INTERVIEW. Stade Briochin-PSG: "Our journey is the reward for stability", believes Guillaume Allanou, coach-president of the little Thumb

Stade Briochin has inherited the jackpot. The Breton club, resident of National 2 (4th division) faces the ogre Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France , Wednesday, February 26 (at 9:10 p.m. live on France 3 and france.tv ). Accustomed to being in the shadow of the other clubs in the region, it has gone through nine rounds to earn a place in the spotlight. Saint-Brieuc is on three feats: eliminating three professional clubs consecutively: Le Havre (L1, 1-0), Annecy (L2, on penalties) and Nice (L1, 2-1).

Under the leadership of the man with three hats Guillaume Allanou, coach (since 2024), president and sporting director (since 2009), Stade Briochin has carved out a reputation as a cup specialist in recent years. In 2017-2018, it had already reached the round of 16. The club's tutelary figure does not want to "make a bet" on the scenario of the match, which will "very probably turn in favor of the Parisians". For franceinfo: sport, he explores the reasons for his team's success and does not hide his pride.

Franceinfo: sport: What does it mean to face PSG for you, and in the history of the club?

Guillaume Allanou : It's something historic, already because we reached the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France, something that has never happened in the club's 121-year history. Paris as the end of the journey without a doubt, it's also the opportunity to give a great celebration of Breton football against the best French team, which is undeniable. I even think that it is part of the European Top 2 or 3 with the quality it offers at the moment, like the 10-0 over the two matches against Brest.

What is it like to be, for one evening, the centre of the Breton football world, when you know that Saint-Brieuc has been in the shadow of Guingamp, a much smaller town, for several years?

There is a spotlight on our city, on our club. The idea was to show that we are a good football club with good players, that we are capable of existing despite the multitude of clubs in Brittany: Guingamp obviously, Rennes, Lorient, Brest, Concarneau, Saint-Malo... That is why we are going to Roazhon Park (in Rennes). Brittany is a land of football. For once, Saint-Brieuc will be the center of attention and it is great.

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Does the Coupe de France bring us closer to the roots of football, in an era marked by hyper-capitalism and an overdose of competitions?

That's for sure. Today, there are training sessions on all the networks, data everywhere. We sometimes forget the fundamentals. We have to be able to tell ourselves that it's just a game. That's why people like the Coupe de France: they like it when the little guy manages to beat the big guy because it brings us back to fundamental things. I often tell my players to find what they liked when they were kids.

Beyond this season's exploits, Stade Briochin has become accustomed to making great strides in the Coupe de France in recent years. Is there a recipe?

It is probably linked to an identity, a solidarity, an appetite for the Cup. When you have experienced a great run once, you want to experience it again. Maybe it generates a kind of extra soul in key matches. It is really a competition apart. We see it in many other clubs that are in some way regulars in the Coupe de France.

Afterwards, we don't have a plan for the Coupe de France, whether on the sporting or financial side. We always put zero in front of the revenue line. We're not going to say to ourselves: "Hey, this year we're aiming for a 32nd round" . The objective in the Coupe de France is to say to ourselves that if we get knocked out, it has to be by a hierarchically superior club. But I don't think that this logic is specific to Stade Briochin.

This year, we were lucky enough to achieve four feats: three big ones, one smaller one, but Saint-Malo remains an achievement [victory against the National 2 team on penalties in the 8th round]. When you achieve an achievement once, you can say that it's down to chance or that the planets aligned well. When you achieve four in a row, that can't be the case. There's something in this team. The great credit goes to the players and the staff who work hard. The goal is to show that, even if we're not very well ranked in the championship (9th), we really have quality.

These results also come because certain things have been put in place...

Fielding very good players is not enough to make a team perform. PSG is proof of that. There was Messi, Neymar and Mbappé and it has never worked as well as now [without them]. It is all the merit of Luis Enrique, to ensure that football remains a team sport. The recipe seems obvious, but it is hard to implement, at all levels, in N2 as in the Champions League. With my staff, we have a reflection that seeks to build a locker room that is as balanced as possible, with different and complementary profiles, to have a hard core of players. I built my team based on my backbone, on an axis going from the goalkeeper to the center forward. I only have six federal contracts. They are all in this axis.

"I'm like a conductor trying to put soloists, each a specialist in their instrument, to music. You can have a great violinist, a great guitarist, a great percussionist... If everyone plays their own score, it makes disgusting music."

Guillaume Allanou, coach and president of Stade Briochin

at franceinfo: sport

Our journey is the reward for stability. I only became coach of the A team a year ago, but I have been the president and sporting director for 16 years. I know the players by heart. I had many with me when I was the reserve coach. Building a squad is also easier when you know the men who make up this group perfectly.

You often say that you are more of a coach who presides than a president who trains. What does a coach who presides consist of?

The most important role is on the pitch. My role as coach is the most important. The past is full of presidents who are football fans and who overstep their role by starting to interfere in the functioning of the locker room. I have this dual role, but when I was president and I was not coach of the A team, I never did to my coaches what I would not have wanted done to me. I always had this withdrawn posture, I was at their service.

How do you organize your time when you are a coach, sports director and president?

I'm used to it now. It's obviously very time-consuming. It's six and a half days out of seven. I try to keep my Sunday afternoon, but sometimes I break the rule and go see my B team or my U17s. It doesn't matter, it's passion. Nobody forced me to do all this. I don't want to complain about it. It's a lot of hours and I try to do the best I can. The day someone proves to me that I'm no longer up to one of my duties at the club, I'll say: "Ok, you're right, I'm stopping" .