Emmanuel LANGELLIER, Media365: published on Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 11:48 PM
500 kilometers away from Lyon, 400 supporters of Olympique Lyonnais gather in a bar in Paris to passionately follow the matches of the Rhône club.
On Tuesday night, Olympique Lyonnais became the first club to secure their ticket to the semi-finals of the 2014 Coupe de France. Prior to Valenciennes, who defeated Rouen on Wednesday, and Rennes, who beat Le Puy on Thursday (3-1), the team from Lyon overcame Strasbourg in a penalty shootout (0-0, 4-3 on penalties). With Groupama Stadium packed to capacity, OL fans cheered for their team’s advancement into the last four of the oldest competition in France. Nearly 500 kilometers away, other fans trembled and celebrated the qualification.
“We are like at the stadium”
In Paris, at Belushi’s, a bar located in Gare du Nord, 400 die-hard OL fans gathered to watch the match together. It has been going on for a month now. “It all started with a tweet,” explains Samuel Assoulen to Le Parisien. “I asked on X (formerly Twitter) if any Lyon supporters wanted to come watch the match against Marseille. The first time, we were a hundred strong, and today… 400, it’s huge!” “It’s incredible because I haven’t been in Paris for long. At first, I used to watch the matches with my cousins, but we were only two or three. And now we gather and it feels like we’re at the stadium,” exclaims an elated fan. “It’s a stand here, actually, it’s the ‘Virage Gones’ in Paris,” Samuel marvels.
“A Gones stand” is thus reformed in the capital during Lyon’s matches, as the team climbs back to the 10th place in the championship. “No matter where we are in the bar, we can watch the match. There are TVs everywhere, they even bought a cube with four screens for the Rugby World Cup, it’s exceptional,” details Samuel, the mastermind behind this new organization, praised by other Rhône supporters. “I’m originally from Lyon and I moved to Paris for my studies. I didn’t expect to experience such intense fervor. Thanks to Samuel, thanks to Belushi’s, and thanks to the Parisians for welcoming us,” praises Guillaume. The die-hard fans of Olympique Lyonnais now eagerly await the draw for the Coupe de France semi-finals to find out who they will face in another lively evening in the capital. It will take place on Friday night during the show “Tout le Sport” on France 3 (starting at 8:45 p.m.). The Gones will face either VA, Rennes, PSG, or OGC Nice.
