Let us begin the New Year with an act of mea culpa, otherwise known as how we got it all wrong. Regular readers may recall how we waxed lyrical three months ago about the possibilities of French champions Olympique Lyonnais (OL) in this season's Champions League.

No sooner written and Lyon were already on their way out of not only the Champions League but also subsequently the UEFA Cup. Our negative impact on the fortunes of OL did not end there, however, for the reigning French champions touched a new low last Saturday when they were eliminated from the French Cup, beaten 1-0 by amateur side Libourne-Saint Seurin.

This all-amateur club comes from a region better known for excellent wine than good football. The club, which tops the French Fourth Division, was born of the fusion between two small town clubs, Libourne and Saint Seurin, both sited down the road from Bordeaux, amongst the vineyards of Saint Emilion.

Until this time last year, few people outside the towns had heard of Libourne-Saint Seurin. The little club, however, comprising the usual mix of shopkeepers, local government employees, candle-stick makers, etc., grabbed the headlines then with a terrific giant-killing French Cup run which saw them take the scalps of Lille, Metz and Chateuroux before they crashed out at the quarter-final stage, beaten by Bastia.

In the run-up to last Saturday, coach Jean Marc Furlan played down his side's chance of an even more emphatic giant-killing effort, saying that it would "require a miracle" for his side to beat the flashy Lyon outfit. After all, his motley crew were to face a side that includes the Brazilian trio of World Cup winners Edmilson, veteran striker Sonny Anderson and midfield playmaker Juninho Pernambucano, not to mention two of the rising stars of French football in 23-year-old youth team product Sidney Govou and midfielder Eric Carriere.

In the end, though, the headlines went to print worker Regis Castant, scorer of a winning goal that put Libourne-Saint Seurin into the last 16 in the French Cup.

As for OL, they can only console themselves with the consideration that three other First Division sides, Strasbourg, Troyes and Sedan, bit the dust last weekend at the hands of amateur teams. So much for talk (in this column) of a French club renaissance this season.

Libourne-Saint Seurin are at least following in an honoured tradition which touched nationwide epidemic proportions three seasons ago when amateur side Calais went all the way to the French Cup final, only to narrowly lose out to Nantes, beaten 2-1.

Unlike Calais, which subsequently experienced both sporting and financial problems, Libourne-Saint Seurin are unlikely to be unduly affected by last weekend's success. Their financial security is guaranteed by club president Bernard Laydis, a leading Saint Emilion vintners who provides an annual budget of €500,000. Given that wine sales show no signs of falling off, then Libourne- Saint Seurin looks sure to live to tell the tale of their days of giant-killing glory.

Coach Furlan, whose real job is to run the Equipe Furlan sports shop, is certainly keeping his feet on the ground: "I'm happy for all those people who came to see Olympique Lyonnais play and who went home delighted to have seen their own team win. But, we're now thinking about next Saturday's game and about maintaining our lead in the amateur league. Mind you, I suspect they'll be talking about us for a day or two yet."