Jérémy Grimm’s Colmar years

Credit: RC Strasbourg Alsace

For their fourth match of pre-season, Racing take on Sochaux this Friday (6pm, UK time) at Colmar Stadium, in what will be a homecoming of sorts for Racing midfielder Jérémy Grimm, who holds excellent memories of the five seasons he spent in the Upper Rhine.

Credit: RC Strasbourg Alsace

Jérémy Grimm was born in Ostheim, a village two flaps of a stork’s wing away from Colmar. He kicked his first football there before joining SR Colmar’s youth ranks, where, at 12 years old, he was spotted by Jacky Duguépéroux. It was then that he began his development at Racing. In fact, besides an escapade to SR Délémont in the Swiss second division for one season following his first stint at Strasbourg, Jérémy Grimm’s playing career remains, to this day, exclusively regional; before coming back to the birthplace of Alsatian football in 2013, he was, for five years, one of the pillars of the SR Colmar team. “It was Dominique Lihrmann who came looking for me in Switzerland when Colmar were playing in CFA. For me, it was a chance for a new challenge and to be closer to my family. I felt at home straight away. The manager, Damien Ott, used to be my PE teacher”.

The first season was one of adaptation. The second one, 2009/10, was unforgettable. “We didn’t really have an exact objective. And then, bit by bit, something happened. The family atmosphere at the club, a group of players who were mates above all else… all that meant that the good results kept on coming. As for me, I was there mostly to enjoy myself, without any stress. A personal journey came out of that”. A journey which sent SRC up into National and which doubled up as a remarkable run in the Coupe de France. In the 8th round, Colmar knocked out Metz in an epic match (2–2, 4–2 on penalties). But it was nothing compared to the last-64 tie at home to Lille.

With Rudi Garcia on the bench and Eden Hazard on the pitch, Lille seemed out of reach. But Grimm and his gang were to be heroes. Colmar resisted for 120 minutes at 0–0 before going into a never-ending penalty shootout. “We all took one, including the goalkeeper,” remembers Jérémy, who scored his spot kick. “It just went on and on. In the end, we won 10–9. It was absolute madness”. Colmar came close to another miracle in the last 32. Despite a penalty scored by Grimm in the 51st minute, Colmar lost 2–1 to newly-promoted Ligue 1 side US Boulogne. Among them was a certain Jérémy Blayac…

Highlights of Colmar’s win over Lille in the 2009–10 Coupe de France. Jérémy Grimm was wearing the no. 6 shirt.

“That run sums up what I experienced in five seasons at Colmar. Pure pleasure. We had a great squad, a chairman, Roland Hunsinger, who was close to us, and a board who dedicated their heart and soul to the club”. Of the three years in National, Jérémy holds memories of a relegation battle “which was a beautiful moment of joint struggle”, then two years where the dream of promotion was only toyed with. Friendship remains at the heart of his memories. “I’m still in touch with guys like Sylvain Meslien, Cédric Liabeuf, Benoît Haaby and Guillaume Créquit. We see each other when we can”.

Jérémy Grimm will return to Colmar Stadium with a pang of emotion and a wish: “I hope that Colmar find their way back up the leagues. I wish the new board good luck”.

[Translated from: http://www.rcstrasbourgalsace.fr/actualites/les-annees-colmariennes-de-jeremy-grimm]

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