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Coupe de France Final Preview: EA Guingamp vs. Stade Rennais

The Coupe de France final is a battle of the Bretons as Stade Rennais take on En Avant de Guingamp

May 8, 2009 9:53:06 PM

Coupe de France : Wilson Oruma & Eduardo (Guingamp)

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Coupe de France : Wilson Oruma & Eduardo (Guingamp)

Teams

Kick-Off: Saturday May 9, 2009 (20:45 CET).
Stade de France, Paris

A Happy Ending?

Brittany will move to Paris on Saturday evening as France prepares for an all-Breton affair in the final of the national cup. Nearly 6,000 teams -5,990 to be exact - have been whittled down to just two over the course of the season and, as usual, the Coupe de France has contained its characteristic shocks.

Guingamp, a Ligue 2 outfit from a northern town boasting fewer than 8,000 residents at last count, have been responsible for two of these. Le Mans were dispatched earlier in the year but just two-and-a-half-weeks ago, the Guingampais accounted for Ligue 1 high-flyers Toulouse.

In truth, it was a truly remarkable performance from the mid-table second flight outfit. They had been (somewhat unjustly) reduced to ten men because of the expulsion of Richard Soumah, yet their excellence on the counterattack always threatened Toulouse. Eduardo had previously given Guingamp the lead but Andre-Pierre Gignac had levelled against the ten men.

Guingamp head coach Victor Zvunka watched on from the stands – he too had been sent-off – as his side instigated a rousing finale. A chip off the bar seemed to suggest that it wasn’t going to be their evening but Wilson Oruma’s late free kick skimmed the head of Badara Sene, an 89th minute substitute, hitting the post and crawling over the goal-line with a dramatic lack of pace.

But this is not entirely a Cinderella story. Guingamp, who reached the final of the Coupe de France in 1997 before losing to Nice, are a side widely considered to have under-achieved in Ligue 2 this season, French coach Raymond Domenech noting earlier in the week that they are a “false” second flight outfit. They are a team boasting significant top flight experience.

The cups have brought the underdog spirit out of the players and this is where they seem to have thrived. The scenes in the Pink City less than three weeks ago were remarkable – Zvunka celebrated the winning goal amongst the home fans by basically assaulting the fence preventing supporters reaching the pitch as any hardcore fan might. Victory on Saturday would very much provide a red letter day in Guingamp’s history.

Give Youth A Chance

Only a handful of miles south and a little east of Guingamp is Rennes, who will send their finest to the Stade de France on Saturday aiming to avoid being the Goliath to their neighbours’ David.

Stade Rennais are no traditional French heavyweights – their highest ever league finish is fourth and they have won the Coupe de France only twice, 1965 and 1971.

Traditionally, les Rouges et Noirs are a side that rely on their youth setup to feed their first team. Rennes, who won the Coupe Gambardella last season – the most important Under-18 trophy in France, the final of which, incidentally, will take place between Montpellier and Nantes prior to Saturday’s main event – again have a strong flavour of home-bred players.

Of the 18 players named in the Rennes squad, an incredible ten will have come through the youth ranks of the Breton club. When it is considered that top scorer Jimmy Briand, who will miss Saturday’s showpiece due to a horrendous knee injury, could also have been included, this is really some achievement.

Clearly, by reaching this stage of the competition, these players are also better than average. But some could already be considered excellent. While the likes of Jires Ekoko and Moussa Sow still have some rough edges to their games that need rounded, the central midfield duo of Fabien Lemoine, reportedly a target for Juventus, and Stephane Mbia, who is of interest to a number of Premier League clubs, appear ready for the step to a higher level. Of course there are improvements that are needed to their games, but they have all the tools at their disposal to make the jump.

Winning a major trophy with Rennes would be a natural progression. Rennes are lacking in the offensive tools to mount a sustained challenge for Ligue 1 – they do not have the offensive arsenal to out-score sides consistently – but they are a solid, well organised unit that is by definition excellent in cup competitions. They have the chance to prove that on Saturday evening.

FORM

Guingamp

LOST 2-1 (H) Strasbourg (Ligue 2 Matchday 34, May 1)

LOST 1-0 (A) Tours (Ligue 2 Matchday 33, April 25)

WON 2-1 (A) Toulouse (Coupe de France 1/2 final, April 22)

DREW 0-0 (H) AC Ajaccio (Ligue 2 Matchday 32, April 17)

WON 1-0 (A) Angers (Ligue 2 Matchday 31, April 10)

Rennes

WON 1-0 (A) Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1 Matchday 34, May 3)

LOST 2-3 (H) Girondins de Bordeaux (Ligue 1 Matchday 33, April 29)

WON 2-1 (A) Grenoble Foot38 (Coupe de France 1/2 final, April 21)

LOST 1-3 (A) Monaco (Ligue 1 Matchday 32, April 18)

WON 1-0 (H) Saint-Etienne (Ligue 1 Matchday 31, April 11)

TEAM NEWS

Guingamp

Realistically, Victor Zvunka could not have wished his squad to be in a much healthier state for this encounter. The Breton outfit have all their first choice players available but will be without bit-part men Igor Djoman and Geoffrey Christophe due to long-term injury problems. Richard Soumah, dismissed in the last round, has already served his suspension in league play.

Probable Starting XI: Trevisan; Kone, Vergerolle, Mathis, Deroff; Bellugou, Soumah, Oruma, Bassila, Ogounbiyi; Eduardo

Rennes

In contrast to Zvunka, Guy Lacombe has a number of injury headaches, which appear to have particularly afflicted some of the key elements to his side. For example, Jimmy Briand is doubtful to play before 2010 such is the severity of his problem, while Kader Mangane is banned until the end of the season for breaking Jonathan Lacourt’s leg in a Ligue 1 encounter.

Less serious concerns include Julien Esteban, who is definitely missing. Another potential absentee is key centre-back Petter Hansson – a late, late decision is set to be taken over his fitness. With Mangane already ruled out, Lacombe would ideally like his other first choice central defender to play.

Probable Starting XI: Douchez; Fanni, Bocanegra, Aubey, Hansson; Mbia, Lemoine; Sow, Leroy, Danze; Thomert

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Guingamp

The most courted player in the Guingamp side is Eduardo, on whom their hopes will be pinned to grab the crucial goals, however, it is central midfielder Wilson Oruma who has the potential to make the match-winning difference in the centre of the park. A player of vast experience, the Nigerian international orchestrated the victory over Toulouse in the semi-final and will aim to have a similarly profound influence at the Stade de France.

Rennes

Guy Lacombe is likely to deploy a remarkably young side particularly in the midfield area, where only one man can claim to be older than 23. That man is Jerome Leroy, ‘le roi (a deliberate pun) de la passe’ – the King of assists. A two-time winner of the Coupe de France, Leroy possesses and impressive array of tools to break down opposing defences, the most notable of which is his ability to play an audacious pass. But he is not simply a provider of goals, which six strikes of his own in Ligue 1 this season, he could also be a potential game-breaker for the ‘big’ Bretons.

PREDICTION

The obvious prediction is that the Stade de France will be a sea of red and black tomorrow – the colours of both clubs. What’s harder to predict is the outcome of the game. Rennes are a solid unit and should have enough in attack to see off their more experienced underdogs, however, it will be far from an easy encounter for Guy Lacombe’s men.

EA Guingamp 0-1 Stade Rennais

Robin Bairner, Goal.com

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