Stade Brest: Little known French side on the cusp of Champions League

In a weekend dominated by the Premier League title race, and Bayer Leverkusen moving one step closer to an historic Bundesliga title triumph, a special story in France continued to blossom.

Much has been made of Girona’s fairy tale story of possible Champions League qualification in Spain but less has been said about the rise of Stade Brest.

The French side strengthened their grip on second place in Ligue 1 with a 1-0 win away at Lorient, to remain PSG’s nearest challengers at the top of the table.

A club who have never finished higher than eighth in the French top flight, and have not finished in the top half of the Ligue 1 table since the turn of the century, are on the cusp of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

With seven games remaining, Brest are seven points clear of fifth placed Nice, with a top four finish enough to secure their seat at European football’s top table next term.

It would be quite the story for a team who were playing in the third tier of French football 20 years ago, and whose modest 15,220 seater home, the Stade Francis-Le Ble, is the second smallest in Ligue 1.

Despite their meagre finances in comparison to their rivals (Brest have never paid above €5 million to sign a player), Brest’s experienced core, guided by manager Eric Roy, have vastly outperformed their means.

As the rest of Ligue 1 have tried to become more reliant on younger players to compete, both on and off the pitch, the decision of Brest’s sporting director Gregory Lorenzi to value experience and stability has paid dividends.

“When I construct a team, it is always done to find a balance, with a certain number of players who bring experience and others who are younger who bring energy, dynamism and youth,” Lorenzi told the Guardian.

“The club has been growing and solidifying for the past five or six years. There has been continuity. When you compare our squad from last season to this season, there have been very few changes.

“As a sporting director, it is my job to anticipate the construction of the squad, solidify our team and, for the continuity of the project, to keep the key players.”

Roy, who spent a season as a player with Sunderland, had not held a managerial role since 2011. He had worked for Lens and Watford as a sporting director but his appointment as manager of Brest last year raised eyebrows.

However, he steered the club away from relegation trouble last term and the side have carried that momentum into this season and have become one of the most difficult teams to break down in European football.

Their team boasts no superstars, but former Huddersfield Town forward Steve Mounie and Norwich midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou are among a squad that continue to defy expectations.

Brest host relegation threatened Metz on Sunday as they look to move one step closer to achieving one of European football’s major success stories.