At Last, I Get My French Cinderella Story

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when I was heartbroken about the 4-0 thrashing Bordeaux laid down on little Cinderella team Vannes? And I was lamenting the fact that we rarely get the happy Cinderella ending we hope for?

I am cheerfully eating my words today after Guingamp took down Ligue 1 side Rennes, 2-1, in the Coupe de France final.

Yes, Guingamp. The little Ligue 2 club from a town where the stadium has over twice as many seats –18,000-ish — as the town has inhabitants. The club that’s currently sitting in 13th place in Ligue 2, a mere six points outside of the relegation zone. They will now be playing in Europe next year, with a guaranteed spot in the new Europa League. Le Monde’s headline, which I don’t think you need to speak French to understand: Coupe de France: premier grand trophée pour le petit Guingamp.

“It is amazing. We played together, we gave everything,” [goal scorer] Eduardo told reporters.

(I do kind of wish they’d done it against a team that did not include Carlos Bocanegra, but beggars, choosers, etc. Sorry, Carlos. At least you got Rennes’ lone goal.)

The guy below with the huge smile would be manager Victor Zvunka who, in an interesting bit of trivia, won the Cup as a player with Marseille back in 1976.

And here we have the ecstatic team.

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Category: World Football