A real derby?
Rennes, fifth, is getting ready to host Brest, promoted from Ligue 2 and leading the League table. The clubs from Brittany’s two biggest towns are fighting over the “regional supremacy”. But will there be a true rivalry at the Route de Lorient?
Brest, the working class port against Rennes, the administrative and economic capital. The Breton speaking Brittany against the Gallo speaking Brittany. Stereotypes are long lived, as the top of the table derby approaches, with a kick-off at 19:00 CET on Saturday.
« The real derby is against Nantes »
Before this game between the two Stade, the rivalry between supporters is nothing like it could be between Rennes and Nantes fans, or between Brest and Guingamp fans. “The real derby, in Renes, it’s against Nantes”, Romain Danzé, the Rouge et Noir from Finistere explains. However, he reckons that this week-end, “regional supremacy will be at stake”
« We play Brest in a derby, it’s nice, Frédéric Antonetti agrees. I wish Nantes was still there, as I’ve been told good things about the Rennes-Nantes derbies. But the more of this passionate games there is, the happiest I will be.”.
« What also spices things up, is that the gap between the teams is only two points”, he adds. This is the real issue of this game: Rennes can, by winning on Saturday, remove Brest from the Ligue 1 first position, and maybe even take back the leadership. Enough to build up the tension. The Rouge et Noir are also expected to show improvement after the games against Lyon and Auxerre, which let the manager « frustrated »: “The content is slightly better, but the good fortune eludes us. (…) There is clearly a place to take at the top end of the table, and in Auxerre, I was gutted to lose a point”.
Two very different fan bases
Redemption will be expected at the Route de Lorient, where two very different types of supporters will be faced. “Brest have a taste for revenge after the club was sunk by financial problems”, observes Malo Louarn, a comics author and Rennes supporter living on the Crozon Peninsula. “There are not as many fans as in Rennes, but it reminds me of Lens, a very chauvinist, loud and hard-core attendance. Many Brest supporters will be taking the bus, and there will be a lot of beer on board…, the author explains, who designed the game’s official poster. Does this mean that the Rennes supporters are rather cold? Frédéric Antonetti replies: « Each club has its character. I think the Stade Rennais is popular in its own way, the team is well followed, people are more reserved, but being reserved is certainly a bad thing in life.”
A game of full commitment
One element will reveal the real atmosphere of a derby, commitment. Because Brest “are always giving their everything, they deserve their first place”, according to Romain Danzé. «We will need to show more commitment than we did over the last games”, he continues. “It won’t be easy, but they should not collapse! The defence should not collapse as it did in Auxerre”, Malo Louarn repeats.
The Rouge et Noir’s right back, who plays with the number 29 at the back of his shirt (ed.: 29 is the department number of Finistere), promises he will warn the young Rennes players: “I will make sure everyone gets the message in the dressing room, there is huge expectation from the supporters, and we can’t fail!”
Nicolas Auffray - Le Mensuel de Rennes
- Photo : www.rennes.lemensuel.com