An Old International

The little Paris derby: Paris FC vs Red Star surely has its attention as a record crowd of 17750 made their way to the Stade Charléty on the southern edges of Paris, defying the weather of rain and 10 degrees. This was never an open encounter as the home team took the lead within 10 minutes as Alimami Gory finished a 5-pass move. He added two more to his tally today; all three of them from inside the penalty area, i.e. a goal poacher’s home turf.

It was no open encounter nor was it an easy game to watch. Both sides had players tumbling down and rolling around during the first half which made for difficult viewing. Paris FC were the better team but appeared to be sitting back after taking the lead – as if to let Red Star back into the game voluntarily. Alas, this never happened. Red Star were simply not good enough, motivated perhaps but by far inferior to their hosts on this grey afternoon. There were no actions that would force Paris into errors, and if there was space they slowed the game down and allowed PFC to recompose their back four and more importantly, initiate a new attack.

If things stay as they are after this match, it may have been the last little Parisian derby for a while. Paris made it clear why they are in the top three and Red Star never found a way to get behind them to score at least to level the game, let alone win it. Their goal came after 85 minutes and thus, too late. Worse, Paris were not even finished and added another to complete the misery for Red Star.

On the stands it was an away victory for Red Star, though. Their support continued throughout the ninety minutes plus added time and stopped only when Paris made it four, minutes before the final whistle. The Paris FC Ultras are still split; the are the “Old Clan” which consists of about 50 people, while a far larger group further up in the stand were noisier and bigger in numbers yet no real competition for the away fans.

No beer in Paris!

It is no secret that the French are no organisation world champions: access to grounds is still a mess made worse by people also arriving late. Worse though, demand for beer far exceeded provisions and at halftime there was simply no beer available. That’s simply not acceptable. This is a club on the cusp of being promoted to the top flight. They will host teams with an away support and these people may fancy a drink at half-time. Additionally, access to public transport after the match is also problematic as the entrance to the RER station Cité Universitaire had to be blocked to avoid a crush at the turnstiles. Admittedly, this station needs an overhaul. Moreover, the frequency of the tram is just insufficient.

Trajectories

This may have been the last derby between these two teams as they are on very different trajectories. Red Star have been taken over by 777 Partners in 2022 but the group are in severe difficulties. The company faces allegations of fraud. This has plonged the club into incertainty; the results of which are visible on the pitch. Paris FC meanwhile have been taken over by the Arnaud family, one of the richest globally. This brings enormous resources to this corner of French football and may alter the landscape of the football map significantly.