Monaco 1992, almost forever the first / Retro / Coupe des Coupes / SOFOOT.com
Season 1991-1992, football France is in shock: OM, Auxerre, Lyon and Cannes fall by the wayside in the fall in European cups. AS Monaco, which some gossips say is not French, is the last survivor. For a semester, the men of Arsène Wenger live with the objective of becoming the first French club to win a European trophy, the C2 in this case. To fail on the last step against Werder Bremen after a few legendary matches.
November 1991, Monaco won 1-0 at Louis-II against the modest Swedes of Norrköping thanks to a goal from Christophe Robert. With the 2-1 first leg victory in Scandinavia, the Principality club quietly offered their ticket to the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Arsène Wenger and his men will therefore experience the European spring, unlike all the other residents of the French D1: Marseille, 1991 finalist, falls against Sparta Prague in the Champions Cup, Auxerre is knocked out at Anfield by Liverpool in the European Cup. ‘. Like AS Cannes, controlled by Dinamo Moscow, and Olympique Lyonnais, outclassed by the Turks of Trabzonspor. The ASM will therefore be the last French representative… or not. “Monaco was a bit unloved because we were the Principality’s team” , remembers Luc Sonor, defender during the campaign. But for him like his teammates, there was no ambiguity: “It was double pride, we were defending France and the princely family. » Hence the birth of a slogan: “Monaco, the first French club to win a European Cup” story of winning hearts. “And above all, we felt we could do it, so we claimed our double identity” specifies Jean-Luc Ettori, emblematic goalkeeper of the time.
Roma on the mat, return from the hell of De Kuip
Popular and media enthusiasm began in March 1992, following a trip to Rome. “This double confrontation against AS Roma, one of the favorites, was very high level” , owner Gérald Passi. More complicated than the Welsh of Swansea, crushed in the first round (2-1 to go; 8-0 to return), or the Swedes of Norrköping (2-1; 1-0). “We missed a lot of chances in Rome, but our performance reassured us” , rewinds Ettori. Because if the ASM did not make the difference at the Stadio Olimpico (0-0), its players “understood that they had the level” . The hardest part remains to be done at home, but Wenger makes the difference during the chat. Luc Sonor: ” He told us : “You had a great first leg, but I’m not congratulating you, I’d rather save myself for qualifying tonight, there’s work to finish.” By telling us that, he showed us great confidence. » Monaco finally won 1-0 thanks to their Portuguese elf Gil Rui Barros, and won popular support. As well as the privilege of challenging the mythical club Feyenoord Rotterdam, perhaps the strongest team in lice after the elimination of Manchester United in the second round.
“Losing a final leaves a wound that nothing can erase. A regret that will tarnish everything beautiful you have done before, it leaves a feeling of unfinished business. » Gerald Passi
“It was a match of crazy intensity in the first leg, we had to go to the end of ourselves to snatch the draw (1-1, Editor’s note) » , testifies Patrick Valéry, partner of Luc Sonor as a side, and scorer on the equalizer at Louis-II. The return to De Kuip in front of 50,000 people remains in the annals: “I had a hard time against Gaston Taument, a Rasta look, but a super fast winger. » Opposite, Patrick Valéry was not better off with Regi Blinker, the “Taument clone in appearance as game profile” according to whoever also played in Bastia. Gérald Passi did not have the same defensive responsibilities, but remembers that “the last five minutes in Rotterdam was a men’s game” . Because Monaco leads quickly 1-0 (33and), then 2-0 (49and) before experiencing the Dutch waves, “a real Fort Alamo in an oven and an audience totally against us” , recalls Ettori. Final score, 2-2, ASM passes thanks to the away goal. “We begged that we were going to go to the end, because we had beaten the toughest opponent” think again today Luc Sonor.
From the drama of Furiani to France 98
Except that nothing goes as planned. The day before the final in Lisbon, France saw the tragedy of Furiani, a stand which collapsed before the semi-final of the Coupe de France between Marseille and Bastia. No one really has their minds in the Monaco final anymore, even if Ettori “do not want to make an excuse, on the contrary, it proved to us one more reason to win” . Between Gil Rui Barros hit in the ankle and a transport strike in Lisbon which generated extremely low attendance at the Luz stadium (only 16,000 spectators), Monaco finally missed out on its match against Werder Bremen. ” A mess ” summarizes Patrick Valéry, when Luc Sonor “still can’t see the match on TV, it’s the only one of my career” . It must be said that the same evening, the atmosphere is leaden: “In the locker room, it was dead silent, but Wenger, a gentleman, comforted us, reminded us that we had done something fantastic. The main family also congratulated us. And me, I held on until I got to the hotel, where I burst into tears, out of sight. »
Gérald Passi remains incredulous in the face of defeat, but has kept a lesson from it: “The year before, Franck Sauzée told me that a final was not played, it was won, about the Coupe de France final against OM. I didn’t understand what he meant. When I lost the Lisbon final, I understood. Losing a final leaves a wound that nothing can erase. A regret that will tarnish everything beautiful you have done before, it leaves a feeling of unfinished business. » In the ” beautiful team ” who made the epic are Emmanuel Petit, Lilian Thuram and Youri Djorkaeff, future executives of the France team. “I told them it might not be the last final of our careersremembers Passy. It did something to me when six years later they triggered the World Cup. They replayed even more prestigious finals and won them. »
Original article published inSO FOOT CLUB
By Nicolas Jucha