The Japan Times - Strasbourg on verge of European final amid fan displeasure at owners BlueCo

The team coached by Englishman Gary O'Neil host Rayo Vallecano at their Stade de la Meinau on Thursday in the second leg of their Conference League semi-final, looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first meeting.

Neither team has made it to the last four of a European competition before, and the winner will progress to the final in the German city of Leipzig on May 27 against Crystal Palace or Shakhtar Donetsk.

Not so long ago, the prospect of lifting a European trophy would have felt like a pipe dream for Strasbourg fans.

The club from a city which sits on France's border with Germany and is the seat of the European Parliament, have been French champions just once, in 1979.

Before this campaign, their best run in Europe came in 1980, when they lost to Ajax in the European Cup quarter-finals, although there was a memorable win against Liverpool in the UEFA Cup in 1997.

But the involvement of BlueCo in all of this is a point of tension for Strasbourg's supporters.

"We needed someone to accompany us to get to this step," the club's president Marc Keller, an ex-Strasbourg player, told RMC radio after the team beat German side Mainz in the last round.

He pointed out that Strasbourg were languishing in the regional, amateur fourth and fifth tiers of French football 15 years ago, after running into financial difficulties and going into liquidation.

They returned to Ligue 1 in 2017 after almost a decade away, and had managed to establish themselves again in the top flight.

However, Strasbourg hardly looked like becoming competitors in Europe before BlueCo took over in June 2023, a year after buying Chelsea.

"We were conscious that we had gone as far as we could with our existing model," insisted Keller.

- Silent protests -

Significant money has since been invested in new players, and Strasbourg qualified for this edition of the Conference League after an exciting last campaign under English coach Liam Rosenior.

Some talented players have come to Strasbourg from Chelsea, albeit mostly on loan, but what fans have noticed above all is something else: if a player or coach does really well in Alsace, the chances are they will soon be off to Stamford Bridge.

In September, Dutch striker Emmanuel Emegha, Strasbourg's captain, announced he would join Chelsea next season, upsetting many fans.

In January, Chelsea decided to poach Rosenior, whose own comments did little to calm the anger among supporters.

"I hope the fans are proud in a way that somebody who's worked here has been identified to be the manager of a Champions League-winning club and current club world champions," he suggested.

He was replaced by O'Neil, under whom Strasbourg have already lost in the French Cup semi-finals.

"Thursday's game is the biggest in the club's history. We will need the same support and energy that we got against Mainz," said O'Neil.

The problem is that the club's most vociferous supporters have, since last season, chosen to express their displeasure at the ownership by staging a silent protest in the first 15 minutes of matches.

What is happening at Strasbourg is "what the future could look like for the vast majority of clubs," said Ultra Boys 90, a leading supporters group, in an open letter earlier this year.

"They will be relegated to the role of feeder teams, without their own resources, with no soul and no link to where they come from."

The silent protest is expected to take place as usual on Thursday, even if Ultra Boys 90 are calling on fans to gather ahead of kick-off to welcome the team bus to the ground.

The stadium has been recently renovated, with a huge new main stand having taken capacity to around 32,000.

It is almost always sold out now, but many of the fans who fill it are unhappy, or at least conflicted, about the direction in which the club is heading.

Even if they might be heading for a European final, with the chance of lifting a trophy won last season by none other than Chelsea.

T.Maeda--JT