Queens Park Rangers manager Julien Stephan is drawing on the memory of one of football's great giant-killings as he attempts to end his new club's long-standing FA Cup misery. The French coach, 45, will lead the Championship side into a third-round tie away at Premier League West Ham, hoping to replicate the magic that saw his Stade Rennais side defeat a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain to lift the Coupe de France in 2019.
From Parisian Glory to West London Challenge
Stephan's career highlight remains that stunning victory in 2019, where his Rennes team came from two goals down to eventually beat a PSG side featuring Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Angel di Maria on penalties. Reflecting on that triumph, Stephan admitted it was a moment he would cherish forever, but insisted it was now part of a "new adventure" in West London.
"It is a long, long time ago," he smiled. "I will have the memory of that win in my head all my life. It was a fantastic moment because it was my first title. It is very difficult to win titles in your career. We won it once - it was amazing. For me it is a great memory - something that I keep in my heart but it is not something that will help me in the future."
Confronting QPR's Notorious FA Cup Curse
Stephan's proud personal cup history, which includes a footballing lineage as the son of France's 2018 World Cup-winning assistant manager Guy Stephan, stands in stark contrast to QPR's modern record in the competition. The club, finalists in 1982, endured a horrific run at the start of this century.
They won only two FA Cup matches in 17 years, a period that included ten consecutive defeats. The dismal sequence began with a 4-0 loss to a bankrupt, bottom-of-League-Two Swansea City in 2002 and was compounded by a penalty shootout defeat to Northern League outfit Vauxhall Motors. Furthermore, Rangers have been eliminated at the third-round stage in each of the last three seasons.
Asked if he was aware of the club's cup woes, Stephan said: "I know a couple of things! I love football and I have watched FA Cup games in the past. I know it is something special for the fans that is why for me it is very important that we give everything on the pitch."
The Game Plan for a London Stadium Shock
Stephan, whose side sit 11th in the Championship and just three points off the playoff places, plans to field his strongest available team despite being without top scorer Rumarn Burrell until March due to injury. He has a clear message for his players ahead of the daunting trip to the London Stadium.
"I will tell the players: Just enjoy the moment," he revealed. "When you play away in a big, big stadium against a big Premier League team, first you have to enjoy the moment. Don't play with pressure - be light in your head and light in your legs. It is not every year that you have the chance to play against this kind of team."
He added a note of caution, acknowledging the gulf in quality: "We will put our best team. We know there is a big, big difference between the Premier League and the Championship - this will be the best team we face this season - so we need to be very humble."
However, the man who engineered one of French football's biggest upsets knows that anything is possible. His final instruction to his squad hinges on focus and fine margins: "Be focussed on the details because if you don't manage the details, it is impossible to create something crazy at the end of the game. You never know what can happen in football."
