What if your team, a mediocre outfit in the second division, attracting gates of around three thousand playing in an eighty-years old stadium, suddenly declared itself as the possible resident club of the most modern stadium in Europe, capable of holding 80,000 and the scene of the World Cup Final ? What if, from a budget of 2.4 million pounds per season you were promised nearly four times that amount, promotion into the first division at the end of the season and European football within five, instead of mere survival and avoiding the drop ?
These were some of the items raised by the directors and management of Red Star 93, a club playing in the suburbs of Paris. The main candidate to be the resident club at the Stade de France, Paris St-Germain, announced in February that they intended to stay at their traditional home, the Parc des Princes for the foreseeable future. This left the path to the Grand Stade open to three other clubs. Other than the Red Star, the contenders were Racing 92, formerly the Racing Club of France, currently playing in the third division, in front of three hundred, and Saint-Denis-Saint-Leu, an ambitious club from the suburbs with a slightly larger support, but still only in division three.
On the 25th May, things really started moving. The Agence France-Presse announced that Red Star would be designated as the resident club at the Stade de France, but only if certain conditions were met. These were:
* A minimum budget of 40 million francs (£4m) for the season had to be found.
* The nomination of a Financial Director, Technical Director and most importantly the club had to change it's legal company status.
Jean-Claude Bras, president of the club, declared himself to be confident that all the clauses would be met, and the club was linked with outside investors such as Adidas, Renault Sports and Bouygues. The names of Basile Boli and Gérard Gili were also linked with the club as possible managers. The day after, Marie-George Buffet, Minister of Sports announced formally that provided Red Star could satisfy the criteria, then they would be playing at the Stade de France. In effect, it is in the interests of the French government to find a resident club at the stadium, otherwise a penalty clause of 50MF (£5m) per year would be payable by the State to the consortium who built it. Red Star were set a deadline of the 15th of June to satisfy the clauses specified.
The bombshell arrived in the pages of the newspaper " Le Parisien " on June 4th. Jean-Claude Bras, club president was arrested then placed under investigation for fraud, involving one of the companies he is involved with. The ex-player and savior of the club when it went into liquidation in 1978 was suspected of illegal practices during a takeover bid of a company in the early 1990's. This was nothing to do with his involvement in Red Star, but any irregularities involving the main players in the bid for the move to the Stade de France could jeopardize the operation.
The league fixtures were announced on the same day, but still Red Star fans had no idea where the opening match at home to Wasquehal would take place. Next day Bras explained himself in the pages of " Le Parisien ", and firmly stated that his problems outside of Red Star would have no bearing on the decision to be taken over the stadium, and that he would not step down from his position at the club.
The 15th of June came and went with no decision. Marie-George Buffet decided to delay her decision a week in order to receive the advice of the Direction nationale de contrôle de gestion (DNCG) a body which scrutinizes the financial status of all the clubs in France to ensure the their financial soundness. Red Star presented their budget for the forthcoming season to the DNCG, and waited the outcome. At this point the supporters of the club were well and truly in the dark. No new players had been signed, the identity of the coach was still unknown and about a half a dozen of last years' squad had been released.
Interviewed in " Le Parisien ", Marie-George Buffet refused to comment on the legal wrangling surrounding Bras, preferring to emphasize the conditions to be met by the club. Finally the 22nd of June arrived, and with it her decision. Red Star would not be playing at the Stade de France. The DNCG had not approved the provisional budget of the club, and that was that. However, in a press conference called the next day, Bras was in a positive mood, announcing that all was not lost and that the fight would go on, but in the meantime Red Star would play at a temporary home at the Stade Marville, until either the new stadium at Saint-Ouen was ready or Red Star would go to the Grand Stade. Jean Sérafin would continue as coach, and welcomed to the club, in charge of sporting development, was Dominique Rocheteau, the ex-international player. New signings were also announced.
So life goes on, pre-season friendlies give optimism on the playing front, Red Star have some good players, a mix of youth and experience. The Stade Marville at La Courneuve may not be Saint-Denis but who knows, the step to the Stade de France may not be too far away, and perhaps even the promised land of Division One and even European football. Ronaldo versus Red Star ? One day....