Patrick Videira will return to the Parc des Princes on Saturday night with Le Mans, but the coach’s last memory of the stadium comes from a very different kind of fixture: a film set.
Speaking before Le Mans travel to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, with kick-off scheduled for 20:45, Videira laughed when asked about his brief past in cinema. His previous appearance at the Parc, he recalled, came during the 1995 filming of Alain Chabat’s cult comedy Didier.
“The last time I was at the Parc des Princes was for the film Didier, so I had a different role then,” said the Le Mans manager.
From PSG academy player to film extra
Videira was 18 and part of PSG’s youth set-up when academy players were brought in to film several scenes. A midfielder at the time, he played José Gioto, a teammate of Chabat’s character during a fictional match against Paris.
He also delivered a short dressing-room line criticising Didier. More than three decades later, the experience remains a happy memory for the former player.
“I was 18, it was my youth, and those were good times,” he said. “Of course, this visit will be very different.”
Videira shared the shoot with a group of PSG academy prospects that included Djamel Belmadi, Grégory Paisley and Didier Domi.
“It was the whole academy generation,” he said. “There were Djamel Belmadi, Grégory Paisley and Didier Domi, and we were filming with Alain Chabat.”
An emotional competitive return
Saturday’s match carries more weight than a nostalgic return to a familiar stadium. Born in Paris, Videira spent 11 years at PSG, arriving at the club aged seven and leaving when he was 18.
He progressed through every youth level at the club and reached the reserve side in National 2, although he did not secure a professional contract in the French capital. His professional playing career later began in Portugal.
“PSG is always special when you have spent 11 years at a club,” Videira said. “I joined at seven and left at 18. I went through every category at Paris Saint-Germain, up to National 2.”
He believes the years in the academy shaped him beyond football.
“It was a wonderful period because PSG helped make me the person I am today. They helped me grow,” he added.
Videira said he was regularly asked whether missing out on PSG’s first team had left him frustrated, but he sees the outcome differently. He felt the competition was fierce, with outstanding players around him who deserved professional deals, while his own path away from Paris opened another opportunity.
“I did not turn professional at PSG, but it gave me the chance to go elsewhere and develop elsewhere,” he said. “I have excellent memories.”
There will also be familiar faces waiting on the other side. Videira said members of Luis Enrique’s current staff were people he knew during his PSG academy years, and he is looking forward to meeting them again before Le Mans take on the league’s leading club.
