Other Competitions
Coupe de France: l'Union Saint-Jean gearing up for historic match against Monaco
The spirit of the Coupe de France is still going strong: this weekend AS Monaco will have to travel to face amateur side Union Saint-Jean at the Toulouse stadium. It's one of the biggest gaps between divisions drawn in the Round of 64 clashes happening this weekend.
Union Saint-Jean currently ply their trade in Régional 1 (sixth tier), and will be facing a side that has played and beaten Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League this season. A real mismatch in talent, as USJ prepare for one the biggest matches in their history.
The match won't be played at Union's 3000-capacity Stade Georges Beyney due to regulation issues, yet Toulouse FC have stepped in to help out the Garonne-based side. Les Violets have made the Toulouse Stadium available for the encounter on Sunday.
Many of Union's players have to balance football with full-time professional jobs. 34-year-old right back Larry Viltard, for example, works a 45-hour week in construction and plumbing whilst also training three times a week. "If I have the time, I go home to recharge, then head back to the club before training," Larry explained in an interview with La Depeche.
Saturday brings the "hour of truth," as he admits, "it gets a bit tiring. I think not everyone can do it. Balancing work and football while dealing with competition is challenging. At work, you have to answer to your boss, and in football, there's the demand to perform, which can be stressful."
So whilst Monaco's players will be recovering from their Ligue 1 clash with Paris Saint-Germain in the gym, Viltard and many of his teammates would have undergone a week of work.
Monaco wary of cup-set
"We will approach the match like any other," said Monaco manager Adi Hütter before the game against the amateur side. "We'll do it with great respect for our opponent. I saw that they were pleased at the draw, and we know what we have to do there."
Monaco will have to be wary, considering they were knocked out by third tier side FC Rouen last season in the Round of 16. “Last year, we played Rouen, and everyone expected us to progress, but that wasn't the case; we got knocked out. So we need to be focussed against this Union Saint-Jean team."
READ MORE:
