Decadesbeforethearrivalofthe
mega-richQatarisatParisSaint-
Germain,theFrench capitalwas home
toanotherfootball clubthathadtheir
sightssetonEuropeandomination.
UnderbusinessmanJean-Luc
Lagardere,RacingClubdeFrance
recruited stellarnamessuchasEnzo
Francescoli,PierreLittbarskiandLuis
Fernandez,andadopteda newname:
Matra Racing,after Lagardere’sMatra
conglomerate.
Itwas a short-livedexperiment.
Theclub,whichisthe seventh-most
decoratedinthecountry, collapsedin
1989 andrevertedtotheirprevious
incarnation.Butnowtheyare gradually
risingbackupthecountry’sfootball
pyramid.
Racing,who were Ligue 1
champions in 1 936 andwhohave
wontheFrenchCuponfiveoccasions,
aresettobenefitfroma shakeup by
theFrench Football Federationthat
willseethe country’stwoprofessional
leagues,Ligue1 andLigue 2, become
18 -teamcompetitions,whilethe
semi-professionalthird tieris
expectedtofullyprofessionalise.
Thechangeswillarrive forthe
2023 -24season – just in timefor
thecentenary of the 1924 Olympic
Games,whenRacing’s StadeYves-
du-Manoirgroundhosted theopening
ceremony.Havingjust been promoted
aschampionstotheChampionnat
National2 (fourthtier),Racingare
dreamingofa returnto thenational
stage in timefor thenew-look
structure.
CurrentownerPatrick Norbert,a
formerfilmproducerandex-president
ofAngers, tellsWorldSoccer: “Having
previouslyowneda professional
footballclub,I promisedmyself
FRANCE
Racing back
tothe top
SimonYaffereportseye
witness
notto letmyselfbetakenin anymore,
butpassiongotthe upper hand.
“OtherclubsintheFrench fourth
orfifthtiersdonothavetofacethe same
pressure as us – Racingisa specialclub
becauseit hasa gloriouspast.”
Norbert’s son,Guillaume– a
formerArsenalyouthteamproduct- is Racing’s headcoach.And he is
convincedthe clubcanmake a
returntoLigue1.
Hesays:“I believethatourprojectis
probablythemostexciting in theworld
ofamateurfootball.Weknow thatthe
roadwillbelongand thepathdifficult,
butour determinationisunfailing.
Besides,itisa greathumanadventure
thatI gettosharewithmy fatherand
withpeopleI am very closeto.”
26 WORLDSOCCER
Ambitiousex-owner...
Jean-LucLagardere