i'm glad you asked that because i was prepared to give a wrong answer but in double checking my facts i will go to bed slightly less ignorant tonight! these cup ties used to be a bit of a problem; the DOM-TOM clubs don't generally get to the big rounds, and the cost of travel in either direction was prohibitive for small clubs, hence a good deal of forfeiture. these days the overseas clubs are better integrated by bringing them in "abnormally" late... the 7th round, the same as for L2 clubs. but they are part of a special draw in which all the mainland clubs participating have volunteered to do so. as coincidence would have it, the draw was today! Métropole contre DOM TOM SR Colmar (National) - Evolucas Lamentin ou Etoile Morne à l'Eau (Guadeloupe) AS Magenta ou AS Lossi (Nouvelle-Calédonie) - FC Mulhouse (CFA) USL Dunkerque (CFA) - St Pauloise (La Réunion) AFC Compiègne (CFA) - FC M'Tsapere (Mayotte) Pontivy (CFA) - AS Tefana (Polynésie) CSC de Cayenne ou AJ St Georges ou Le Geldar de Kourou (Guyane) - FC Dieppe (CFA 2) Club Colonial ou CS Belimois (Martinique) - Vertou (CFA 2) as you see there are 7 ultramarin clubs (one from each dept. or territory) facing 7 from the métropole. if more than 7 mainland clubs voluteered the remaining ones are drawn against each other the next day. who receives is decided before the draw: from year to year each DOM-TOM alternates home or away. all travel expenses are all picked up by the fed. the down side might be that coming in this late the overseas clubs are generally overmatched and apparently only one has ever made it to the eighth round. so it's a one-shot deal for them but it seems it's a great festival for all concerned and the format is a big success.
Cheers for the info, The Quarter Finals for the CupDeLigue were drawn tonight: Montpellier - Nice Bastia/Auxerre - Lille Saint-Etienne - PSG Rennes - Troyes Les Verts vs Paris should be a fun game.
Round of 32 draw for Coupe de France: http://www.fff.fr/cfra/actu/543989_le-tirage-integral-des-32emes Some highlights: Saint-Louis Neuweg (CFA2) ou Epinal (National) - Lyon (L1) LOSC Lille Métropole (L1) - Nîmes Olympique (L2) FC Metz (National) - Nice OGC (L1) Vallières Et. (HRL) ou CA Bastia (National) - Bastia SC (L1) Olympique de Marseille (L1) - Guingamp EA (L2) Arras FA (CFA2) - Paris Saint-Germain FC (L1) RC Lens (L2) - Stade Rennais (L1) Bourg-Péronnas (National) - Montpellier-Hérault (L1)
Arras FA (CFA2) - Paris Saint-Germain FC (L1) should be a fun match to watch really like the Coupe de France 100 miles away would be like a DERBY !
Saturday 14:30 Marseille Consolat - Moulins 15:00ASM Belfort -Le Havre 15:00Le Mans- Le Poire Sur Vie 17:00Savigneux-Montbrison - Venissieux Minguettes 18:00Amiens AC - Evian Thonon Gaillard 18:00Amneville - Raon L Etape 18:00Boulogne - Toulouse 18:00Chauray - Lorient 18:00FC Drouais Dreu - Nancy 18:00Montceau -Troyes 18:00Rouen-Ajaccio 18:00St. Malo- Vertou 18:00Stade Bordelais -Carquefou 18:00Thaon-Sochaux 19:00Plabennec - Reims 20:45Lille - Nimes Sunday 12:00 Bourg-Peronnas - Montpellier 14:00AS Muretaine -Vendee Fontenay Foot 14:15Caen - Saint-Etienne 14:15Chateauroux - Bordeaux 14:15Epinal - Lyon 14:15Lens - Rennes 14:15Marseille - Guingamp 14:15Metz - Nice 14:30Meaux Academy Cs - Le Portel 15:00Avenir Foot Lozere - Arles-Avignon 15:00Pontarlier - Sedan 16:00Lucon - Brest 17:00CA Bastia - Bastia 17:00Dieppe - Nantes 20:45Arras - Paris S.G. Let The Games Begin!
I didnt see the match but from what Ive read there was no Gourcuff or Grenier so there was no creative force in the midfield. Still should be able to beat a bad 3rd division team though.
only one word to describe a match like that... GRRRRRR!!!!! lyon's problem imo is that a week in morocco may be a good way to prepare for the second half of the season, it's the worst possible way to be ready for a cup match in a cow pasture in the vosges. no one, with the possible exception of licha and the grinta he showed in the half hour during which OL fought back to 2-2, can be satisfied with their performance. everyone was poor, except for the 2 or 3 who were atrocious. it's not even like épinal were that good, or even supermotivated as you sometimes see in these situation (like quévilly last year). even their crowd got drowned out by the lyon fans who made the trip. a certain amount is RG's fault. first, a pro team with that big a cushion of superiority has no excuse for not effectively sealing the match at 3-2. allowing épinal's 3rd goal would have been understandable if OL had needed to score at all costs, but that wasn't the case. and making the first (and only) substitution at 105' is something i will never be able to accept any explanation for. it's not like lyon can just blow off this competition either; going out of both domestic cups in the first match will be a blot on this season no matter what else happens, and if we get knocked out of europe by spurs all we're left with is the league.
I still dont know how they determine the home teams for these matches. I thought the lower division team hosted but OM-Guingamp was in Marseille. I agree its not fair to make OL go play in some "cow pasture in the vosges." It seems silly. They want to give the small team the advanatage but thats not good for business. France hates money.
Rough go, on the other hand you will be able to give the league full attention, going for the CL spot or even the title. Here is the draw for the Round of 16: Fontenay (CFA) v Troyes (L1); CA Bastia (Nat) v Brest (L1); Sedan (L2) v Lorient (L1); Plabennec (CFA) v Lille (L1) Moulins (CFA) v Bordeaux (L1) Rouen (Nat) v OM (L1) Meaux (DH) v St Etienne (L1) Nice (L1) v Nancy (L1) Epinal (Nat) v Nantes (L2) Vertou (CFA 2) v Evian (L1) Raon L'Etape (CFA) v Istres(L2)/VAFC(L1) Mende (DHR) v Le Havre (L2) Venissieux (CFA2) v Poiré sur Vie (Nat) Montpellier (L1) v Sochaux (L1) Arras (CFA2)/PSG(L1) v TFC (L1) Stade Bordelais (CFA) v Lens (L2)
If there is 2 or more division between the teams the lower league team automatically gets home field. So all NAT team and below gets the home advantage over the L1 teams.
What were the upsets besides OL-Epinal ? I see CA Bastia beat SC Bastia. Thats got to be embarassing for the L1 side.
guingamp is L2 so there is no special rule for home field. it's not only in france that this idea is used and it's certainly not new, and i don't see how giving fans in places like epinal or quevilly a chance to see big matches can be reduced to "hating money". at the start the field was just greasy but as the game wore on it tore up pretty badly.
By hating money I meant putting the big clubs that people want to watch at a disadvantage by making them play on the road against smaller teams thus creating a better chance they get knocked out. OL is now gone and if they played at home or at a neutral site then maybe they'd still be in it. I wanted a OL-PSG final and so did a lot of people. I liked what PSG-Arras did by making them play at a neutral site.
it wasn't so much making them play at a neutral site as the fact that arras home stadium is not homologated. it's not a matter of the pitch but of the infrastructure surrounding the park. details starting p.27 of this document which also includes lots of other interesting information for someone like yourself who... likes details! the first time i dug this up was to read the rules about proceeds, and there was an interesting occurrence yesterday when Troyes didn't leave their 7000 euro share to minnows Montceau-les Mines, as is customary in this kind of case. the xceptions are in the very last rounds when the gate comes to a few hundred thousand euros each and 50% is already a windfall for the smaller club (and no longer just peanuts for the big one) or when the "big" club hasn't been received properly : a couple of years ago i think lyon-duchere took their cut from a match against a DH because they had been agressed while getting to the changing rooms or something like that.
Id like to see a combination of St. Etienne, Lens, Bordeaux, and Nantes in the final and all 4 teams will be heavily favored in their next match so thats good.