On Tuesday, May 5th, E.S.A Brive held the opening of its exhibition recounting the history of the Brive football club, which will celebrate its centenary this Saturday during the U7 and U9 tournament at the André-Pestourie stadium. This event offers a chance to look back on some fragments of an exciting history.
The Star of Brive is now inseparable from its stadium, located in the Tujac Games plain and named André Pestourie. It was Pestourie, the owner of the Café des Sports, who found this piece of land that would later become the Le Clere stadium where the Brive players would play football after World War I. “André Pestourie is the little man who fought in the 1914-1918 war, who wasn’t really a footballer but had a passion for football and young people in particular” emphasizes Manuel Hermida, a former leader of the Star of Brive, and the true memory of the club, author of two large books on the history of the Star of Brive.
“During 47 years he was a leader, he was even the president of the Star for two years because he had to ensure an interim, he was a member of the district and the League, that says a lot! Whether it’s an enthusiast who gives a name to an amateur football stadium, it indeed seems like a good idea.” It was Bernard Murat who inaugurated the André Pestourie stadium in January 1996. “The first match in this stadium was in the National league against Besançon and it was won by the Star 3-0” recalls Manuel Hermida. In Brive, football fans have witnessed some great matches, especially thanks to the thrills of the French Cup.
One of the legendary French Cup episodes took place in the 1981-82 season and left a mark on Stéphane Brossard, a former left winger of the team for 13 seasons. They faced the mighty Sporting Club de Bastia in a two-leg match. “Bastia was special because it was the inauguration of the grand tribune of the Stadium. We were stressed like youngsters! Plus, there were two power cuts, we waited 20 or 40 minutes I think before resuming play.” In the return match, the Brive players competed at the famous Furiani stadium in Corsica. “It was phenomenal. I remember, the first thing that happened to us was the bus driver, who brought all the pro teams. We weren’t pros obviously, he took us to Furiani, right at the entrance he cut the line, and passed the white lines. Telling us, “No no, it’s like the others you can’t wait to get to the stadium”.
And then there was the context. “We lost 1-0, with a goal from Roger Milla, but we should have won, or not lost the match. Not qualify because they gave us a bit of a spanking at our home, but well.” memories deeply anchored in the skillful striker’s mind, with a significant number of goals scored with the Star (“in three digits, even if I don’t say it”). “It’s ingrained, when you have an experience like that, we flew out, we played on Wednesday, then it was complicated because we played again on Saturday. We had to endure. We played against Roumazières, I think we were nonexistent. We were too tired, and then the match, we had to run everywhere”.
In 1994, the club faced the European champions, Olympique de Marseille, in the 32nd round, led by Barthez and Völler. Finally, in 2004, under the guidance of Frédéric Hantz, the Eagles faced several top teams at the stadium, including PSG. One anecdote told by Manuel Hermida, who has become the club’s volunteer speaker, highlights the preparation for a match with the press getting involved. “I have this memory that the regional daily press obviously seized the event, and the La Montagne group had how many newspapers printed, with one side yellow and the other side blue. It was necessary, in front of the Eurosport cameras, to do what La Montagne wished. I was the speaker at the time, and it was up to me to ensure that the public created a giant tifo with yellow and blue. I had to sweet talk, fuel them, certainly flatter them, and in the end, yes, they all put this newspaper on their heads, and we had a tifo worthy of the big clubs in the world that day.“
Today, CA Brive is in Regional 1, a far cry from the time when the club from Corrèze could have been promoted to Ligue 2, as they were in National 1 for a while. But that’s life for this club, marked by highs and lows, a club sometimes close to financial difficulty, but one that has also built some great sporting successes, as recounted in this exhibition visible at the André-Pestourie stadium.
