La Maison Jaune: Home Is Where the Heart Is

At the risk of sounding deeply philosophical, what is ‘the soul’? Wikipedia tells us that ‘in many mythological, religious, philosophical, and psychological traditions, is the incorporeal and, in many conceptions, immortal essence of a person, living thing, or object.’ My record collection tells me it’s Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye. My head tells me that it’s a four letter word used to describe something I don’t fully understand. My favourite explanation though? It’s that of Greek philosopher Plato. He and his mentor Socrates considered it ‘the essence of a person, one that decides how we behave’. An inward ‘substance’ that outwardly effects our actions, things we do or did without thought because it’s in our nature.

To make a link between such a deep and meaningful matter as this and football runs the risk of coming off as pompous. You’d be right, of course, but here in 2013 we’ve come to accept such things as the norm as we desperately try to justify our connections to our clubs, our players, and our obsession. Some teams just ‘feel right’. They ignite some feeling, some sort of emotional reaction whether it be positive or negative. This sort of bond between the two objects is why we love football and why, year after year, we keep coming back. One side that I find has always provoked such a connection between French and non-French football fans is FC Nantes.

A club without question steeped in history may not seem such an peculiar subject. Of course a club that has won 8 French championships would attract outside and local interest, as success in football attracts the masses after all. Unlike the likes of Lyon or Saint-Etienne however, Les Canaris have had no isolated period of success; there’s no era where the club dominated domestically or on the continent. The 1965 and 1966 league titles were followed by a 7-year wait until 1973 brought more success. One more league title in the seventies preceded a 3-year wait to 1980, and then another 3 years until they could call themselves champions of France once more. In the modern era their success has been even more sporadic, with the only title win of the nineties coming in 1995, though this was followed up with a Champions League Semi-Final in 1996, and Coupe de France and Trophee Des Champions success both in 1999. As a new millennium swung into life so did Nantes’ last moments of success. A Coupe de France win in 2000, the third in the club’s history, would lead to their last Ligue 1 title and a Trophee Des Champions in 2001. Fast-forward to 2005 and a narrow escape from relegation was a hint of things to come as the side were plunged into Ligue 2 in 2007. A return to the top flight the following season was met with immediate relegation in 2009, sending the club into the depths of the second tier of French football once again. Until now, that is.

If there was one word to describe Nantes this year then that would be ‘purposeful’. Not an obvious choice for promotion prior to the start of the season, manager Michel Der Zakarian has carved out a hard-working and effective unit. Work rate and that desire for a return to the top flight have certainly been the backbone of this year’s campaign, but with that said it’d be unwise to dismiss them as just a ‘hard-working team’. The likes of Vincent Bessat, Fernando Aristeguieta, Serge Gakpe and Filip Djordjevic have all provided an attacking threat to match their impressive defensive record. The Serbian Djordjevic in particular has been a key part of the promotion push with a total of 18 goals this season. His movement off the last defender, runs into the channels as well as his finishing ability has made the 25-year-old one of the hottest properties in Ligue 2.

The lethal nature of their counter-attacking has been evident this campaign also, something that they used only a couple of weeks ago to put SM Caen to the sword and themselves within touching distance of promotion. A swift and searching ball out to the right flank found Bessat on a lung-bursting run. With a touch for control followed by a whipped ball across the face of the Caen goal, a bandaged Djordjevic didn’t miss the opportunity to grab his 18^th of the season with a cool finish on the volley. Cue pandemonium in the away end of Stade Michel D’Ornano.

As the residents of 5 Boulevard de la Beaujoire prepare for a season in Ligue 1, the comparisons between them and (for now) Ranieri’s Monaco will no doubt come. On the one hand you have hard-working, functional Nantes, on the other the ultra-rich, ultra-slick principality. Sure, it makes for a good rags against riches story but like most of the best stories it’s based only on partial truth.  Although the rumours of Falcao, Valdes and Tevez have begun, this title win was achieved by a far more humble Monaco. Yes, they have talented players in their ranks but anyone who witnessed their head-to-head clashes will concede that Nantes were a match for ‘mighty’ Monaco, maybe even more than that. When the two sides met in October Nantes exposed a thoroughly average Monaco defence and picked up a comfortable 2-0 victory at the Stade Louis II. It was a hint that this so called one-horse title race was going to be far from that as Nantes never fell lower than 2^nd place following that particular victory.

Regardless of the money, both of these sides are historically important teams in French football and will be long after Dmitry Rybolovlev finds a new plaything to toy with. So why Nantes, if it’s not about the money, the titles or the style of football? Quite simply it’s their ‘essence’.

You know the feeling, that warm fuzzy tingle you get when you visit an old playground you played on as a child, that feeling when you clutch the wheel of a beloved car or when you see an old friend or tuck into your Mum’s Sunday roast. These ‘things’ provoke memories of better, happier times quite simply because they feel like home. Maybe that is Nantes’ charm, maybe they make you feel at ease just knowing that they’re still around and always will be. When Fabrice Pancrate, a man who has never really had a home in the footballing world,  appeared on the screen following the game with Sedan, tears pouring down his face as he clutched his children, you felt that he was home. When Lucas Deaux, sent off in the sixth minute, wept tears of relief at the final whistle you felt that it was from not letting his family down. When Der Zakarian beamed for only a fraction of a second it was out of pride not only for his own achievements but that of his ‘boys’. It was a family memory to be remembered for a long time.

I don’t know for sure what the soul is and I’m not poetic enough to put it into words, but one thing I do know is when something feels right and Nantes’ promotion back to Ligue 1, simply put, feels right.