Nantes lifted the French Cup

On May 7, 2000, Nantes lifted the Cup at the Stade de France. Now, 22 years later and at the same stage, he is repeating a grand victory. Kombouaré’s last work, his coach, couldn’t have been a better epilogue. He leaves, and he does it like a hero. After giving his fans a moment of unparalleled happiness. Winning the final against Nice, the big favorite, only entered the minds of the most optimistic. The small became big again (0-1).

The last is a high level crossword puzzle. A tactical mess between two teams who want to have control over the situation at all times. Although there were a few explosions, in the first half there were no big surprises. More predisposition from Nice at the start, with good minutes from Gouiri, paid off by the good restraint of a Nantes with more support from the stands. There’s a response and an answer to the answer, which is meaningless on the scoreboard.

In the heat of Chirivella’s head, a great metronome, Kombouaré’s team responded to Nice’s waning character. Pallois is important in that section, life insurance for a convinced Nantes. The middle back, the soul of the team, is unbroken. Since there was nothing left to review until the break, everything changed after he left the locker room. Stéphanie Frappart, referee of the final, saw a penalty by the hand of Boudaoui: Blas, finished without hesitation (0-1).

In the counterattack, Nantes was sentenced, being more energetic at the Stade de France after making its debut on the scoreboard. Kolo Muani, a galaxy sufferer, gave up two beautiful balls that his teammates didn’t know how to better define. Galtier intervened in a hurry: Lemina, Kluivert and Brahimi entered. With the changes, Nice regained their pulse and were close to equal, twice avoided by the miraculous interventions of their goalkeeper Lafont.

Nantes stayed as far as they could, driven by unconditional fans. Faith moves mountains, and also groups. Despite Nice’s tireless efforts to get closer to Lafont again, they always find something holding them back. The final minutes, painfully, were the best example of maturity achieved by the Kombouaré team, who said goodbye to leaving the French Cup after 22 years and Nantes ’European qualification. Not even in his wildest dream.