Titans toppled in French Cup

By Graham Berger

The French Cup continued its tradition for generating upsets last weekend as nine top-flight clubs were eliminated at the last 32 stage. That statistic equals the previous highest tally set in 1999, and with FC Nantes Atlantique yet to play their tie against second division Stade de Reims the outright record is still attainable.

Lights out for Lyon
The biggest shock of the round saw fourth division FC Libourne Saint-Seurin beat the French champions Olympique Lyonnais 1-0. The defeat represents a low point for Lyon in a season that has been in freefall ever since they secured a memorable 2-1 win against Internazionale FC in October. Since that heady evening in the San Siro, Lyon have been eliminated from both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup, while their domestic form has been far from impressive.

’Distressing result’
Coach Paul Le Guen continues to receive the backing of club president Jean-Michel Aulas, but he knows that Saturday's performance was unacceptable. "It's an extremely distressing result," said Le Guen. "In these games you have to assert your superiority in every department - physically, tactically, mentally and technically - and we failed on every count. They had a greater will to win than us and that is unforgivable."

’A great sideshow’
Libourne, who hail from a small rugby-playing town near Bordeaux, are fast earning a reputation as French Cup specialists after knocking out two top-flight clubs, Lille OSC and FC Metz, last season. But their coach Jean-Marc Furlan is refusing to lose sight of his principal goal. "The cup is a great sideshow, but promotion from the CFA [fourth division] remains our priority," he said. "My players enjoyed a good party on Saturday night but this weekend we get back to reality - and that means a tricky away match against Fontenay Foot."

Joy in Alsace
Libourne were not, however, the lowest-ranked club to claim a top scalp. Fifth division SC Schiltigheim, who are unbeaten since September, dominated their encounter with the Ligue 1's basement club, ES Troyes Aube Champagne, eventually running out 3-1 winners. The home fans' joy was only tempered when news filtered through that RC Strasbourg had been eliminated at fourth division FC Bourg-Peronnas, thus rendering Schiltigheim the only club from Alsace left in the last 16.

The mighty fallen
Five-times cup winners AS Monaco FC have been in fine form in the league of late, making their 3-2 defeat at second division ES Wasquehal all the more surprising. Three more Ligue 1 clubs perished at the hands of second division opposition, with Grenoble Foot 38 knocking out FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, OGC Nice losing on penalties to Metz and Montpellier Hérault SC suffering the same fate at Amiens SC. Third division FC Martigues accounted for CS Sedan-Ardennes, while Olympique de Marseille won the only all-Ligue 1 clash 2-0 against SC Bastia.

Libourne born again
For lower league players the satisfaction gained from playing against - and beating - the country's finest teams is huge. But as Libourne goalkeeper Franck Grandel explains, knocking out the French champions does have its downside. "We play [second division] Le Mans [UC 72] in the next round and everybody expects us to win easily," he said. "Our fans are even talking about us going all the way to the Stade de France. I guess that's the price we have to pay for beating Lyon."