Smaller Sides Shine the Light
In a season that was dominated by Lille from the end of November to the end of the season, the focus naturally, is hard to shift from Rudi Garcia's side. However the 2011 season brought a refreshing change of pace and shone light beyond the bigger sides of Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and PSG.
A fourth different winner of Ligue 1 in as many years. Lille continued a trend that is a welcome change from the monotony of the Lyon championship years. Moreover many of the smaller sides outperformed their better heeled counterparts as Toulouse, Stade Renne and St. Etienne all held the lead at one point.
Sochaux finished in fifth spot and Rennes came in sixth, as the season saw great games from the lesser lights and a healthy spread of talent and performance up and down the division. A year on from French football's darkest hour during their World Cup mutiny, the footballing scene looks healthy and replenished. Several young stars have emerged as a new generation looks ready to step into the shoes vacated by their predecessors at national level.
Although French teams are playing better football, their runs on the continent remain somewhat stunted with only Lyon being able to consistently make the grade. However, with a young generation of managers proving themselves to be up to the task, led by Rudi Garcia, Didier Deschamps and of course Laurent Blanc. The minor kerfuffle kicked up by an alleged secret taping of Blanc and several FFF bigwigs only served to prove that the French youth training and coaching system, is still one of the best in the World and responsible for the upturn in fortunes of several African teams as well.
A new set of stars are ready on the horizon as France hopes to assault Spain's hegemony in International football. A qualifying campaign for Euro 2012 proceeds apace with the national team, for once, blending harmony and performance. Next season, while Lille returns to the Champions' League, notably, with few omissions, Rennes and Sochaux embark on Europa League football.
The Rooster crows only when it sees light.
Top Ten Players:
Moussa Sow - The cutting edge of Lille's double-winning campaign, his goals and presence up front were a consistent menace for opponents of Rudi Garcia's side. Scored 25 goals and chipped in with a couple of assists in a thunderous, rampant and prolific season.
Kevin Gameiro - After being heralded as one of the most talented new players from France's latest generation, Gameiro promptly produced a season to display what all the hype was about. Leading the line for little Lorient, his season returned 22 goals and three assists.
Youssef El-Arabi - 17 goals and five assists are welcome by anyone's standards, but when you plough a lone furrow for minnows Caen, those numbers are doubly impressive. The spiritual successor to countryman Mustapha Hadji, El-Arabi is the Maghreb's most exciting young footballer.
Gregory Pujol - Another French star having a standout season late in his career (see Steve Savidan, Pierre-Alain Frau) with 17 goals and three helpers, Pujol was a consistent performer for Valenciennes as they finished a decent 12th. Strong in the air and deadly in the box, he opened the scoring on 11 occasions.
Loic Remy - Highly sought after with several clubs from abroad expressing their interest, the Marseille striker showed that his performances for Nice were no flash in the pan. 16 goals and three assists in his first season for the defending champions was an excellent return s he slowly establishes himself in the national team as well.
Marvin Martin - Sochaux rarely threatened for the title but after an excellent season, finished in a highly commendable fifth spot. A lot of their progress was due to the tireless work performed in the middle of the park by Martin who led the league with 19 assists along with his three goals.
Eden Hazard - The best winger in the league, the Belgian tyro was a revelation on the left and up front for Lille. Pacy, confident and blessed with excellent close control, his season was a series of highlight reels. Excellent support for Gervinho and Sow in the attack with seven goals and nine assists.
Nene - Ligue 1's latest Brazilian sensation, the striker, who bears a striking resemblance to Portugal's Nani, had an excellent season, leading PSG to the Cup Final and fourth place in the league. Remarkably potent for one of the division's lowest scorers, he tallied 14 goals and 11 assists.
Gervinho - The most all-round attacker in the league, the Ivorian has stepped up to become Drogba's heir at national level. The perfect foil for strike partner Sow, he proved that Lille have the best one-two punch in the division as he notched 14 goals and 10 assists often being both the focal point of the attack as well as the deep lying striker.
Nicolas Douchez - He led the league with 16 clean sheets in 37 starts and one of the best save ratios. Rennes built their team around a strong defence and Douchez was the helmsman who starred between the posts. After 111 sterling appearances for the red and black striped side, his performances earned a move to PSG in the off season.
Top Ten Moments:
St. Etienne at the summit - Autumn 2010 - The Green and White stripes, who had once reached the European Cup final in the 1970s, during a three year domestic title reign, were reliving some of their glory days with an excellent start to the season. A sign of things to come, the lead went through five different clubs, including Toulouse and Rennes before Lille took over and never let go.
Lille 6 - 3 Lorient - December 2010 - A glorious advert for French football as an engrossing tie saw free-flowing football being played from end to end between the two most attacking teams in the league. Nine goals, six different scorers, a hat trick for Moussa Sow, a double for Kevin Gameiro and further proof of the Champions' determination and bloody mindedness as home.
1204 fans for Auxerre v Paris St Germain - March 2011 - A classic match between one of the heavyweights from the capital and a side that played in the current season's Champions' League, was a major headache for the league's promoters. Just over a thousand punters came in to see the game that was anything but a relegation zone scrap.
Quota-gate - Spring 2011 - A secret taped transcript of a meeting between Laurent Blanc and senior member of the French Football Federation seemed to reveal the desire for quotas for players who weren't inherently Gallic in descent, despite being born in the country, to immigrants. After an expose, their were quick recriminations followed by even quicker recantations by the national team coach. However, few were unduly concerned by the episode.
Olympique Marseille 1 - 2 Lille - March 2011 - Game, set and surely match, as a Pierre Alain Frau goal, right at the death condemned Marseille to defeat in a match they just had to win. Lille's triumph signaled the changing of the guard as they ended the season on a roll to win the league.
Chambery in Coupe De France Quarter-Finals - March 2011 - With half the draw (4/8) made up of teams from outside Ligue 1, and the same proportion (8/16) in the previous round of 16 also from outside the top league, the trend for upsets had been set. However CFA Group D side Chambery became the first AMATEUR side in Coupe De France history to reach the last eight after defeating THREE Ligue 1 sides on the way - Monaco, Brest and Sochaux.
Lille winning the double after beating PSG in the Cup final - May 2011 - As preached in the Budweiser beer commercials, go big or go home. After surprising many by claiming the League 1 crown, Lille went on to bag the double for good measure as well with a defeat of PSG in the Coupe De France final. No half measures for this side as their domination was complete.
Bordeaux 0 - 4 Sochaux - May 2011 - The 2009 winners looked a good bet to get back to the top four at-least, after their title challenge had faded. However, in a tussle between a team destined to play in the Europa League next season and a team that used to play in the Champions League ended in a resounding thrashing for the much heralded home side. The biggest away win of the season.
Monaco getting relegated on the last day of the season - May 2011 - On the division's most cultured, successful and popular clubs, it had followed up titles in the 1990s with regular trips to the later rounds in Europe including the 2004 Champions' League final. However after a stop-start season, their humiliating fall from grace was complete in a final day loss at home, no less, to Lyon, 2-0.
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