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Red Star, as you by now know, are one of France's most-loved clubs and are one of the few that possess an English version Internet site. One thing is definite, they are the only amateur club in France to have an English version. The club is unique in many ways - take the name, for a start. Not only is it definitely "non-French", it is also one of the few in this country that give no clue as to where the club is actually situated. (Unless you know that 93 is the Département of the club). In addition, the stadium is one of the best-loved in France, especially outside of the country, where it still retains its very English appearance and atmosphere, a contrast to the modern soul-less concrete stadia and a throwback to the days when football was played in a "proper" stadium. No running track either, so the players are close the spectators. The first reply we received was from Brian, from Belfast (Northern Ireland).
My name is Brian and I live in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
My team is Linfield FC, where I have had a season ticket for more than 30
years. However, I also follow the results of a number of other clubs, such
as Blackpool (England), Queen of the South (Scotland), Wrexham (Wales) as
well as a few clubs from mainland Europe such as Haarlem (Netherlands),
Royale Union St Gilloise (Belgium) and, of course, Red Star 93.
I first discovered Red Star (and RUSG) from a book called "The Rough Guide
to European Football", which was published in the UK around 1997. Rather
than just covering the biggest clubs, this book gave details of all of the
clubs in a number of major cities. For example, the section on Brussels
was mainly about Anderlecht, but also featured RWD Molenbeek (now FC
Brussels) and RUSG; similarly the section on Paris concentrated on Paris St
Germain, but also provided information on Paris FC, Racing Club, and Red
Star.
I have now been to Brussels to see RUSG twice, as their regular 15h
kick-off on Sunday allows plenty of time to catch the train to London after
the game, but until recently I had never been to Red Star as I assumed the
18h start on Saturday would make this impossible. Earlier this year,
however, I realised that the revised Eurostar timetable would allow me to
make it to the Gare du Nord in time for the last train to London. As I had
already arranged a weekend in London in May, I decided to add a day trip to
Paris on the Saturday so that I could make my first visit to the Stade
Bauer, for the game with Guingamp 'B'. As I'm sure you will remember, Red
Star struggled a bit early on but took the lead soon after Guingamp had
missed a penalty, and went on to win 2-0. While it was not the greatest
game I have ever seen, it was certainly exciting with every point vital to
Red Star at that stage. The crowd was small but noisier than I would have
expected, and I loved the stadium which was a refreshing change from those
brand new (but almost identical) grounds which are being built all over the
UK and beyond. My only slight disappointment was that the club shop was
almost empty (possibly because the season was almost over?) - I had hoped
to buy a scarf, but had to settle for a woollen hat which may well get some
use on the terraces around Northern Ireland as winter sets in.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip and everything went smoothly - I
made it back to the Gare du Nord with almost an hour to spare before my
train. I am already planning a repeat visit for next year - it will again
probably be in May, after the Irish League season has finished, with the
game against Yzeure on 22 May looking the most likely option. Until then,
I hope that Red Star can recover from the disappointing defeat in the Coupe
de France, and start to climb the league table.
Our thanks to Brian for his contribution. If you would like to have your say on Red Star, Stade Bauer, whatever, © AllezRedStar.com 2009
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