[Papa Bouba Diop]

Game kicks off in 12 hours, Gaucho will start on the bench i beleive. PC, Luiz, Cardetti out... I hope Bartho Ogbeche will see some action...
Anyways, my prediction: PSG 2-1 in extra-time. Next round PSG loses to a lower division team 0-1.

Lets hope no fans get stabbed this week.

Allez Paris.

[SportBoy321]

Can you explain to an outsider like me why this game is such a huge rivalry. Is it a Barcelona-Real Madrid type thing ?

[ZZ10]

Originally posted by SportBoy321
Can you explain to an outsider like me why this game is such a huge rivalry. Is it a Barcelona-Real Madrid type thing ?

This rivalry is fake. It did not exist prior to the Tapie years. It has absolutely no "cultural" background. I guess we were jealous of the Brits/Spanish and Italians and we just invented it.

[SportBoy321]

Thats exactly what I thought too but everywhere I went people were telling me how the cities of Paris and Marseille hate each other.

[SportBoy321]

I think the closest thing to a real,legitimate rivalry in France would be O.Lyonnaise-AS St.Entienne. Both are big football cities,both cities are right near each other,both have or had huge success. Its dormant now because they in different divisions so they can't play. To me OL-StE is a much deeper rivalry than OM-PSG.

[conquerant]

Is thiks being broadcast over the inernet. For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the Paris radio station that broadcasts PSG matches.

Allez Paris!!!

[ZZ10]

Originally posted by SportBoy321
I think the closest thing to a real,legitimate rivalry in France would be O.Lyonnaise-AS St.Entienne. Both are big football cities,both cities are right near each other,both have or had huge success. Its dormant now because they in different divisions so they can't play. To me OL-StE is a much deeper rivalry than OM-PSG.

Spot on.You are absolutely right. OL-ASSE is the only rivalry which come close (but only close) to something like Barca/Real, MU/MCity or Inter/ACMilan. But it has never been as "passionate" in France than it is elsewhere. You probably realize that there are much less die hard supporters in France than elsewhere in Europe. And should the french national team fail again at Euro04 I wonder what would happen to our club football.

[AFCA]

I remember this kinda short fat guy with glasses who approached us in Lyon. He said he was a member of St Etienne's 'Magic Fans' group and that he wanted to join us against Lyonnais. What he wanted to do exactly is still beyond me. He didn't look like a fighter and looked pretty silly to me

Hope he's not a model of French ultras. But he probably wasn't.
Later on there was some trouble with police and a few boys from our group sent him away. I felt kinda sorry for him