Brest, a miracle from the end of the world

Some issues escape the scientific logic that governs football today and comfort the most romantic parish. In the region of Brittany, in the province of Finistère, something like the end of the world when the Earth still had to be flat, a clear example can be found in one of the most particular cities in France. Brest, a town of 140,000 inhabitants at the western end of the hexagon, had written some pages of the country’s history. But until now none spoke of a small football team that managed to climb to Ligue 1 seven years ago and that only has a budget of 48 million euros to face the best clubs on the continent. If you look at the Champions League standings, you could even say that today they are the fourth best team in Europe.

The modest Stade Brestois 29 arrives at Montjuïc with 10 points out of 12 played, theoretically playing the matches at home 115 kilometers away, because UEFA does not accept that they do so in their stadium for security reasons due to the type of construction that was used in their stadium. time for the stands (they are scheduled to move to a new stadium in 2027). Their spectacular start to the Champions League, fourth in the standings, ahead of teams like Barça themselves, whom they will face this Tuesday, contrasts with a modest start to the season in the league, in 12th place in the table, three points behind. decline. But tonight’s match in Montjuic, given the nature of their previous rivals in the Champions League (Leverkusen, Sturm, RB Salzburg and Spartak Prague) is a true test of fire.

The history of Brest, whose last promotion to the first division was in 2019, took an unexpected turn last season, when it qualified for the Champions League under coach Éric Roy. The former Nice, Olympique Lyon and Rayo Vallecano player – he played against FC Barcelona 22 years ago – arrived in January 2023, when the Bretons were fighting just to survive. The surprising thing is that Roy had not trained for 11 years. The last time had been with Nice, his hometown. In fact, he had obtained his coaching license in the same promotion as Zinedine Zidane, but his license had been abandoned on a shelf at home while he dedicated himself to other tasks in football (he was sports director of Watford and Lens respectively). Brest’s sporting director, Grégory Lorenzi, a former defender of the club who has held this position since 2016 and who has already had offers from half of Europe to sign for a big team, demonstrated his talent and offered him the bench.

Stade Brestois, despite all this, is a team with hardly any stars. But Roy’s team exploits its assets to perfection: intensity, high pressure, fight. Something like an Atalanta, but without the talent of the Bergamo team. Luis Enrique said last year that it was the team that had competed with them the most during the season, more than any other in the Champions League. The symbol of the club is the captain and central defender Brandon Chardonnet, the only one who was in that Brest that was promoted in 2019 and the only one who experienced relegation. In fact, he debuted at the end of a match against PSG (the same one in which David Beckham retired). Beyond Chardonnet, the team has lost its best player to injury, midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou, who will not play until the end of the year. Up front they have new attackers like Ludovic Ajorque or the Senegalese Abdallah Sima,who has scored three goals in the Champions League.

Lorenzi has been in charge of buying well and getting the maximum profitability from the market. Last season, despite being one of the most difficult and successful in its history, Brest sold (for 18 million euros) more than it bought (for 13 million euros). The team was strengthened to compete in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League. The credit goes largely to him, but also to the simple organization of a club chaired by Denis Le Saint, a local businessman with a powerful fresh produce distribution company. The match with Barça is now seen by the board – and in the city itself – as a reward for this entire long journey. And as an opportunity, why not, to once again challenge that science that governs football.