In Brittany, in the northwest of France, football is a cultural driving force.
Thanks to eight-time French champions Nantes and Rennes, whose academy has produced French stars such as Eduardo Camavinga and Ousmane Dembélé, it has always had a fierce reputation.
But after living in the shadow of their more dominant neighbors, Stade Brestois 29 achieved something remarkable last season: qualifying for the Champions League.
After four games, they are fourth in the table with three wins and one draw, while their 10 points are more than the totals of veterans Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
For the past 33 years, Brest has struggled with the financial desert.
Much like Bordeaux is experiencing now, Brest faced a spell in the amateur leagues after becoming financially overextended and collapsing.
In fact, Brest existed in those ranks between 1991 and 2004 before turning professional again.
Following promotion to Ligue 1 in 2019, Brest survived on a shoestring budget and facilities that were barely fit for purpose.
One local journalist described its stadium as “from the Middle Ages” (a new one is in the works), while a source describes Brest as “the end of the world in a football city”.
People are said to pride themselves on their “character, humility and hard work”, and those qualities resurrected the club in its darkest hour.
After struggling for five years, many expected them to go down last season. Instead, they finished third.
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