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French Revelations: Move Over Serie A & Bundesliga, Ligue 1’s Europe’s Third Force

With UEFA coefficients demonstrating that Ligue 1 sides are out-performing their counterparts from Italy and Germany, Goal.com’s Robin Bairner has a look at the performances of the French sides who recorded impressive victories in this week’s Champions League fixtures…

Oct 22, 2009 4:59:06 PM

Champions League : Girondins de Bordeaux

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Champions League : Girondins de Bordeaux

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Despite the well publicised dominance of the Premier League, the Primera Division and, to a lesser extent, Serie A, it’s a remarkable fact that this week, Ligue 1, presently Europe’s fifth-ranked league judging by UEFA coefficients over the last five years, was the only ‘major’ country to enjoy a 100 per cent success rate in the Champions League.

The remarkable hat-trick of victories from the French clubs has left all three hopefuls from Le Championnat in with a fine chance of progression from their respective sections and will also see more cries to suggest that the French domestic league is starting to become increasingly competitive on the European scene.

For years Olympique Lyonnais were the side that carried the hopes of Ligue 1 into Europe’s most elite club competition, while only sporadic forays from the likes of Monaco kept the profile of the other 19 clubs up. For all OL’s pomp and bluster in the mid-2000s, the best they could manage were a succession of quarter-final berths, which have slowly deteriorated into last 16 finishes.

But a busy summer in the transfer market by general manager Claude Puel and president Jean-Michel Aulas – Lyon were one of the top spenders in Europe, remember – has brought with it a team that will at least threaten the semi-finals once more.

Liverpool fans will feverishly point out that the Reds were without Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson during Tuesday evening’s defeat at Anfield, and they would also raise a valid point when noting that influential captain Steven Gerrard’s early exit had a part to play in the result, but Lyon had their own concerns. In fact, it could even be argued les Gones’ worries were more chronic.

OL would also lose a key member of their side in the first half. Brazilian centre-back Cris was withdrawn and replaced by young holding midfielder Maxime Gonalons, who had never previously played in a central defensive berth. Indeed, he would team up with Jeremy Toulalan, whose experience in that position amounts to a handful of games played over the last month because of injuries to all of the club’s other centre-backs, including youth players Sebastien Faure and Nicolas Seguin.

Lady luck might not have been smiling on the Reds, but she was hardly in bed with Lyon when an incisive passing move down the right flank dissected the flailing Liverpool defence and ended with Sidney Govou playing the most subtle of crosses along the six-yard line for Cesar Delgado to slide in at the far post.

And this was not Puel’s side at their best. There is more to come from the likes of Lisandro Lopez, who is just finding his feet after a troublesome injury, and Jean Makoun.

Meanwhile, Kim Kallstrom's persistently excellent displays in the middle of the field deserve particular praise. The functional Swede is a tireless worker and possesses greater technical ability than he is often given credit for, providing the perfect foil for Miralem Pjanic, a creative teenage midfielder growing in stature with every game.

Scrum Down | OL were too good for 'Pool

While Lyon’s victory on Merseyside may have been the most eye-catching of the French midweek performances, credit must also go to Girondins de Bordeaux for a terrific win over Bayern Munich.

Cynics would point to the fact that they were against ten men for much of the match and were awarded two penalties en route to a seemingly narrow 2-1 success at the Stade Chaban-Delmas, but it is also worth considering the Bavarians failed to muster a shot on target in the entire first half according to UEFA’s official statistics. After falling behind to an own goal, Bordeaux bossed the Bundesliga outfit, controlling the ball and forcing their opponents into silly fouls, two of which earned Thomas Mueller his marching orders.

After three matches, few would have expected Laurent Blanc’s side to top a group also containing Juventus and Maccabi Haifa, and they have certainly given themselves a scaffold around which to plan for the last 16.

Teamwork rather than individual brilliance lies at the heart of les Girondins’ ethic, hence Blanc’s fury at Yoann Gourcuff’s perceived showboating on a penalty kick on Wednesday evening. The whole is more important than the individual.

However, that’s not to say Bordeaux don’t have some talented players in their ranks. Gourcuff and Marouane Chamakh are the most widely known, but Brazilian midfielder Wendel and locally-born left-back Benoit Tremoulinas, who is reportedly being courted by Inter, are a potent combination down the flank, while Fernando and Alou Diarra are often overlooked commodities in the centre of the field. In addition, former Lorient centre-back Michael Ciani has proven his ability to compete with the best on this stage following his summer move from the Breton club.

Don’t underestimate what a strong job Blanc has done with the Aquitaine outfit.

Going Up | Heinze celebrates his winner in Zurich

In many ways Olympique de Marseille’s Didier Deschamps is trying to build a similar side in the south of France, but with a high turnover of players in the summer they are suffering teething problems, which have been clear in Europe. OM certainly look likely to finish third at best in an illustrious group that also contains Real Madrid, Milan and Zurich.

Les Phoceens were not particularly slick as they defeated the Swiss side on Wednesday night, but they completed their task by winning 1-0. However, Milan’s victory over Real comes as a blow to ‘DD’ & Co. If the Rossoneri truly are over their slump, then it seems the Stade Velodrome club missed a trick when they were caught out by the Italians at home. For all their summer investment, and for all the ability and skill of Mamadou Niang, who is surely one of the best African players around at the moment, winning at the San Siro or triumphing against Los Blancos at home will be tough asks – and that’s even assuming they defeat Zurich in a fortnight.

The wider picture looks good too. Le Championnat’s summit is congested with sides battling for the podium spots – only three points separate the top six sides – suggesting that there is a fair degree of depth in the club game in France at the moment, and that is supported by decent performances from Toulouse and Lille, 12th and 15th respective in the Le Championnat, in the Europa League.

UEFA’s coefficients to date for this season also suggest that Ligue 1 isn’t faring too badly. Indeed, only England and Spain boast better records this season and the French, who were somewhat handicapped by the fairytale run of Guingamp in the Coupe de France last season (the Ligue 2 side qualified for the Europa League and promptly crashed out to Hamburg), are ahead of both their Italian and German counterparts.

So, looking down on Serie A and the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 is entitled to bask in its moment in the spotlight, and there is certainly evidence that such success can continue in the short-term, especially as the likes of Bordeaux gain valuable experience on a weekly basis.

Robin Bairner, Goal.com

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