2011/12 Season Review: France

May 26, 2012

Ligue One

Toulouse FC finished the season tied with Olympique Lyonnais, but took home the Ligue One championship by virtue of a nine-goal edge in scoring differential. OM joins those two in the Champions League next year, while AS Saint-Etienne, AS Monaco, and Stade Malherbe Caen will compete in the EURO Cup. Notice who’s missing: last year’s champion, Paris Saint-Germain, finished in eighth place after a decidedly average season.

Perhaps the best performance came from LOSC Lille Métropole, who finished eleventh in their first year after promotion. The other two newly promoted teams, USBCO and Montpellier Hérault SC, were relegated back to Ligue 2 along with Le Mans UC 72.

Top Goalscorer: 31, Robert Vittek (LOSC Lille Métropole)
Top Rated Player: 7.78, Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse FC)

Last year’s top goalscorer, Guillaume Hoarau, had a solid year for Paris Saint-Germain, and this was Sissoko’s second consecutive year as the top rated player in Ligue One. There are rumors that he may be destined for England in the near future.

Ligue 2

ESTAC ran away with the Ligue Two title, followed by Tours FC and FC Nantes. For Nantes, that means their stay in Ligue Two was a single season. The news was at the bottom of the table where RC Strasbourg, Paris FC, and Grenoble Foot 38 were relegated, meaning Grenoble dropped two levels in two years. Of the three teams promoted last season, Paris FC heads back down, but both Chamois Niortais and Stade de Reims survive for another year in France’s second division.

Top Goalscorer: 35, Thiago Ribeiro (RC Strasbourg)
Top Rated Player: 7.75, Fatjon Rroshi (Stade Rennais FC)

Ribeiro parlayed his excellent season into a transfer to Ligue One OGC Nice while Albanian wunderkind Rroshi has been attracting the attention of Tottenham, Bursapor, and Paris Saint-Germain after a great year that saw him score twenty-five and setup fourteen. Both of last year’s stars, Amr Zaki and Silvan Aegerter moved up to Ligue One with LOSC Lille Métropole, having solid seasons in the top flight.

French National

Stade Brestois 29 and SC Bastia return to Ligue Two, along with Evian TG FC. Those three teams were clearly the class of the French National League, easily outdistancing US Créteil-Lusitanos. Racing CF Levallois 92, Rodez Aveyron Football, Sporting Toulon Var, and Pacy Football all find themselves moving down on the season.

Top Goalscorer: 22, Kassi Ouédraogo (AC Arles Avignon)
Top Rated Player: 7.57, Khaled Melliti (AC Arles Avignon)

With both recognized players, it may be a surprise that Arles finished only four points above the relegation zone. Last year’s top goalscorer retired from professional football while Oliver Fontenette had a solid year for Arles.

2011 European Champion’s League Draw

August 25, 2011

It’s that time of the year again, as the 32 teams involved in the Champion’s League are selected for group play.

A: Liverpool, Juventus, Stuttgart, Lech.

The financial crisis has Liverpool needing to stay alive as long as possible in the Champion’s League, with each game worth potentially millions of dollars. Look for them to rise to the occasion, while a dogfight breaks out for the second spot, with it most likely going to Juventus, who have added Mirko Vucinic up front to go along with the defense anchored by Giorgio Chiellini and Gianluigi Buffon.

B: Olympique de Marseilles, Genoa, Fenerbahçe, Moscow.

A tight group, but Olympique de Marseilles and Genoa should have enough quality to proceed. Marseille could be a dark horse to make some noise in the tournament: much depends on how teenage Czech starlet Vaclav Kadlec works up front with veteran Nicolas Anelka.

C: Atletico Madrid, HSV, Metalist, Litex.

With Angel Di María and Michael Carrick supporting the attack of Giuseppe Rossi, Falcao, and Diego Forlán, the Spanish side should have a walk. HSV can consider themselves fortunate with the draw, as in several other groups they would be hard-pressed to progress; here, however, they should find themselves up to the challenge. Expectations are especially high for their Peruvian phenom Gary Martinez’ debut in the spotlight of European football.

D. Real Madrid, Everton, Rosenborg, Unirea Urziceni.

Unless Everton collapse entirely, look for them to move ahead along with Real Madrid in what is easily the weakest of the groups. Both teams have too much quality to stumble with Madrid, as usual, struggling to find enough playing time to go around for their squad.

E. Barcelona, Celtic, Paris Saint-Germain, Besiktas.

Barcelona has to be considered one of the favorites to win it all and, despite a spirited go from Celtic, Paris Saint-Germain should advance as well.

F: FC Bayern, Panathinaikos, Manchester City, FC Salzburg.

Manchester City should be able to turn their talent into results here, but the second spot is wide open. It should be Bayern’s to lose, but the German side has been decidedly unimpressive to date.

G: Chelsea, Fiorentina, Anderlecht, AS Nancy Lorraine.

Chelsea should top the group, but none of these teams are pushovers. Still, Anderlecht has to be seen as the weakest of the four, while the race between Fiorentina and ASNL may come down to the final matches.

H: Inter, Ajax, Braga, Rubin.

A fascinating group: Inter look vulnerable for the first time in years, Ajax is struggling to replace the scoring acumen of Luis Suárez (although two youngsters, the Brazilian Guilherme and the Serbian Miralem Sulejmani, are emerging as viable options), while both Braga and Rubin have enough talent to cause an upset. I expect Inter and Braga to move on, but it really could be any two of these clubs.

2010/11 Season Review: France

Ligue 1

Paris Saint-Germain topped Ligue 1 comfortably after last year’s disappointing finish, finishing well ahead of OM and susprising AS Nancy Lorraine, who nudged last year’s champions, Olympique Lyonnais into fourth place. The surprise of the season, however, was newly promoted Angers SCO, who finished 8^th in the table and only narrowly missed out on European play their first year in Ligue 1. FC Metz will also be returning to the top flight of French football, but FC Nantes’ stay there will be brief, as they join Stade Rennais and Grenoble Foot 38 in relegation to Ligue 2.

Top Goalscorer: 26. Guillaume Hoarau (Paris Saint-Germain)
Top Rated Player: 7.72. Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse)

Hoarau’s teammate, Mevlüt Erdinç, led the league last year with 27 goals: he added 25 this year. Ligue 1’s best player last year, Yoann Gourcuff, had another strong year for Girondins Bordeaux as well.

Ligue 2

All three of the teams relegated from Ligue 1 last season (Montpelier Hérault SC, LOSC Lille Métropole, and USBCO) will return next season after finishing in the top three spots in Ligue 2. However, three new teams will drop out of the league, as SC Bastia, Havre AC, and Stade Brestois 29 rounded out the bottom of the table.

Top Goalscorer: 30. Amr Zaki (LOSC Lille Métropole)
Top Rated Player: 7.80. Silvan Aegerter (LOSC Lille Métropole)

French National

Stade de Reims, Chamois Niortais, and Paris FC all earned promotion into Ligue 2 next season. The real news, though, is the complete disaster that is Nîmes Olympique: last year, they were in Ligue 2, next year they will be relegated out of the French National league, along with Aviron Bayonnais, AS Cherbourg, and US Luzenac. Nîmes accomplished this feat despite boasting the league’s top goalscorer, Togolese veteran Thomas Dossevi.

Top Goalscorer: 28. Thomas Dossevi (Nîmes Olympique)
Top Rated Player: 7.87. Oliver Fontenette (AC Arles Avignon)

2010/11 UEFA Cup Group Draw

August 26, 2010

With the qualifying games coming to a close, the draw for the UEFA Cup was finalized earlier today in a ceremony filled with all the pomp and circumstance it deserved. And then some. The sequins are being swept up, the balloons popped, and all that is left is for the pundits to pontificate.

Here are the groups:

Group A: Arsenal, AS Roma, Olympiakos SF Piraeus, Rubin Kazan

Group B: AFC Ajax, FC Internazionale, FK Partizan Beograd, Tottenham Hotspur

Group C: FC Barcelona, Hamburger SV, RSC Anderlecht, BSC Young Boys

Group D: Olympique Lyonnais, Futebol Clube do Porto-SAD, Athletic Club, Hapoel Tel-Aviv

Group E: Real Madrid, Fenerbahçe, Paris Saint-Germain, Genoa

Group F: Sporting CP, PSV, Chelsea, Spartak Moscow

Group G: Werder Bremen, Juventus, Rangers, FC Universitatea Craiova

Group H: Shakhtar, Olympique Marseilles, Everton, Sparta Prague

This competition looks ripe for upsets, with only one group—Barcelona’s Group C—looking like a cakewalk for the favorites. If there is a group of death, it is most likely Group F, where Chelsea has the edge, but none of the other three teams are pushovers.