Thursday, June 30, 2011

2010-11 UEFA Champions League Review

Another Procession, Exciting in Moments


Oddly, a somewhat tepid season with a lack of fireworks and only a smattering of exciting games.


Barcelona started the tournament as favourites and made good on their tag by easing to a comfortable Champions League crown, their second in three years.  A loss to Arsenal in their Round of 16 first leg aside, The Blaugrana were never under any pressure throughout and swept past Manchester United in a composed final victory at Wembley.


Real Madrid, their main challengers for the trophy, tried to run them close in a hard-fought, semi-final tie, but were never able to knock Barcelona off their stride.  A mental implosion as much as Barcelona's command of the game, left Real's challenge in tatters.  A visibly broken Jose Mourinho was left speechless, for once.




2010-11 European Club Power Rankings - Final

2010-11 European Club Power Rankings Final Edition

With the end of June signalling the end of the 2010-11 season, key transfers already in progress and with many crucial moves already done, we bid farewell to the season gone by with one last listing of the Top 25 European Clubs.

1) Barcelona - The World's Best football team.  Also see Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Alves, Pique.

2) Real Madrid - Several hundred million will get you to second spot, the rest is up to you.

3) Manchester United - In third spot but streets behind the first two.  The Fergie Factor.

4) Borussia Dortmund - German Engineering with a Champion flourish, utterly dominant from start to finish.

5) Porto - Rampant, Overpowering, both unstoppable force and immovable object.

6) Lille - Powerful, Pacy, Prolific.  Packs a Punch.  Won the French League with a commanding season.

7) Valencia - The only team in Europe that goes head to head with both Real and Barca, would win the league in any other country.

8) Chelsea - Old, but even while stuttering, a match for most teams.



9) Milan - Champion turn with a composed, yet transitional season. Turning a new leaf with a new generation taking root.

10) Inter - Jose-less and lacking in lustre but still able to beat most teams on its day. 

11) Manchester City - Slowly building steam while adding pedigree, you may not lose to them but you cannot beat them.

12) Napoli - Refreshing, young, passionate and penetrative.  Also has Lavezzi, Cavani and Hamsik. Ouch.

13) Bayern Munich - Excellent second half of the season, one of Europe's best teams since Feb 1 2011.

14) Arsenal - On its day, utterly destructive, on any other, remarkably fragile.

15) Villareal - Like England's fourth best team, sparkling and attacking but lacking in composure and steel.



16) Bayer Leverkusen - A solid season from an all round team that shone in the shadow of Dortmund.

17) Udinese - A slightly older version of Napoli, same features and style.  And Sanchez, Isla and Di Natale.

18) Sevilla - Diminished somewhat from the tearaways of previous years, but still impressed in extended flashes of brilliance.

19) Zenit - Eastern Europe's most dominant team, the continent's darkest horse.

20) Benfica - Domestically anaemic but still packed a punch in Europe.

21) Lyon - Rusted and somewhat lacking motivation but still packs a punch.

22) CSKA - Russia's next best team, able to go toe to toe with most of their European counterparts.

23) Tottenham Hotspur - Because of Bale, Modric and VDV, extremely dangerous. Because of Harry largely clueless.

24) Marseille - Jaded, Ponderous and lacking in spark, remains capable and consistent.

25) Ajax - A strong finish brought a Dutch league title but still very much a work in progress.




Wednesday, June 29, 2011

2011 Copa America Preview - Updated


 Group By Group

The 2011 Copa America kicks off this weekend with hosts Argentina hosting Bolivia on Friday, July 1 at 20:45 local time.

Since this was first published, Japan, who were original invitees have withdrawn. Their spot has been taken by Costa Rica from the Central America region of CONCACAF.  Costa Rica will kick off in Group A.

Group A:



Argentina, hosts and co-favourites, stand head and shoulders above the other teams in this group.  A deep and talented squad with the likes of Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria, Javier Pastore, Ever Banega and the two Ezequiels, Garay and Lavezzi, should easily finish as group winners, with a perfect record far from implausible.  Lionel Messi will have his work cut out for him as opposition defences look to double up to stop him.  A strong supporting cast should ensure that lapses in concentration, once the game seems won, do not recur.  Coach Sergio Batista and Captain Javier Mascherano will strive to ensure the home crowds are impressed with the fare on display, as they seek to take this team all the way.  Inter's Javier Zanetti has been given a recall to the squad at the age of 37.


2010-11 Spanish Primera Liga Review - Barcelona and Real Madrid Players

So,

After talking about the players from outside the big two in the main review, I highlight the best of the bunch from the Spain's two biggest clubs - Barcelona and Real Madrid.  Both teams are stocked with high octane, top class talent.  We look at the top performers from the 2010-11 season.


The best players in the World currently ply their trade in Spain and luckily for the national team, are mostly Spaniards.  So this list is as much a review of their performances as it is a citation of their skills and talent.  It is scary that so much talent is concentrated on two teams in the same league.


The rest of the league's players are reviewed here.

Top Players:

Lionel Messi - Despite playing in a team that contained match winners all over, Messi was very much the cherry on the cake, the focal point of their play and the cutting edge of their attack.  It says much that even after scoring 31 goals, Messi still carved out 21 assists in the league.  Even for a team like Barcelona, to be involved in 52 goals, is a sublime achievement.  Put simply, the world's best player when in Barcelona's uniform.



Cristiano Ronaldo - With 40 league goals and 10 assists, Ronaldo did his best to bring the league crown back to the Bernebeu.  Set a new record for the league goals as he scooped the Pichichi award ahead of rival Lionel Messi.  Too often looked to be waging a lone battle and not just because of his teammates' abilities.  Would be nice if he passed or smiled in defeat a bit more.  Other than that, the World's best winger / half-striker.



2010-11 Spanish Primera Liga Review

Barcelona('s) Complete Domination




In a season which saw La Liga completely tucked in the shadow of the Barcelona show, featuring plucky guest star Real Madrid, it is hard to see beyond the two giants.


While the Blaugrana utterly destroyed the rest of the league, picking up the league crown along with another Champions' League trophy, Real tried to run them close, edging them in a close Copa Del Rey final and racking up an impressive total of points.  However, as impressive as Real's tally of wins and points were, Barcelona's were even more.  The one index that Real managed to beat Barcelona at was league goals scored, with Madrid scoring 105 to Barca's 95.  Ironic then, that the world's greatest exponent of negative defending, Jose Mourinho, saw his side lose the title on the back of a relatively porous defence.  Real conceded 33 times while Barcelona only allowed 21.  In the end, the Catalans had a difference of +74 and 96 points while Real finished with +69 and 92 points.





Tuesday, June 28, 2011

2011 Russian League Midseason Wrap

Northern Lights


Like Brazil, Russia has a league season that runs in lock-step with the calendar year.  Unlike Brazil however, Russia does it because, despite being in the Northern Hemisphere, the climate it experiences forces it to utilize the short warm months between Spring and Winter.


So, Russia's league starts in March and ends in November.


However, having said all that, the current 2011–12 season is a transitional season, as it will stretch over 18 months instead of the conventional 12 months. The unusual length of the season is the result of the decision to adapt the playing year to an autumn-spring rhythm similar to most of the other UEFA leagues.



The Russian Premier League has 16 teams and plays a double round-robin with 30 games in the first phase.  This will be followed by a two tiered second phase - the top eight teams will play in a championship pool and the bottom eight will play in a relegation pool.  The top pool will decide the Champions' League and Europa League places.


At the moment Russia's League is ranked seventh in Europe by UEFA.  The winner gets a spot in the Champions' League Group Stage while the runners-up heads into the third qualifying round.  In recent years, massive backing by businessmen and corporations have injected much needed financial muscle into Russia and they are one of the emerging destinations for some of the World's top talent.

At time of writing we are at the halfway stage with 16 games having been played by all teams.  Only league leader CSKA Moscow has played one less.


CSKA lead the league by four points over defending champions Zenit St. Petersburg.  With a game in hand over Zenit, CSKA are currently in pole position to finish top of the table in the first phase.  However, there are plenty of twists and turns left with the title to be decided in another 11 months.


Intriguingly, Zenit lost its home game to CSKA after it was awarded 3-0 to the visitors for a breach of regulations.  Essentially, under league rules, all teams must play at least one player with a Russian passport born in 1990 or later in every league game.  Although Zenit drew its encounter 1-1 with CSKA, it did not have such a player in the lineup with none of its seven Russians born on or after January 1 1990.  As a result the league awarded the game 3-0 to CSKA.  Luciano Spaletti, the Zenit coach, was unaware of the severity of the punishment, being under the impression that a fine would be the maximum penalty.  It is disappointing that such a measure was taken in a key encounter between the two best teams in the league.  One hopes that the title does not come down to a three goal or one win margin between the two clubs.


CSKA have been the class of the league with 10 wins and 4 draws from their 15 games.  Their haul of 31 goals is the best in the league with their defence having conceded a league lowest 10 goals.  Their only loss was a home loss to derby rivals Spartak 1-0.  Talented coach Leonid Slutsky's charges look good value to hold on to their lead.


Behind them Zenit and Dynamo Moscow are neck and neck with 30 and 29 points respectively.  Zenit are struggling to break free of the pack and have been in second gear all season.  With arguably the best squad and coaching structure, one expected a repeat of last season's domination.  Dynamo on the other hand have had a fallow few years and are enjoying a resurgence that bodes well for the local rivalry amongst Moscow clubs - CSKA, Dynamo, Spartak and Lokomotiv.


Positions 4 - 6 are filled by smaller teams with 2009 winners Rubin Kazan, Anzhi and Kuban sitting in upper mid table while the two remaining Moscow clubs Spartak and Lokomotiv round out the top eight.  At the other end of the table, Krylya, Spartak Nalchik and Rostov are in the bottom three.  Georgian side Terek Grozny, till recently coached by Ruud Gullit, are in 11th and held Zenit to a draw in the last round.

Top Players:

Seydou Doumbia - With nine goals so far, the Ivorian marksman is leading the charge for league leaders CSKA.  Five times he has opened the scoring as Doumbia has allayed uncanny finishing with a complete lack of nerves.  With Drogba on his way out, a partnership with Gervinho up front for the national team beckons.


Danko Lazovic - The Serb striker continues to light it up for Zenit.  At 26, the hitman is at the peak of his powers and is one half of a powerful striking unit for the team from the western seaport.  Spaletti will hope that he stays healthy for Zenit to last the course and pick up more silverware.


Alexander Kerzhakov - The Butch Cassidy to Lazovic's Sundance, the former Sevilla frontman has taken off from where he left last season.  Seven goals and a brace of assists provides the able foil that Lazovic needs at the spearhead of the Zenit attack.  A fan favourite and national team forward, his presence brings an experienced local connection.


Sergei Ignashevich - In addition to having a stellar season at the back as an ever present for his club, the CSKA captain has chipped in with four goals and an assist to lead the title charge.  At 31, the veteran is a stalwart at the back and arguably the best defender in the league.


Keisuke Honda - Another CSKA player having a solid season, the Japanese midfielder and free kick expert, has rifled in four goals despite only starting nine times.  Having brought his impressive array of passing to a tireless running game, Honda has been instrumental on the left side of the CSKA midfield.


Roman Adamov - A diamond in the rough with Rostov, the lanky striker's six goals have kept his team hovering just above and about the relegation zone.  The team needs him to stay healthy and continue scoring - four times he has been the player to get his team on the board.


Pavel Golyshev - The main man behind Tom Tomsk's league campaign, the wily midfielder is at the heart of everything his team creates and is the leading scorer for them with six goals along with three assists.  At 23, his best days are still ahead of him.


Igor Akinfeev - Still the best keeper in the land and the best custodian East of the Elbe.  At 25, Akinfeev is well on his way to becoming the equal of legendary Soviet stopper Lev Yashin.  Strong in the air, cultured in his distribution and possessing excellent reflexes, he gives both club and country a cornerstone in net.



*It has just emerged that Anzhi Makhachkala, sixth in the league, have had a $45 million bid for Neymer accepted by Santos.  Although Anzhi are the least favoured of the five clubs to have made such a bid, it reflects the growing ambition of Russian clubs.

Brazilian Serie A Week 7 Preview

Copa America casts its shadow over the Campeonato.

The Serie A turns to midweek games this week as it looks to get another round done before the big continental tournament.  In a year that sees the Copa America start at week's end, round seven is slated to take place on Wednesday and Thursday.  Although weeks 7 through 11 are scheduled during the tournament itself, many teams will be without some of their top players.


Already Sao Paulo rested Lucas and Casemiro for their match-up last week against Corinthians.  Chances are the pair may be absent for the midweek fixtures as well.

Week 7 sees a bunch of intriguing fixtures, many of them brought into added significance with the dramatic readjustments at the top of the table.


Wednesday sees six games on tap in a unique symmetry:

- Two games should see easy home wins - Gremio over Avai and Vasco Da Gama over Cruzeiro.
- Two games should see close away wins - Corinthians at Bahia and Flamengo at America Mineiro
- Two games should see draws featuring Paulista teams who should be stronger than their opponents but will be held to a draw all the same - Santos at Figueirense (the latter are solid at home) and Sao Paulo at home to Botafogo (the latter are on a five game unbeaten streak with three wins in that run).

Santos returns to domestic action after a two week hiatus during which it won the 2011 Copa Libertadores.


Thursday has the four remaining games as, after a two week break, all 10 matches are played in the same week:

Home wins beckon for Palmeiras over At Go and for Coritiba over Ceara.  Internacional should beat Atl Mineiro in Belo Horizonte but Fluminense will probably draw Atl Para at home.  The defending champions attack is most anaemic with just four goals in six games.


The Copa America kicks off Friday July 1 2011 with Argentina playing Bolivia.


Monday, June 27, 2011

Brazilian Serie A Week 6

The 2011 Brazilian Serie A Title Race is back on!

In a nutshell, the top teams mostly dropped points, several teams in the lower part of the table scored important wins, All four Rio clubs won, two of the three Sao Paulo clubs lost and Ceara and Bahia both won!

--

Massive shock at the top of the table as second placed Corinthians destroyed Sao Paulo 5-0 at home at the Municipal Stadium.  Despite not playing their U-20 stars in Casemiro and Lucas, one expected Sao Paulo to still have enough to hold off Corinthians.  However Leonardo Bacchi's side blew away their local rivals in a game that they dominated from start to finish.  Portuguese striker Liedson scored a hat-trick and Jorge Henrique and Danilo chipped in with a goal each.


Sao Paulo have been stopped in their tracks and the rest of the league has a chance again.  Although they still lead the table with 15 points from six games, Corinthians are now second with 13 from five matches.  More interestingly, Palmeiras, who were second heading into the weekend, lost away at Ceara and now drop down to third with 11 from six games.  Stephanie Araujo must be inconsolable.


Towards the bottom of the table, Ceara won 2-0 with goals from Washington and Thiago Humberto.  While Palmeiras lose momentum at the top of the table, Ceara broke clear of the relegation zone and now sit in 14th spot with seven points from their six games.  Palmeiras are now winless in three away games.


All four Rio clubs had a good weekend, for once, as all collected points after weeks of disappointing results.

On Saturday, Flamengo finally came good as they downed Atletico Mineiro 4-1 at home.  Both Ronaldinho and Dudu Cearense got on the scoreshtto for their respective clubs while a Thiago Neves strike and a Deivid double rounded out the win for Flamengo.  After four straight draws, this win takes Flamengo to sixth in the table.


Mineiro's season is stuck in reverse, winless for four games they now drop to tenth.

Elsewhere in Rio De Janeiro, Botafogo beat Gremio 2-1, at home, for their second win in three games as they extended their unbeaten streak to five games.  Marcelo Mattos and, waitforit, Elkeson, scored the goals for the fire as they now sit in fourth spot.  Gremio, are winless in three as they lost for the second time in that stretch.  A late Rafael Marques goal was nothing more than a consolation as they were unable to overcome the deficit once Fernando saw red in the 70th minute.  They fall to 13th.


Fluminense, as expected travelled to Avai and beat them 1-0 with a goal from striker Dario Conca.  Fellow forward Rafael Moura saw red but the defending champions held on for a three points away from home.  Avai remain rock bottom with one point and 18 goals in the away column.  Fluminense rise to ninth.


Rounding out the Rio teams, Vasco scored a solid away win, 1-0 at Atl Go.  Although At Go are having a mixed season, they are strong at home.  The Stadium of the Governor of Goias (no seriously), is a notoriously hard place to travel to.  With Elton and Bernardo starting on the bench, Felipe scored an early goal for Vasco.  Vasco are now fifth as At Go drop to 12th.



So four games and four wins for Rio's footballing fraternity.

The remaining games on Saturday saw Cruzeiro beat Coritiba 2-1 at home with Argentine Walter Montillo scoring a brace.  Cru leapfrog their opponents as they rise to 15th while Coritiba drop down to 18th, deep in the relegation zone.


Speaking of relegation zone, Bahia scored another crucial and massive away win, beating Atl Para 2-0 at their home ground in Curitiba. The Estadio Joaquim America Guimares will be hosting games at the 2014 World Cup.  Bahia's two game road trip has ended perfectly with two wins out of two.  They return to their home in Fortaleza sitting pretty in 11th while Para stay in 19th with a single point.


Finally, Internacional restored the ying-yang of Porto Allegre.  Since Gremio lost, Inter promptly won, beating high flying Figueirense 4-1 at home.  Both Leandro Damiao and Oscar scored for the home side as Figueirense's three game unbeaten streak came to an end.


While Bahia scored another crucial away win, Corinthians notched the result of the round beating crosstown rivals Sao Paulo 5-0.

Portuguese striker Liedson joins Bernardo (Vasco) and Luan (Palmeiras) at the top of the scoring charts with four goals.



--

Although Sao Paulo clubs are still 1-2-3, two of them lost as Palmeiras and Corinthians traded places.
All four Rio clubs won.
Only two clubs are now unbeaten, Corinthians and Ronaldinho's Flamengo.
Three clubs remain winless in Avai, Atletico Paranaense and Cruzeiro.
Both teams from the city of Curitiba lost.
All 9 games had a result as 27 goals were scored.

--

At least the top 13 sides will qualify for continental competition next spring while the bottom four teams will get relegated to the 2012 Serie B.  Santos added to the four spots the league gets in the 2012 Copa Libertadores by winning this year's edition.

--

Vasco Da Gama, who won the Copa Do Brasil, have booked a spot at the 2012 Copa Libertadores.




Weekend International Soccer Review - Gold Cup and Euro U-21 Finals

Before I start, yes I used soccer and not football, but I felt it relevant since one of the two topics I wrote about involved the US national team.  And in the USA and Canada, football is called soccer.

There, got that off my chest.

--

2011 Gold Cup Final:

Mexico came back from 2-0 down to beat USA 4-2 and win their second Gold Cup on the trot.  By retaining their CONCACAF championship, they have gone a step further in asserting their regional dominance, progressed further in erasing memories of bad previous defeats to their Northern neighbours as well as get some excellent warm-up action before their Copa America campaign against the big boys from South America.

USA player well and threatened to upset applecart by stopping the Mexican juggernaut but eventually did not have the composure or technical ability that their rivals did.

Opening goals from Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan were well worked but hardly emphatic and one sensed that Mexico were just slowly getting into gear while they recovered from a slow start.

Although Javier Hernandez had a quiet game, for once, despite coming close, others stepped up and into the breach.  Pablo Berrera scored a brace, Andres Guardado scored the equalizer and finally Giovanni Dos Santos, who was a thorn in the American's side throughout, sealed the trophy with a fourth goal that completed the rout in the 76th minute.

It says much about the performance from El-Tricolore that second highest goalscorer Jesus De Nigris remained on the bench all game.

A flurry of defensive substitutions were a key feature of this game.  First at 1-0, American defender Steve Cherundulo had to be hauled off as he picked up an injury, only to be followed by Mexican pair Rafael Marquez and Carlos Salcido, both of whom had been replaced by the 42nd minute.

Mexico repeated their 2009 win while Team USA had a good tournament but will have wanted to put an exclamation mark on their tournament with a win.

All the goals (replete with enthusiastic Spanish commentary):

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2011 Euro U-21 Final:

Spain, pre-tournament favourites, beat Switzerland 2-0in the final.

A efficient, creative and composed performance saw the Spanish junior team, if you will, beat their tricky opponents in a final that was played with the typical passing and moving style perfected by current Spanish footballing teams.  Although Switzerland briefly threatened and leading scorer Adrian Lopez had an off day for the Spanish, once again, a complete team performance saw them through.

Goals from Ander Herrera and a sumptuous Thiago Alcantara free-kick sealed the win.

Herrera's header for 1-0

Alcantara's free kick for 2-0

Juan Mata and Javi Martinez both won their second international crown in two years with a Euro U-21 title to go with their World Cup win.

Spain keep rolling and now have a backup squad to their all conquering senior side.



Saturday, June 25, 2011

2010-11 French Ligue 1 Review


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.