Quevilly's footballing fairy tale

Quevilly are on a roll at the moment here in France.

Don't worry if you've never heard of them, neither had most French sports fans until recently.

The amateur football team from the suburbs of the northern city of Rouen are through to the semi-finals of the Coupe de France (French cup) and that means just 90 minutes away from a possible appearance in the final at the Stade de France on May 1.

Their run in this year's competition is the sort of stuff from a Boy's Own annual and one that's surely guaranteed to warm the proverbial cockles of the heart of even those least interested in the beautiful game (cynics notwithstanding) let alone its fans.

In these days of multi-millionaire players and astronomical transfer deals US Quevilly, or Union Sportive Quevillaise, to give them their full name, are proving that the grass roots game is still very much alive and kicking.

On Tuesday the team, which plays in the French fourth division, became only the third amateur side in the history of the Coupe de France to make it through to the semi-finals of the competition.

And they did it in style, trouncing a top-flight club, Boulogne-sur-Mer, 3-1 in the process.

"We played well and we deserved to win," team coach Régis Brouard told French television.

"We scored three goals and made most of the play," he added.

"There's not really a lot more to say."

It was a game, which in the words of the Quevilly midfielder Fabrice Buchon, left the impression that, "Boulogne were the amateur side and Quevilly the from the top league."

But it was far from being the first time that the team nicknamed Le Canaris has provided an upset in this year's competition.

In both the previous rounds they knocked out higher ranked opposition; Angers (division 2) and Rennes (division 1).

All of which now means that the side is one the verge of making it through to the finals.

For that dream to come true though they'll have to make it past the Big Boys as all three of the other sides still left in the Cup are first division teams; Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and Lens.

They'll find out in Sunday's draw who their opponents will be.

Perhaps understandably the club founded in 1902 hardly has a glowing past when it comes to Cup history. Quevilly last played in the semi-finals in 1968 when they lost to Bordeaux.

And you have to go back all the way to 1927 for their one and only appearance in the final, eventually losing to Marseille.

After Tuesday's win though, the president of the club, Michel Mallet, is confident that his players won't be overwhelmed by what they've already achieved.

"What has been interesting in the competition is that after each match the players haven't become bigheaded," he said.

"Anyway if they did, they know I would be there to bring them down to earth," he continued.

"Tonight we've not only won a match but also written a page in our club history and everyone (here) will now talk about the 'team of 2010' in the hope that we'll manage to repeat the exploits of the side from 1927," he added.

"Getting as far as the Stade de France? Well the dream is a little closer to becoming reality after last night."


Le bonheur du président de Quevilly
envoyé par Europe1fr. - Regardez plus de vidéo de sport et de sports extrêmes.