Why I picked this football club guide thing
Alright so last Sunday I was scrolling through old football photos when I found my 2015 ticket stub from Stade du Moustoir. That got me thinking – man, most English fan guides about FC Lorient are either outdated or written by people who’ve never stepped foot in Brittany. Figured I’d fix that myself.
Digging into the messy history part
Started by pulling out all my match programs from 2008 onwards. Dusted off that big box under my desk – programs smell like stale beer honestly. Cross-referenced birth years with three different books, one being that French Football Weekly issue with faded pages. Got real confused about the 1929 merger details because every source contradicted others. Spilled coffee on my notes when I realized local newspapers called the founders “fish merchants” not “ship owners” like Wikipedia claims.
The rivalry research disaster
Okay this part sucked. My initial list had like ten “major rivals” until I actually talked to match-going buddies over Zoom. Jean-Yves from Quimper laughed his head off when I mentioned Guingamp – “Nobody cares about them except when they beat us!” Then came the Stade Rennais mess: my spreadsheet showed 42 derbies since 2000 but Michel (that angry guy from section G) insisted four got canceled due to pitch invasions. Took three days just to verify that through police reports.
Writing while fighting my laptop
Cracked open Google Docs Tuesday morning thinking this would flow easy. Nope. First draft read like a boring textbook. My wife walked by and said “Why does this sound like a robot wrote it?” So I dumped all the fancy stats and rewrote everything as if explaining to my beer-bellied neighbor Roger. When describing the 2002 Coupe de France miracle, I actually stood up and waved my arms around like the goalie did – knocked over a lamp. Worth it though.
The final product surprises
Finished last night with messy hair and two empty pizza boxes. Funny thing? My original plan was to focus on modern history but the founder stories (like how they played on a literal swamp) stole the show. Also discovered most fans hate the “Merlus” nickname because sardines stink – but secretly love it. Oh! And turns out players still visit that cafe near train station after losses. Never seen that in any official guide.
What I learned making this
- Local history beats Wikipedia every time
- Old programs fade – scan them immediately
- Rivalries change faster than club ownership
- Writing about 2009 relegation still hurts
