Eric Escato, the coach, speaks emotionally about his group of players: “I could ask them to climb trees and they would do it. They are terrific. Since the beginning of this competition, they have shown their spirit. I can play x or y, I know that on the field I will have players who will give their all. I have rarely encountered this.”
FC Carros is one of the lesser-known teams in the Coupe de France. The L2 clubs are entering the competition. The draw, which took place at noon, was highly anticipated. But not so much so in Carros.
On Wednesday evening, training proceeded as if nothing special was occurring, with coach Eric Escato in charge. Although he denies it, he is no ordinary coach. A learned magician. “His strength? Firstly, he’s very charismatic but he’s especially believable when he speaks.” Robert Stuerga, a member of FC Carros’ managing staff, is enamored with his coach. A mix of admiration, love, and solidarity. They call each other daily to talk about the club and share their thoughts. Out of modesty, Stuerga wouldn’t admit that he is also very useful. He’s a go-between, a mediator. Players confide in him, discuss their worries, he consoles them and tries to erase their doubts or concerns.
Everyone has their place at FC Carros. “Everything must be coherent and roles well defined. That’s how the club will progress,” explains Eric Escato. He tries, in his speeches and his training sessions to put aside the exploits in the Coupe de France: “I don’t talk about it too much with the players. I’ll only use it on Sunday in the pre-match speech. I admit, I think about it very often. That match against Fréjus, where we ended up 10 against 11 remains etched in my memory. We were leading 1-0 and the referee awarded a generous penalty to the Var team. We fought to get to the penalty shootout. We won 11-10 with a shooter suffering from a sprain who scored the winning goal.”
The club exudes a joy for life. An average age of 23 years. Smiles from the beginning to the end of the two-hour training session. Yet the players are put through their paces: physical work, strict instructions from the coach… They work on all aspects of the game. Three sessions a week, often after work, at the expense of wives or partners. Smiling and training without complaint, in some clubs, would be a miracle. Here, at Carros, it naturally falls into place as they tease and have fun.
Absenteeism is an unknown word here. The Cup run certainly helps to maintain the enthusiasm. For Eric Escato, managing the squad accounts for 50% of the team’s results. He manages his squad well. He wants to leave nothing to chance. Very attentive to the players’ behavior with Robert’s help, he tries to address little issues from the start, “to avoid letting the worm get into the fruit.” He is a fan of rotation “as long as the player does not feel sidelined.”
His players adore him, listen to him, and are grateful to him for their achievements. “The goal we scored against Fréjus is partly thanks to the coach. He had researched the opponent’s play and explained to us in the locker room just before the match how to put them in danger. We listened to him. And we scored from a play he had mentioned,” recounts Manu Satragno, FC Carros’ goalkeeper. How did Eric Escato get informed? He contacted Gérard Buscher, coach of the Nice reserve team, and his counterpart at Pontet. He knew almost everything about Fréjus. He will proceed in the same way for the next round.
He explains his coaching philosophy: “I want my players to smile when coming to training. Football remains a game. I prepare my exercises so that they have fun. I vary the training so as not to bore them, to bring a bit of the unexpected, without forgetting to work on the physical.”
Chemistry, synergy… Just attending a training session makes it clear that Carros’ cup exploits this summer began with the formation of this group of twenty players, friends in life and warriors on the field. A speech, a method, a blind trust in the staff and in Eric Escato. A complete commitment to FC Carros’ project. A certainty: they will remain united and supportive in victory as in defeat.
Eric Escato is a man of the field. He could talk for hours about tactical schemes, strategies, placements… Training has been over for more than an hour. His players have returned home. The stadium is dark. But Eric continues to share his passion. He stands on the field, simulates opponents’ actions, and demonstrates how to counter them. A spotlight on tactics in autumn darkness accompanied by a few winter breezes. He offers interesting insights on other coaches from the Azure region he regularly observes and draws inspiration from, with a preference for Frédéric Antonetti and Alain Wathelet (Coach of the under-18s at OGC Nice).
Watching Eric Escato work, some high-level coaches could take inspiration from his methods.
Vincent Trinquat
Hopes for the Draw
For Robert Stuerga “It’s a wonderful adventure. A dream. And whether we play against a strong team or a weak one, the essential is to continue dreaming and having fun. We must remain humble.”
Christine Damiani, the club’s Secretary-General, traveled to Paris with President Stéphane Monvieux for the draw. She hopes to play at home or perhaps against Bastia at the Ray.
Lionel Lopez (player): “My best friend, Mansour Assoumani, with whom I played at Cavigal, plays for Montpellier so I want to play against him.”
Manu Satragno, the goalkeeper, experienced previous cup adventures at FC Carros in 1999 and 2000 from the stands. He wants to play at home to be able to advance another round.
So in summary: Bastia, Toulon, Montpellier, clubs of the same level but at Carros, or Seyssinet who had eliminated Carros in 2000. The greatest hope remains to advance another round to mark the history of the club. It will be very complicated. The draw has not been favorable and offers a matchup that players and managers feared: traveling to a club of roughly the same level, Rhône-Crussol Foot 07.
