The party had already been great after the victory against Lorient on January 6. It was even more so this Sunday. Winner of Reims on penalties (2-2, 5-4), FC Sochaux-Montbéliard has just achieved the feat of eliminating two Ligue 1 teams in quick succession.
An exceptional journey for the Doubist club, administratively demoted to the National (third division) last summer and saved at the last minute from filing for bankruptcy by its former leaders, its supporters and local authorities. Well placed to play for the rise in Ligue 2 and euphoric in the Coupe de France, FCSM is living a waking dream under the leadership of its coach Oswald Tanchot.
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Sunday, in front of a Bonal stadium which was almost full (20,000 spectators), the Francs-Comtois celebrated the qualification as it should be. First on the pitch, then in the locker rooms. “In more than 30 years, and I don’t know how many matches followed since Bonal, I have NEVER seen or heard madness in the stands like this afternoon. So enjoy. Let’s enjoy. This is only the beginning,” Sébastien Daucourt, former Franche-Comté regional director of the daily newspaper l’Est Républicain, said on X (ex-Twitter).
“It’s just beautiful, great, and even a little stunning,” said Rémi Farge, who follows the FCSM for the Republican East. Approved as he was against Lorient by the Sochaux supporters, Oswald Tanchot declared that this victory was “the reward for all the energy, the love that people have for this club, the passion that there is around this team”.
At the microphone of France 3, the 50-year-old technician also recalled that “it was very hard to exist football-wise. But there are values in football that are truly precious: solidarity, courage, self-sacrifice. And this evening, we were able to call on these values when we were dominated in terms of pure football. That’s the beauty of the Cup. And I believe that in this stadium everything is possible in fact.
The Yellow and Blue will face Stade Rennes, winners of OM, in the next round on February 6 or 7.
