So, shall we go on the terrace?
Excuse us for this cliché, we almost had no choice. It’s that with summer well here and the sun struggling to set even after 10 p.m., here in Bordeaux, the call for a thirst-quenching drink on the paving stones crowded with chairs and tables occupied at every corner of street is irresistible.
Just like the need the French have to too often note our accent, either kindly or by responding to us in English. ” You’re welcome ! ”, we heard after a “thank you” although devoid of any tone.
Which has taken absolutely nothing away from the many charms of the ninth city in France. Its architecture, its basilicas, its restaurants, its bars, its location on the banks of the Garonne, its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, its local products, everything is there.
But why are we in the southwest of France at the beginning of June? It turns out that the Canada of Samuel Piette and Ismaël Koné will face the Blues of Kylian Mbappé at the Matmut Atlantique stadium of the Girondins de Bordeaux on Sunday. A very first France-Canada clash since the 1986 World Cup. And a very last respective preparation match before the Euro and the Copa América.
And since we want La Presse to continue to send us overseas to see the best football artists, we get up from our friendly café, Place Fernand-Lafargue, and set off on an adventure.
Direction Matmut Atlantique stadium, in the north of the city. Forty minutes by tram from the city center, Google Maps tells us. Perfect interval to catch up on the football podcast show L’After-RMC, ranked fifth for popularity in France on Apple Podcasts, all categories combined.
The day before, the Blues had dominated Luxembourg 3-0 in another friendly match, in Metz. Co-hosts Gilbert Brisbois and Daniel Riolo particularly highlight Mbappé’s return to form, at the end of a complicated last season – for reasons not always sporting – with PSG. The new Real Madrid recruit – this explains it – was all the offensive efforts against the Luxembourgers, finishing the match with a goal and two assists. Nothing to give hope of a result to Jesse Marsch’s Reds this Sunday.
Obviously, the first observation of our trip to the stadium, three days before the match, is the tranquility of the place. Calm which will, in all likelihood, be in direct contrast to the partisan atmosphere which will reign here when the 42,115 ticket holders flock to the enclosure. Tickets were selling for 29 euros to the general public, and they were all sold out. We’re told that 50 to 60 members of the Voyageurs, Canada’s supporters group, will be there.
The Matmut Atlantique had just been inaugurated a few months earlier. But then there was not the landscape that we find on this hot day in June 2024.
Around the imposing multifunctional stadium – whose architecture with a thousand white poles is reminiscent of the Greek temples and the pine forests of the Landes, specific to the region – is a giant solar panel plant. We see them as we exit the tram, and we quickly realize that they surround the enclosure, on the east and west sides.
We will later learn that it is the largest solar power plant in an urban environment in Europe, and that it was installed in 2021. We will also discover that the neighboring Vélodrome, built in 1987 and today looks like somewhat decrepit, was designed… by the architect Roger Taillibert. Does that remind you of something ?
We board the tram again for the return trip. We leaf through the newspaper L’Équipe, which analyzes the previous day’s match on more than four pages. “It’s all a question of desire,” one wrote on the front page. The performances of Mbappé, N’golo Kanté and the decisions of coach Didier Deschamps have been scrutinized.
We can already see the headline after the masterclass that the Blues could inflict on the Reds on Sunday: “You’re welcome.”