ChristopheVAFC

Well... It's been a difficult week right to the end... I couldn't go to the stadium and didn't see the match, but unfortunately we lost again tonight... Valenciennes 0-1 Orleans...

I'm going to be honest and sincere with you, my friends. I would be lying if I told you that I had a great week. Between the heavy defeat at Le Puy, the penalty following the invasion of the pitch by around thirty supporters (match lost 3-0 on a technicality, loss of a point in the standings and suspended closure of the supporters' stand)... As for the revelations made by freelance journalist Romain Molina, who is not always right and does not live in France (he lives in Portugal), most of the facts he reports are elements that have been provided to him and recounted by others... He is probably right about some things and wrong about others... Nevertheless, I don't think it's useful for me to tell you things about our common owner, Sport Républic. Everyone is free to have their own opinion on the matter. Let's be strong, all together. That's all I have to say today!

National: “Being someone’s son is mostly about how others see you,” says Bryan Passi of Valenciennes. The new Valenciennes center-back comes from a long line of footballers. Not always an advantage in this highly competitive and closely watched environment. Before facing Orléans, he discusses this unique connection, which hasn’t prevented him from having a successful career. Bryan Passi is not like other players. We don’t talk about his shorter-than-expected stint in Israel, a season with Hapoel Tel Aviv two years ago, during which he had to contend with air raid alerts and rocket attacks on the Jewish state during the war. Nor do we talk about the very violent collision he suffered last year in Portugal with Mafra, when he “broke his face,” the expression used to describe the multiple facial fractures he sustained after an aerial duel. We simply talk about his surname. The son of Franck Passi, who managed LOSC Lille in 2017 and was a successful player at Toulouse, Marseille, and Monaco in the 1990s, and the nephew of Gérald, who played for Montpellier, Toulouse, and Monaco and earned eleven caps for France, the new Valenciennes center-back has a surname that carries significant weight in the football world. "A lot of people don't like it. When you're someone's son, you're always being scrutinized and analyzed from every angle." Bryan Passi He wasn't necessarily aware of this right away, while living in Spain and England during the end of his father's playing career and his early days as a manager. It was undoubtedly more apparent when the family returned to France, and even more so when football became a serious pursuit for the Valenciennes native at the Montpellier youth academy, where his father also honed his skills in the 1980s. In football, as elsewhere, being the son is a double-edged sword. “A lot of people don’t like it. When you’re someone’s son, you’re always being scrutinized and analyzed from every angle. We don’t see our father the way others see him, and you have to live your life ignoring that,” advises the center-back. “Because the problem stems mainly from how others see you.” Briefly coached by his father at Niort Bryan Passi forged his own path to make a name for himself with a long stint at Niort (2019-2023) and nearly a hundred Ligue 2 appearances. He also had a strange experience there when his father took over as manager of the Chamois Niortais in 2020. “It didn’t last long: when he arrived, I got injured, and then there was the lockdown. I only had him for a week of training and for one match.” Repeating that experience isn’t necessarily part of the plan. “It’s still a bit strange,” he admits. “A locker room is complicated, and the father-son bond is very strong. You can easily think, ‘He’s the coach’s son, he’ll have advantages.’” In Valenciennes, Bryan Passi played his first match in front of his father, against Bourg-en-Bresse, but he’s a player like any other. He’s expected to bring his experience and physical presence. VAFC – Orléans, Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Stade du Hainaut. Unavailable: Thomas, A. Diomande, Appuah (injured)

Dear friends, Beyond the club's recent ups and downs, it's match day for Valenciennes. In a stadium that will welcome its largest crowd of the season, around 20,000 people, for a stadium with a capacity of 25,172, as part of the 25th anniversary of the TOYOTA factory, a long-standing partner of the club, we are hosting US Orléans. The objective in front of such a large crowd is to play a consistent game and learn from last week's heavy defeat. A narrow 1-0 victory would be my prediction for today. No one is fooled, however, as the season is long and more complicated than expected. We will have to hang on until the last day of the championship. Kick-off is at 5:30 p.m. French time. The link to the match is below:

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It's derby day, Friends! We're right behind you! The south of England is red and white! Come on you Saint's ! ❤️🤍

Stéphane Moulin in a video interview: "In the first half, I think we were present in the duels. We went down 1-0 due to a bit of bad luck, because, well, he (the Le Puy player) tried to cross, but his cross was poor, it hit the post and went in, and it was a goal." "But we still had chances in the first half; we could have been ahead. I think we were in the game at halftime, and then unfortunately, we conceded a goal right at the start of the second half. From then on, it wasn't what we hoped for or expected." "So, I'm extremely disappointed with the second half, obviously with the result, which is logical considering the overall performance, but I didn't understand why we changed our approach in the second half." "We tried to change things up, to field a team with more attacking players." "Offensive, but so many technical errors in the second half, so there you have it, it's true the pitch was difficult, I admit, but it was difficult for both teams, so they're more used to it than us, that's for sure, but well, the second half was not at all satisfactory."

National League: With Valenciennes, Bryan Passi is slowly getting back into the swing of things The central defender, who hadn't played an official match for nine months before joining Valenciennes, has just played two in a row, against Bourg and Le Puy this Friday. He says it himself: the rhythm and the feeling are returning, even if the match didn't go his way this time. Bryan Passi insists: Valenciennes came back onto the pitch after the break this Friday with "the same desire, the same conviction" as during the first forty-five minutes. Except that Le Puy "dominated us for almost the entire second half, we couldn't find the physical resources to get back into the game." And it ended 3-0. The newcomer doesn't believe his team suffered from a mental deficit, even though they seemed to collapse after the second goal. "Last week, we had the resilience to go for 2-1 and then 3-1 at the end of the match, we were incredibly solid." This (Friday) evening, they had the wind at their backs a bit more, they won more duels, and that's what made the difference. "Everything to make it work" The former Mafra player, who hadn't played for six months and hadn't played a single competitive match for nine months, was inevitably lacking match fitness when he arrived in Valenciennes, where he signed this winter to fill in for Romain Thomas (Achilles tendon) on the left side of the Valenciennes defense. Caught out on the goal conceded against Bourg-en-Bresse and then on the big chance that followed, which Jean Louchet thwarted on January 16th, he felt much better after an extra week of training. "As the matches go on, I'll get stronger," he assures. "Clearly, the pace of competition is nothing like the pace of training." I'm also going to find my feet in this new defense, learn a new way of playing. He came to Valenciennes for the project, the club, "the players who are here and the coach," there's "everything in place for it to work" in this environment. "In this second half of the season, we know what to expect; points away from home are hard to come by, especially here where the trip is long and the pitch is awful. We have to create a fortress at home," the turnaround will come from that.

Press revieuw after the match: National League: Valenciennes, having fallen to the bottom in Le Puy, never climbed out Soundly beaten in Haute-Loire (3-0) this Friday, Valenciennes were not rewarded for a fairly good first half that should have allowed them to take the lead. Instead, they conceded another improbable goal. And everything fell apart. There was no savior this time, no Rento Takaoka coming off the bench to score a brace, as in the first leg, and extricate VA from the mess they somewhat created for themselves this Friday evening in Le Puy-en-Velay. This echoes some unfortunate episodes from the past. Even with its new players (Airhiavbere, Passi, and Abi back in the starting lineup), even after last week's victory against Bourg-en-Bresse (3-1), Valenciennes is not cured of all its problems. The first away win of the season will have to wait. A twist of fate in the 45th + 1 minute If the game had to be decided, it would have been in the first half, when the best opportunities arose. Perfectly played through by Gaëtan Courtet, Ylan El Hadary undoubtedly had the best chance at his feet, but Le Puy goalkeeper Mathis Carvalho, rushing out to meet him, didn't falter (14th minute). "I think we were in the game for those first 45 minutes," said Stéphane Moulin. "We conceded a goal right at the start of the second half, and from then on, it wasn't what we hoped for or expected." “ Stéphane Moulin, VAFC Coach The bitterness stems from that bizarre goal conceded in the 45th + 1 minute, “a stroke of bad luck” caused by Le Puy captain Renald Xhemo, who clearly intended to cross but his shot went in off the post. “And then, we conceded a goal right at the start of the second half, and from then on, it wasn’t what we hoped for or expected.” Stunned, sunk, VA literally plummeted. “I didn’t understand why we changed our approach.” Unable to create any danger, the “Red and Whites,” who were playing in black on Friday, flirted with the penalty area for a long time before Yann Diebold converted a penalty after Erin Airhiavbere fouled him in the box. "One, two, three-nil!" rejoiced the Haute-Loire crowd, whose team, now fifth in the National league, has its sights set on the top of the table after this victory. Valenciennes, on the other hand, is more concerned with its performance. LE PUY - VALENCIENNES: 3-0 (1-0). Stade Charles-Massot, Le Puy-en-Velay. 800 spectators. Referee: Mr. Barenton. Goals: Xhemo (45th + 1), Adelaïde (52nd), Diebold (87th, pen.) for Le Puy. Yellow card for Le Puy: Adelaïde (6th). Le Puy: Carvalho; Zogba, Mohamed, Soualhia (Ghalem, 90th); Xhemo (captain); Bouleghcha (Doumbia, 90th), Esmel (Gauthier, 83rd), Wade (Akkal, 71st), Faty; Adelaïde (Diebold, 83rd), Rodrigues. Coach: Stéphane Dief. Valenciennes: Louchet; Airhiavbere, Landre, Passi, Koum (Wahib, 67th); Rouaï, Belloumou, Boissier (K. Diomandé, 59th), El Hadary (Ipiele, 59th); Courtet (captain), Abi (Takaoka, 67th). Coach: Stéphane Moulin.

The match has just ended and unfortunately there will be no second consecutive victory tonight. On a pitch unworthy of the third division championship, we lost 3-0 tonight... 1st goal: 45+1' a cross shot hits the goalpost, it looks like it's going in, and the assistant referee validates the goal. Second goal: 51', another goal that hits the post and goes in without any dispute... Third goal: 87' Penalty for Le Puy, shot in the centre of the goal, Jean Louchet can do nothing about it. VA weren't good, it has to be said, a match to forget tonight...

It was said that we would have a difficult season and that we would have to fight until the last day of the championship...

On a difficult pitch, we're really struggling offensively, the opposing goalkeeper can take it easy at the refreshment stand!

It's true that the last few matches between Pompey and the Saints have been tight, but I hope your recent home win will boost the players' confidence! As for what's happening off the pitch, it's always complicated with the local authorities. They're on edge and often very strict, so be careful if you're travelling to the game! We need to get a second consecutive win to build momentum. I wish you all the best!

The derby is a match that many people love, combining passion, fervour and rivality. People talk about this type of match for weeks beforehand, and the closer the match gets, the more the tension rises. In your country, England, football is very important, and I understand your impatience! I wish you a good match, my friends, and as we say in France, a derby isn't played, it's won! With you !! COYS!