute.
“Their rise in L1 had allowed us to take even more pleasure in our titles, summarizes Jean-Pierre, a regular at the north bend.
I especially remember the 4-0 to be champions at Gerland [in April 2006], where we see the players tumbling down with their faces painted red and blue.
In fact, we hate them but we like to hate them.
So in a way, I would take pleasure in seeing them die slowly in Ligue 2, but on the other hand, I tell myself that we don't already have a lot of emotions in a season.
So if in addition we find ourselves without a derby… ”
This is the dilemma of so many addicts to OL and regional rivalry, who already note with regret that ASSE supporters have never been able to attend a derby in Décines since the move in 2016 to Parc OL.
On the Sainté side, this increasingly plausible prospect is obviously even worse, since it would be accompanied by a return to Ligue 2, a year before the transition to 18 L1 clubs.
"The next derby may be against Grenoble, it's not the same delirium"
"It really doesn't smell good for us and there would be a big void not to face OL anymore," said Baptiste (42), a loyal supporter of the Greens.
Nothing beats the adrenaline rush of a pre-derby week.
When I think of the fact that the next derby for us may be against Grenoble, it's not the same delirium.
It dulls the season.
»
And it's not Jean-Michel Aulas, who has just mentioned "a loss of nearly 12 million euros" after the closed doors and gauges to 5,000 spectators on the big matches against OM, PSG and France. ASSE, who would welcome the absence of a derby in 2022-2023.
Lyons
ASSE-OL: Is the spirit of the derby in danger with the limitation of the number of supporters?
Sport
OL-ASSE: Can social networks make this derby behind closed doors less "depressing" for the fans?
Sport
Lyons
Saint Etienne
Derby
Soccer
OL
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