World Soccer - UK (2022-07)

Itwas in 1 983 thatLagarderebought
Racingashewantedthemtocompete
withPSG.AlgerianstarsRabahMadjer
andHalimBenmabroukwereamong
thefirsttoarrive,followedbyFrench
internationalmidfieldersMaximeBossis
andLuisFernandez.Determinedtomake
thecluboneofthebiggestinEurope,
LagarderelaterhiredPortuguesecoach
ArturJorge,whohadjust ledPortoto
victory inthe 1987 EuropeanCupfinal.
FormerDutchinternationaldefender
Sonny Silooy,whospenttwoyearsat
theclubafterarrivingfromAjaxin 1 98 7,
admitshejoinedpurelyfor financial
reasons.Silooy,whoisnowdirectorof
youthdevelopmentatSharjahFCinthe
UnitedArabEmirates,tellsWorldSoccer:
“Iwasn’tgoingforfootballingreasons

• Ajax hadjustwontheEuropean
  CupWinners’Cup.Therewasanew
  generationcomingthroughthere,
  soI onlyleftfortherichesonoffer.
  “WhenI signedwehadPhilippe
  Mahut, LuisFernandez,PascalOlmeta
  andMaximeBossis.Inthesecond
  season,wesignedplayerslike
  DavidGinolaandVincentGuerin.”
  RacingleftYves-du-Manoir–which
  alsohostedgamesatthe 1938 World
  Cup–andrelocatedtotheParc des
  Princes,whichtheysharedwithParis
  Saint-Germain.AsMatraRacing,they
  regularlybeattheirneighbours, as well
  asthebiggunsinMonaco,Nantesand
  Bordeaux.ParisFCandRedStar Paris
  weretheothertwofootballclubsinthe
  city, butitwasPSGandRacingwho
  garneredalltheheadlines.
  Theambitioncontinued,with
  midfielderRubenPazjoininghisfellow
  UruguayanFrancescoli,whileRacing
  alsofailedinabidtosignEricCantona
  fromAuxerre.
  Yet,despiteallthesestarnames,
  Racingfailedtoattractbigcrowds,
  withtheiraverageattendanceinthe
  late 1980 s only around7,000.After
  narrowlyavoidingrelegationin 19 89,

Lagarderepulledtheplugonhis

investmentandMatrawerenomore.

“Whenyouhavealotoftopplayers,

youcanhavealotofproblems,” adds

Silooy.“Itallbecameabout‘me,me,

me’,whichI wasnotusedtoatAjax.

Itwas thenthatI knewwewerenot

goingtobeabletowintrophies, so

I wentbacktoAjaxwhentheycame

infor me.Thepeopleat thetopin

Racingwereknowledgeableabout

football, butnotby much.”

Itisestimatedthattheclublostover

300 millionFrancsinthelate 1 98 0s

andby 1992 , Racinghadlosttheir

professionalstatusandwereback

intheirhistoric

oldstadiumin

Colombes,a

north-western

suburbofParis.

SincetheMatra

days, theclubhas

beenknownby

severalnames,includingRacing

Paris1,Racing92,RacingClub

deFrancefootball 9 2,RacingClub

deParis,andRacingClubdeFrance

Colombes92,beforefinallysettlingon

RacingClubdeFranceFootball in 2018.

Thesedays,theclubisdetermined

toensurethatitisknownformore

thanjust theexploits of the 19 80s.

“Ifyoudiveintothehistoryofthe

club,youwillbeabletoseesome

ratherexceptionalstories,” saysVincent

LeBorlochofRacing’smanagement

committee.“Between 1930 andthe

beginningof the 19 60s,Racingusedto

faceArsenalevery Novembertocollect

moneyfordisabledwar veterans.

“Racingalsousedtotravelto

Englandinordertoplayexhibition

gamesagainst teamslikeTottenham,

NewcastleandSunderland.I donot

thinkthatanyFrenchsidehasplayed

moregamesagainstEnglishteams

thanRacing.”

TheyhavealsoprovidedtheFrench

nationalteamwith 57 international

players,includingStevenNzonzi,who

wontheWorldCupwithFrancein 201 8.

Otherprominentnameswhocame

throughatRacingincludeWilliam

Gallas,StephanePorato,Zoumana

eyewitness

28 WORLDSOCCER

“OtherclubsintheFrenchfourthorfifthtiersdo

nothavetofacethesamepressureasus–Racing

isaspecialclubbecauseithasagloriouspast”

PatrickNorbert,RacingClubdeFrancechairman

Star-studded line-

up...Uruguay legend

EnzoFrancescoli

Historicstadium...the

openingceremonyof

the 1924 Olympics