In England, we are spoiled
with the glamour of the Barclays Premier League and so the knowledge of various
European leagues may be lacking for the every day English football fan. When I
ask people what they imagine when thinking of Ligue 1, they mention the
dominance of Olympic Lyonnais as well as it being the league that an ex England
favourite in Joe Cole has escaped to after his horror season at Liverpool.
Yet, despite the
belief that such teams as Olympic Lyonnais and Marseille are the two
powerhouses of French football, as of 2012, this claim would be wrong, as in
the last three years, Bordeaux and Lille have taken the title (as well as a
first win for Marseille in a number of years after finishing second best on
many occasions). We must also not forget the newly confirmed “oil rich” Paris
Saint German after appointing previous Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti as manager,
and splashing the cash on various stars such as Javier Pastore. Yet despite the challenge of clubs such as
Lille and PSG, in one of the strangest Ligue 1 seasons I can remember, a new
club is on everyones lips, this club being Montpellier Herault Sporting Club.
The South Eastern
City club are sitting on the summit of Ligue 1, holding off the incredibly rich
PSG, and yet they have not spent masses on a new squad in attempt to improve on
their last season, finishing 14th in the League and a valiant cup
run, ending runners up to Marseille.
They sit on 66 points from 32 games, and yet despite the gap between
them and PSG being closed to 3 points, the achievements of the team managed by
the ex France u21 manager René Girard have been astronomical.
I recently watched
Montpellier dispatch of Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome in a 3-1 victory, in which I witnessed one of the goals
of the season (a wonderfully executed scissor kick). The goal scorers in this
game arguably epitomise the clubs amazing season, as they have also rose from
nowhere to become two players on many clubs shortlists for the summer. These
players being Younès Belhanda, a 22 year old Moroccan, who Girard himself
compared to the legendary Robert Pirès as well as the current Ligue 1 top goal
scorer Olivier Giroud, a 25 year old striker who has notched up no less than 20
goals this season in the league. A brace from Belhanda (the latter being a
strike of real quality, as you can see from the highlights below) and an
equally exquisite finish from Giroud were what saw off the newly crowned Coupe
de la Ligue champion, and they are goals that any football fan would applaud.
Highlights Marseille 1-3 MHSC
If this team can fend off supposedly “bigger” clubs
for their star players, I see no reason why they cannot have a real go in the
Champions League next year, also, as we can see by looking at financial
statistics, this teams performances have been based on chemistry and passion,
not a cheque book, so I wish the best of luck to Montpellier for the final stage
of the Ligue 1 campaign
Good Job Pricey, keep it going!
ReplyDeleteThey're like the Dortmund of Ligue 1! Very small budget in comparison to Lyon. I think they'll need to invest heavily in the summer, if they want to make it big in Europe.
ReplyDeleteGood start though Pricey :)