At 2:45 a.m. Beijing time on August 30, the fourth round of Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain away to Reims, not surprisingly Argentine superstar Messi will usher in his debut after joining Paris. Messi's arrival has raised the attention of Ligue 1, but many fans may not know about a team like Reims, so let's take a look at what kind of team Messi's opponent is in his debut today.
Reims Football Club was founded in 1931 and this year marks the 90th anniversary of the reims. Reims' home stadium is the Auguste de Lona Stadium, completed in 1935, which also has a long history. As early as 1938, this stadium has hosted World Cup matches, and in 2019, it is also the venue for women's world cup matches. After two renovations, the Stadium is currently capable of accommodating 21,029 spectators, and it is understood that all tickets for the match against Paris have been sold out.
The 1950s and 1960s were the most glorious period for the Reims Club. In the 13 years from 1949 to 1962, Reims won six French top league titles, two French Cups, three French Super Cups, and reached the final of the European Champions Cup twice in 1956 and 1959, but lost to Real Madrid on both occasions and did not win the title.
In the 90-year history of Reims, there are two players that have to be mentioned, that is, French football stars Raymond Copa and Justte Fontaine. Copa played for Reims from 1951 to 1956, scoring 48 goals in 158 appearances before joining Real Madrid, where they defeated Reims twice to win the European Champions League. In 1959, Kopa returned to Reims and played until 1967 until retirement, where he scored 36 goals in 244 appearances in his second experience. In 2018, a statue of Kopa was erected outside the Home Of reims stadium.
Giuste Fontaine played for Reims in 1956-1962, scoring 122 goals in 131 appearances. In 1958, Giuste Fontaine played for France in the World Cup, creating a miracle of scoring 13 goals in a single World Cup, which no one has been able to break so far.
After understanding the brilliant achievements of Reims, let's take a look at the current Reims. In the 17-18 season, Reims won the French Second Division and returned to Ligue 1. For the next three seasons, Reims were ranked 8th, 6th and 14th in Ligue 1.
Due to poor results, during the winter break last season, Reims changed managers, espanyol Oscar Garcia became the new manager of the team, and he also successfully put out the fire to keep Lance in Ligue 1. When it comes to Oscar Garcia, perhaps the old Barça fans have the impression that he came from the La Masia Academy as a player and played for Barca in 1993-1999, scoring 21 goals in 69 appearances and helping the team win 4 La Liga titles, 2 Copa del Rey, 1 European Cup and 1 European Super Cup.
After retiring from retirement, Oscar Garcia embarked on a coaching path, coaching Barca Juniors, Maccabi, Brighton, Watford, Red Bull Salzburg, Saint-Etienne, Olympiacos, Celta and other teams. While coaching Celta, Garcia played Against Messi, who lost 4-1 to Barca and Messi scored a hat-trick, scoring two free kicks and a penalty.
The total value of the Reims team this season is 91.58 million euros, which is only one-tenth of the total value of 993 million euros in Paris, ranking in the middle of Ligue 1. The most expensive in the Reims squad are goalkeeper Rajkovic and winger Mubuku, both of whom are worth €9 million.
In the first three rounds of the new season, Reims have yet to win, and the record is an embarrassing three-game draw (0-0 Nice away, 3-3 Montpellier at home, 1-1 Metz away). In the fourth round, home to Paris, will Reims win the upset or become the background board for Messi's debut?