Scarves around their necks, hats screwed on their heads, Red Star supporters all had their eyes turned towards the same place on Friday evening when they arrived in front of the Bauer stadium. “She still seems nice,” murmurs Eric, 48, looking at the new East Stand in the Red Star lair. After long months of work, the span was inaugurated on the occasion of the reception of Orléans (2-1).
Around 6:30 p.m., an hour before kick-off, the sounds of bells resonate among the few dozen cold fighters who have gathered in front of the Olympic, the emblematic bar for Red Star supporters.
“This reconstruction of the stadium was necessary to move forward,” said Gilles, 48, a regular at the historic Rino Della Negra stand currently being renovated. “This is part of the club’s desire to develop, to perpetuate itself in Ligue 2 and then why not, one day, get a taste of Ligue 1.” A 25-year-old teacher, Louison is more cautious. “Obviously, we are still a little afraid of losing the magical side, the soul that the Rino Della Negra stand had. We’ll see with use. »
“The kop gave a lot of energy”
A use started off with flying colors. Regrouped on the north side, the big square made up of the most motivated exploded for the first time on the opening score of Achille Anani. Then he didn’t stop shouting, to the rhythm of his “Capo’s” instructions.
In good memory of Rino Della Negra, songs and flags never fell. Enough to delight Christophe, a subscriber who left the match with a broad smile: “At first, it was strange, because it doesn’t resonate in the same way as in the old stand. Then, the atmosphere rose to a crescendo and as the match progressed, we took over the place. »
Organization, the only problem to refine
In tune with their audience, Marwan Ifnaoui and his team were responsible for offering Bauer a high-quality show that Audonian coach Habib Beye did not fail to praise at the press conference. “When you look at the stand, you tell yourself that you are privileged. We had the feeling that the kop gave a lot of voice and energy. It was good to honor this magnificent platform,” he said, happy with an osmosis which definitely did not take much time to establish itself.
At the heart of an almost perfect evening, only the organization left the supporters wanting more. If the stand initially took a little time to fill up, the fault of delicate management of the flow of arrivals, it was above all the lack of fluidity of the refreshment bar which posed a problem at half-time. During the break, queues more than 50 m long stretched in front of the two refreshment bars, depriving some of the first quarter of an hour of the second act. “It’s normal, it’s the first,” the few aggrieved preferred to smile.
