Gymnase Auguste-Delaune

The name changed once, in 1945, to honour a local Resistance fighter who was killed by the Gestapo.

The stand is a single block that runs the length of the pitch, with a roof that keeps the rain off the seats. It is not as wide as the old one, and that change brought the capacity down to 21,029. The numbers do not matter much here; the point is that the view from the stands is now unbroken and the sight of the players on the grass is clear.

The surface is natural grass, kept short and level. The pitch itself is small enough that the defenders can see the striker without turning their heads. When the local club plays, the supporters in the lower tier work a short corner and give nothing away, but the atmosphere is always a bit cautious. The place is not a temple of football. It is a stadium that knows its place in the city.

The only time the crowd swells is during a Coupe de France semi-final, or perhaps a European match. The record for the old ground was set in 1987 against Olympique de Marseille, a day when people turned to the kids. The modern record came in 2012, also against Marseille, when the old head settled them down. The venue has hosted World Cup matches, but the tournaments pass through without leaving a mark on the brickwork.