Photo © Les Amis du Red Star
Front: Aston, Darui, Vandevelde, Thevenot
Back : Simonyi, Bersoulle, Meuris, Braun, Herrera, Roessler, Sefelin
After the evening of the 2nd of October, when Reims came back to the Stade de Colombes, another night of emotion and of memories is in store when Red Star will be the visitors to the famous stadium. Red Star 93 will have to be in top form, Racing are going for promotion, as Reims found out the hard way.
Only the main stand remains of this once-superb ground (see pre-demolition photo), which hosted the final of the World Cup in 1938. Built in 1924 for the Paris Olympics of that year, the stadium held its first French Cup final in 1924, won by Olympic Marseille. In total, forty cup finals were held here, the last being in 1971 when Rennes beat Lyon 1-0. Famous also for the fifteen-a-side version of rugby, many Five Nations championships were held here. Top level athletics meeting have also graced this temple of sport, as have footballing legends such as Pele, Just Fontaine, Robert Herbin, Aimé Jacquet, Henri Michel, Roger Lemerre...
In the eighties Racing set up camp at the new Parc des Princes, abandoning Colombes, and as the temple fell into disrepair, The county council took over the stade, converting it into a community sports arena. The price to pay was the demolition of the Marathon Stand, unsafe, and the vast expanses of crumbling terraces. The old Main Stand was given a refit, and now holds 8 000, all seated. Racing moved back and the old stadium once again lives and breathes football, as was witnessed in the recent Racing-Reims match.
Looking back at previous meetings, since the 1940's the clubs have met only four times in the championship, and with twenty years separating the encounters !
Front: Aston, Darui, Vandevelde, Thevenot
Photo © Les Amis du Red Star
Back : Simonyi, Bersoulle, Meuris, Braun, Herrera, Roessler, Sefelin
Racing at Saint-Ouen in 1994 for a cup match against Auxerre