In France, derbies are crazy - Beye

Apr 18 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

Foreign footballers are not supposed to understand British derbies. But when you have witnessed what Habib Beye has, a Newcastle versus Sunderland football match holds no fears.

THERE is a school of thought that overseas footballers have difficulty adapting to British derbies because the games have an intensity all of their own. It is an argument unlikely to find favour with the player who once saw a rock go through the window of the Marseilles team bus and hit its driver on the head.

Anyone who thinks matches between Newcastle and Sunderland make those in France’s Ligue 1 look like a stroll in the park should speak to Newcastle United right-back Habib Beye, who learned his trade there with Strasbourg and Marseilles.

With 769km between the cities, it is stretching it a bit to call Paris Saint Germain v Marseilles a derby, but it is the reference point the 30-year-old Senegalese defender uses when talking about the rivalry he is due to experience for a second time on Sunday.

Perhaps because he was new to English football, Beye spent the first 61 minutes of his derby debut soaking up the Stadium of Light atmosphere. While a couple of workmen have been quick to remind Beye of the game’s importance, he believes the North East derby ambience is far more pleasant than what he experienced in France.

“I know the atmosphere of a Paris Saint Germain-Marseilles game but I haven’t yet experienced the full atmosphere of a Newcastle-Sunderland match,” he reflects. “I will find out what it is like on Sunday.

“Sunderland is a good team but we are confident. We want to win the last four games. It’s very important for next season. In the first game (between the sides this season) I came on for the last half an hour. It was a big atmosphere because Sunderland really wanted to beat Newcastle. Now it’s different because we’re playing at home and with 50,000 fans behind us. But when you’ve played in a Marseilles v Paris Saint Germain game it’s more intense. Marseilles hate Paris Saint Germain and vice versa. In England you don’t have a problem with hooligans any more. In France you still have some.

“The two clubs are very far apart, but 10 years ago Paris were a big, big club, and Marseilles as well. They would always have a big fight to win the league and the French Cup. I remember two years ago when PSG fans broke the windows of the Marseilles team bus when we played there. None of the players were hurt, although the driver was hit on his head by a rock. In England you can’t do that. In France it’s crazy.”

If anything guarantees an intense experience for those in black-and-white at the weekend, it is the man patrolling the visitors’ technical area.

“I’ve never played against Roy Keane but he was a very good player,” says Beye. “When I was younger I watched big teams. Manchester United were a big team and Roy Keane was a big player. When Sunderland play you can see something of him in their style.”

Some footballers thrive on the intensity, even hatred, pouring from the stands in certain big games. Beye, whose two-year-old daughter is a regular at St James’s, believe the English have got the balance right since the bad old days of the 1970s and 80s.

“I prefer the atmosphere at derby matches,” he says. “I wouldn’t say the football is a party, but it’s a game. You can’t have fights between fans of Newcastle and Sunderland at the stadium, it’s just football.”

Not that Beye has been lulled into thinking this is just an old-pals’ contest between two sets of supporters who will go home content as long as they see 90 entertaining minutes.

“I realise the fans hate each other,” he adds. “I bought a new house near Ponteland recently and the two men working on it, one was a Newcastle fan, the other supported Sunderland. The Newcastle fan was telling me, ‘Don’t lose because on Sunday I hate this guy! The rest of the time I love him but on Sunday I hate him!’

“It’s good. You always want to win against Sunderland, against all the teams, but it’s just a game. You can’t have people fighting about football. When you see people in the streets they always tell you we need to win.

“It’s a good atmosphere for a player because you have a little pressure. There’s a bit on you when you play teams like Portsmouth but, before a game like this, everybody talks about it. You can maybe lose a game during the season but not this one.”

Roy Keane was a big player – when Sunderland play you can see something of him in their style