In football, anything is possible, especially during the Coupe de France. Despite winning the competition fourteen times, PSG is well aware of this. In its recent history, the capital club has experienced several notable eliminations: Rodez (then National) in 2009, Clermont (then N2) in 1997, Valenciennes (then D2) in 1990, and of course Orléans a year earlier.
At the time, USO, then tenth in the second division, created a legendary upset by winning 0-4 in the first leg of the round of 16 (note: from 1989-90, the format of home-and-away matches was abandoned) against the likes of Safet Susic, Daniel Xuereb, Gabriel Calderon, and Joël Bats, at the Parc des Princes. Thirty-five years later, the two teams will meet again at the Stade de la Source for the round of 16 of the Coupe de France.
On Saturday, April 8, 1989, nothing hinted at such a setback for Tomislav Ivic’s men. Second in the French league behind Olympique de Marseille, PSG had just completed a series of ten consecutive matches (all competitions) without defeat. On the other hand, the Loiret club, victorious against Stade Brestois in the previous round, had a slim chance of beating PSG, let alone inflicting such a heavy defeat.
A key player in this legendary match, with a goal (59th minute) and three assists, Joël Germain has not forgotten that spring day. “Before the match, in our hotel in Choisy-le-Roi, we set ourselves a goal as players: to concede as few goals as possible at the Parc des Princes and try to make a difference in the return leg at La Source,” says the 59-year-old former player who will comment on Saturday’s match on France Bleu Orléans.
Another remarkable moment: stepping onto the Parc des Princes field for the warm-up. “This image will remain etched in my memory. When we entered the field, we saw part of the stands in red and yellow,” says Joël Germain. “It was a big surprise to see so many Orléans supporters; it warmed our hearts.” Despite the presence of eight internationals (Bats, Jeannol, Bibard, Calderon, Pérez, Susic, Sène, and Xuereb) at kick-off, PSG was initially neutralized by Orléans, then overtaken before half-time with the opening goal by the Luxembourg international, Robby Langers (39th).
“We had a team of friends who were so united. I think that this unity helped us that night,” notes Joël Germain. “At the time, we had a very solid defense with tough players, a technical midfield, and an attack led by Robby Langers, the second-highest scorer in D2 that season. It was a very complementary team.” After halftime, Orléans sealed the victory (59th) thanks to the native of Montbéliard, who experienced one of the most memorable matches of his professional career that night.
It was really at the final whistle that we took this result in full
In addition to the memorable moment of finding the net at the Parc des Princes, the former player, who also played for Lille (1995-96) and Reims (1996-98), felt “underestimated” by his Parisian opponents. “The image that illustrates PSG’s arrogance that night is Joël Bats’ attempt to stop Manu Lerat in his tracks in the build-up to our second goal,” he says. “He tries to eliminate Lerat with a little backheel. He misses the ball, my teammate recovers, crosses, and I score.”
On their part, PSG players admitted to underestimating their opponents. “Unconsciously, yes,” confirmed Jean-Marc Pilorget, PSG’s most capped player in history (435 matches), on France Bleu. “A Ligue 1 team playing against a Ligue 2 team, weaker on paper, there was inevitably some arrogance on our part.” At that time, Oumar Sène had shared similar sentiments.
“We probably thought winning this match would be a formality. This 0-4 defeat is shameful. We can say that. We received a harsh blow. It was a punishment for the unpardonable superiority complex we had. We were not prepared for this match: in training, we did not think about this round of 16. It never entered our minds. Losing 2-0, we continued to believe we were the strongest, and everyone wanted to show off,” said the former Senegalese international after the match.
Despite their two-goal lead, Henri Zambelli’s teammates continued to press on, scoring a third (Soyer, 73rd) and a fourth goal (Lerat, 89th). “That night, we never said it was done,” says Joël Germain. “We always remained focused on the game, ignoring the result. We fought like dogs until the final seconds. It was really at the final whistle that we took this result in full, that we exploded with joy and celebrated this victory with our supporters.” After the match, the Orléans players did not boast as the feat needed to be confirmed a week later at home, which they did with another convincing match (3-3).
Thirty-five years later, the former Orléans player, eliminated in the quarter-finals that year by Monaco (1-2, 3-3), is proud to have written a page of Coupe de France history with this feat. “We managed to eliminate PSG over two legs, which means we had a bit of quality. After that, we were touched by grace in those two matches. We succeeded in everything we attempted.” That’s the magic of the Coupe de France.
