New Delhi: Brest have only lost once in their first six games of the Champions League, that being on the road against FC Barcelona. Brest would have earned more than €20 million in their first European season even if they had lost all eight of their league-stage games in the UEFA Champions League. Rather, the French squad moved into seventh place in the 36-team league stage with their victory over PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday. Brest has only suffered one defeat in its six Champions League games thus far, against FC Barcelona on the road.
In addition to the €9 million the club has already earned from their four victories and a tie, they will receive an additional €11 million if the French underdogs automatically qualify for the Round of 16 of Champions League. This has truly been a monumental achievement for a club who were struggling to stay up in the first division of French football.
Stade Brestois and how Eric Roy transformed the club
Éric Roy took over Brest in January 2023. They were 17th placed in Ligue 1.
He was then given a contract until the end season with the sole aim of keeping them in the division.
And look where they are now: 4 wins from 6 in the UCL league phase. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/ZxC1gEgRog
— cenk (@eurocenk) December 11, 2024
Compared to Rennes and FC Lorient, Brest are the third-largest club to come out of Brittany, France, but they haven’t won any significant titles that signify that they are a big club. French entrepreneur Denis Le Saint has owns the 121-year-old team since 2016, while they played in Ligue 2. The Pirates spent six seasons in the second tier before being promoted to Ligue 1 in 2019.
Since taking over in 2023, manager Eric Roy—a former midfielder who has played for Sunderland, Marseille, and Lyon—has improved the team’s performance. Roy led the team to third place in the league the previous season, which paved the way for its first Champions League appearance.
When Roy joined the team in January 2023, Brest were in 17th place and struggling to stay in the league, making it a rather peculiar choice. Roy has only managed Nice in the 2010/11 season before he was sacked by the club. He has since had positions as sporting director at Lens and Watford and worked as a TV football commentator.
Brest and their stadium problems
Le Stade Brestois a présenté le projet de son nouveau stade. 🏟🆕
Coût total 85 M€. Capacité : 15.000 places.
Début des travaux espéré en 2024. Livraison, pas avant 2026. 🚧
📸 @SB29 pic.twitter.com/NVCN8R2NkG
— Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) March 30, 2022
Prior to leading the Pirates on an incredible run into Europe’s top competition, Roy was originally signed to help maintain them in the league, which he accomplished. However, UEFA found Brest’s Stade Francis-Le Blé home stadium inadequately modern prior to the club’s inaugural Champions League season, with only 5,000 of its 15,200 seats satisfying UEFA standards.
As a result, the team had to travel 110 kilometers to Guingamp’s Stade de Roudourou, their second-tier neighbor, where they played their four league stage home games. The club has revealed plans for a new stadium that will hold 15,000 people and is expected to cost €85 million when it opens in 2027. The redevelopment will be financed in large part by the club’s Champions League profits.
Brest will play Real Madrid at home and Shakhtar Donetsk away in their final two league-stage games. The matchup with Madrid may decide Brest’s automatic qualifying as well as the outcome for the current tournament champions.
How are they doing right now?
Stade Brest continue their impressive 🆑 form 😮👏 pic.twitter.com/bfLljVbWEn
— 433 (@433) December 10, 2024
With last night’s 1-0 win against PSV Eindhoven, Brest sit 7th in the Champions League table, which is pretty impressive if we consider the number of top European superpowers and quality side, that are under them. This shows how well the French side has performed in the European competition and how well they have adapted to the challenges that have been brought in their way. With just one loss and 13 points, they are enjoying the European nights to the fullest.
However, when it comes to the league matches, the scenario is quite the opposite from how it was last season, where they finished third. They are sitting 11th in the table, winning just one and losing four in their previous five league matches. There are clear indications that the players might be tired and not getting enough rest, with Eric Roy giving more priority to Brest’s European fixtures. They did get back on winning terms against Strasbourg after four consecutive damaging league losses, but they managed to lose yet another league game against Lille, before their last night’s Champions League win.
Stade Brestois have been on an outstanding European run. How did the French underdogs manage to acquire this monumental achievement as they target a direct round of 16 qualification? Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
