Jules Rimet set up the club 121 years ago and now ex-Manchester United striker David Bellion is giving it fresh life
By Mark Godfrey for In Bed With Maradona
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.
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