Calais rekindle French Cup dreams

FC Nantes Atlantique will know exactly what to expect when they travel north to take on Calais Racing Union FC in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France tonight. Six years ago Calais came close to creating the greatest sensation in the competition's history when, after eliminating four Ligue 1 teams en route to the final, they met Nantes at the Stade de France. Jérôme Dutitre, who is still at Calais, handed the amateur side a shock first-half lead in front of 80,000 spectators, but Antoine Sibierski equalised and then grabbed a winner in added time to seal Nantes's third cup triumph.

Perennial giantkillers
Calais were not discouraged by the defeat, however. Since that astonishing run they have established themselves as perennial giantkillers, reaching the last 32 on three more occasions. This year the team from CFA, France's fourth flight, have already claimed one Ligue 1 scalp in ES Troyes Aube Champagne, and now have the chance to exact revenge over Les Canaris. "I was delighted when I saw the draw," Calais coach Sylvain Jore told uefa.com. "It's great for my players to pit themselves against Nantes, one of France's biggest clubs, and it will be an occasion for all our supporters to saviour."

'Beautiful chapter'
There are five survivors from the 1999/00 squad. Goalkeeper Cédric Schille, defenders Fabrice Baron and Grégory Vasseur, midfielder Matthieu Millien and forward Dutitre. But Jore, who has replaced Ladislas Lozano as coach, is reluctant to draw comparisons. "This is a new adventure with new coaching staff and new players, give or take a few," he pointed out. "I'm not interested in gaining revenge on Nantes because I wasn't there in 2000. I just want to help write another beautiful chapter in the club's history."

Lens switch
Few would deny that past successes have helped create a special atmosphere in Calais, as well as raising expectations. For Coupe de France matches there is so much interest in the local side, they have opted to switch home ties away from their modest stadium. Having staged the Brest game at Boulogne-sur-Mer's ground, Calais will face Nantes at the Stade Félix-Bollaert of RC Lens. "There's such a buzz in the town when these games come around," Jore said. "Our fans are incredible and if we're punching above our weight then it's partly down to them. They're like a 12th man for us."

Jore belief
Aside from their passionate support, Jore puts the club's heroics down to hard work and team spirit. "It's difficult to say why we're so consistent," he reflected. "The fans sense we can beat anybody and that helps. But my players work so hard and are so determined. They may be amateurs up against seasoned professionals but in one-off matches, they raise their game. Nantes are 100 times better than us and should beat us easily. But I know how motivated my men are and I know they believe they can beat Nantes over 90 minutes."

Early fright
They have had to dig deep on several occasions already this term. Jore's side were almost victims of a giantkilling themselves when they trailed Arménienne d'Issy-les-Moulineaux 2-0 with just 20 minutes to go before winning 3-2. Now they are into the quarter-finals, Calais should be in their element and Jore is not intimidated. "There are only giants left but we're happy to take on the big boys," he declared. "We've shown in the past that we know how to unsettle superior teams and we'll make life as uncomfortable as we possibly can for Nantes."