The Stade de Paris – or the Stade Bauer as it is more commonly known – sits on an unremarkable street in a small suburb on the northern fringes of Paris. The ground does not dominate its surroundings either in size or importance. If it weren’t for the floodlights peering over the humble main stand, one could be forgiven for walking past and not knowing that a football club of great historical importance ever existed there. Indeed, for most out-of-towners the main draw of the area is the famous flea market just a few blocks away.

Saint-Ouen is not one of the capital’s most salubrious neighbourhoods. It’s more urban shabby than shabby chic and is in stark contrast to the area around the Parc des Princes, home of Paris Saint-Germain – which boasts wide tree-lined avenues, plush apartments and unapologetically corporate brand signage. But this largely residential suburb is the home of Red Star, the football club founded in a small café 121 years ago by the 24-year-old Jules Rimet, Fifa’s longest serving president and the man in whose honour the original World Cup trophy was named.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Red Star’s founder, Jules Rimet, in 1930. Photograph: Getty Images

There is only six miles between the two stadia along the Boulevard Périphérique, but in both football and financial terms, the distance should be measured in light years. Since their formation in 1970, Paris Saint-Germain have always had pretentions of grandeur but Neymar’s blockbusting transfer from Barcelona has guaranteed that a club from Paris has a position at the top table of world football. While Paris Saint-Germain are set on dominating Europe, Red Star’s goal is entirely different. Rimet and his co-founders, which included his brother Modeste, envisaged a club that would be as much about the association as the football. Well over a century later, that social and communal philosophy has taken on a new lease of life under their ambitious president, the film director Patrice Haddad.

Saint-Ouen has always been a diverse neighbourhood. Seine-Saint-Denis, the département Red Star call home, has a long history of immigration from former French colonies in Africa and the Caribbean, and is currently the département with the highest proportion of immigrants in the country. Former president François Hollande – a Socialist and frequent attendee at Stade Bauer in his youth – has publicly celebrated Red Star’s significance within “a diverse and multicultural France”.

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The club’s most successful period came in the inter-war years when they won the Coupe de France on four occasions (a fifth came in 1942 during the German occupation). With their Red Star name and logo – supposedly inspired by Rimet’s English childhood governess, Miss Jenny – it was perhaps inevitable that the club would form a connection with the left-wing, working class people in the district.

This bond would become even stronger after Nazis executed former player Rino Della Negra during the second world war. Della Negra – a son of Italian immigrants who never played a competitive game for Red Star – was wounded and captured by the Germans in 1944 during an attack by the French Resistance. A member of the Manouchian Group – a network of communist freedom fighters named after the poet and activist Missak Manouchian – his final note to his brother contained the words: “Hello and goodbye to Red Star.” His story of struggle and ultimate sacrifice has become hugely symbolic to the club’s left-leaning fanbase.

Red Star’s fortunes were decidedly mixed in the post-war years. They were promoted and relegated many times, enjoyed a brief stint in the top flight, suffered regular financial meltdowns and even embarked on a perplexing merger with a club from Toulouse, a city 450 miles away. Haddad arrived in 2008, five years after the club almost went bust and two years after they were languishing in the sixth tier of French football, and a few of his ambitions have come into conflict with the wishes of Red Star’s vociferous supporters. His plan to build a new €200m stadium and entertainment development was rejected by the fans, for whom the Stade Bauer represents the soul of the club.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Red Star playing Tottenham Hotspur at Saint-Ouen in 1913. Spurs, wearing white, won 2-1. Photograph: Popperfoto/Getty Images

Sadly, the 108-year-old stadium is in serious need of revitalisation. It is a viable home when they play in the third tier Championnat National – which they currently lead – but its decrepit facilities will need to be renovated if the club progress up the leagues. The ground was deemed unsuitable when Red Star were promoted to Ligue 2 in 2015, so they had to play their home games in Beauvais – a city 50 miles north of Paris – and then, for the 2016-17 campaign, in the Stade Jean-Bouin, a multi-purpose arena next door to the Parc des Princes, home of moneybags Paris Saint-Germain.



Despite differences of opinion over the club’s ground, many of Haddad’s initiatives have gone down well with fans. His desire to build upon the club’s history has appealed not only to the ultras and hipster elements on the terraces, but also to those who see the long-term value of reaching out and engaging with the local community. Probably the best example of this was the appointment of former Manchester United and Sunderland striker David Bellion as the club’s creative director in 2016 when his own professional career wound down at Red Star. His is a unique position in French football.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Red Star kit. Photograph: footpack.fr

“It was pure coincidence,” explains Bellion. “Patrice Haddad and I had a friend in common, Benjamin Eymere, who publishes the fashion magazine, L’Officiel. Benjamin put us in contact because he knew I wanted to do something else in my life. As creative director, my goals are to build bridges between Red Star and the worlds of culture, art and lifestyle; whether that means music, fashion, photography, food or events – but with a totally new angle.

“Red Star is an underground, romantic, popular football club where there is absolutely no social status. People love it because it still has that old-school football vibe. The club was not built for just victory and winning. It is a very powerful symbol of freedom and creativity. Not a lot of clubs have that natural credibility.”

That last word – credibility – is important. Is there is a deliberate aim to project an alternative image in response to PSG? “We absolutely don’t aim anything because we already are a unique club. Red Star is the oldest club in the Parisian territory. We don’t try to be alternative, we are just expressing who we are. We don’t look at what other clubs are doing, but we really respect PSG because we’re a football club based on respect, love, humility and diversity.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Red Star squad pose on top of the Salle Pleyel concert hall in Paris. Photograph: Anthony Dibon/Icon Sport via Getty Images

David’s enthusiasm for his new role is infectious, with the club’s Red Star Lab project particularly close to his heart. “It is the most meaningful project of the club. Basically, it’s a workshop platform for all the kids who play for Red Star. During all school holidays and most Wednesdays, the kids can play, learn and try different disciplines. It can be photography, street art, cookery, dancing. The next project we are working on for the kids is to build the Red Star fanzine with the the help of many friends – photographers, journalists, artists and anybody else who can help them creatively. That’s how we can make our kids discover other passions.”

“Years ago a kid attended the Red Star Lab and did some street art workshops; he has since become a street artist. Matthias Ferreira, who signed his first professional contract last month, did this program many years ago. We have many stories like this. We want to educate our youth through culture so they can have different talents when they’re older. If football doesn’t work, then they may have some skills in other fields.

“I want to show that Red Star is not only a football club but a way of life. We collaborated with a Parisian fashion studio, Racket Paris, who designed our jerseys. We are working with Hotel Radio Paris and Airplane Mode V1, who are taking care of the music in the stadium and for all our events. We have brought in an incredible photographer called Yann Levy. His photos have such beautiful social vision – he is the Ken Loach of the photography world. I am working on many other things for the supporters. It’s going to be interesting.”

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Does this makes the club a magnet for fickle hipsters who have little interest in what happens on the pitch? “We have the most unique supporters. They’re really socially engaged, helping people in difficulty. Yes, they are politically active – but to cultivate tolerance towards everyone. And they do sing and support the players no matter the score. That’s very unusual in France!”

Red Star clearly have a lot going on but they also have a history of producing players. Steve Marlet, Moussa Sissoko and Abou Diaby all passed through the Stade Bauer before finding fame elsewhere but, instead of selling players up the divisions, the club want to leave the lower leagues behind and return to Ligue 1 for the first time since 1975. Should they make it, it would be hard to argue that theirs is not the real success story of modern Parisian football.

• This is an article from In Bed With Maradona

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