“Inter remain the favorites for the title. The other contenders are Milan, and they will fight it out among themselves. The Scudetto doesn’t interest me.”

With nine games to go and four points behind the league leaders, Roma, not Milan, are best poised to knock Inter Milan off its berth and win the scudetto. Moreover, if the Giallorossi manager harbors any hopes of a title, he’s certainly doing his best to conceal it, and more importantly going about it the right way.

The Tinker-man. Il Mister. El General. Claudio Ranieri has had his fair share of aliases as well as critics and supporters during his managerial spells in Spain, England and Italy. Best known for his mercurial tactical style, the mild mannered football character has been a revelation at Roma since taking over the reigns at the capital following the resignation of Luciano Spaletti. Ousted by Turin giants Juventus after less than a season amidst claims he had lost the dressing room in relation to well publicized spats with Juventus golden boys – Del Piero and Buffon – along with calls for his “head” by fans, his subsequent appointment at Roma was met with loads of skepticism amongst little fan fare.

“I have finally returned home… coaching Roma is a dream come true” exclaimed the Rome native despite cackles across media outlets and Giallorossi faithfuls who labeled him as “nice guy loser”, furthermore questioning his ability to rejuvenate a team bereft of confidence, lacking ideas on and off the pitch and over-dependent on often crocked aging maestro Francesco Totti. Seven months later, echoes of discontent and skepticism have faded, replaced with perpetual admiration and lavish praises as he continues to work wonders in Rome. And with nine games left, a Seria A title is within grasp.

Ranieri’s tactical nous has fashioned the team into a current 19 game league unbeaten run. Perhaps his most remarkable bit of skill has been his transformation of Mirko Vucinic from a deep-lying / support striker into a complete forward; thus the Montenegrin international is the catalyst of the team’s attack – responsible for creating and scoring goals – and simply drifts around when the team is not in position. Whilst Totti is still the team’s trequartista, Vucinic’s maturity into this new role has been essential for a team which operates without any true wingers, relying to surging wing-backs to provide much needed width. The 26 yr old leads the team in fouls suffered, total shots, shots on target, assists and only trails Totti by a single goal – whose tally of 10 consists of four penalties compared to Vucinic’s lone spot kick.

As the club from the Eternal city holds hopes for a title, it faces its biggest test of the season this weekend when it hosts Inter Milan. If the Giallorossi can secure a draw or unlikely win again against the Nerazzurri, it faces an easier end of the season fixture list in comparison to its title challengers. Away games at Bari, Chievo, Parma and home ties against Atalanta and Cagliari are very winnable. The derby against relegation threatened Lazio is expected to be the biggest in recent seasons, then followed the following week with a visit of Sampdoria.

Unlike Roma, AC Milan finish the season with five tough fixtures; visits to Sampdoria, Palermo and Genoa while hosting Fiorentina at the San Siro on May 2nd. The final match of the season sees Leonardo’s Rossineri entertain Zaccheroni’s Old Lady – one which will undoubtedly dictate whether Juventus secure a crucial champions league spot. Inter Milan, on the other hand, have a much easier run in than AC Milan but have their sights set on Champions league glory and will more than likely rotate the squad to accommodate its two front battle.

Should Inter slip up in the title race, expect Ranieri’s coy approach to be overshadowed by the Italian press adulation and optimism for Roma’s prospects of its 4th ever scudetto, its first since Capello’s 2000-2001 season. The man who laid the groundwork for Benitez’s Valencia domestic and European triumph, the unsung hero of Mourinho’s Chelsea tenure, the savior of Parma from relegation certainty and honor in Juventus‘ rise from calamity might finally get a deserved reward.

It’s due time lady luck smiled on the butcher’s son.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Overshadowed by Real Madrid’s new “Galacticos” circa 2001 and Man City aka money city’s lavish spending spree a la Chelsea 2004, perennial French heavyweights Lyon – under the cover of the fanfare surrounding Barcelona’s trade by barter plus 40m Euros swap deal for Ibrahimovich and the transfer saga starring Frank Ribery nom de plume “World’s most wanted player” – shelled out an astonishing 70m Euros on new players this summer in an attempt to strengthen and regain its footing domestically, and to a lesser extent, reassert its “tag” as the Champions league’s darkest horse.

Following the somewhat surprise sacking of Lyon’s double trophy winning manager Alain Perrin two seasons ago, most expected the team to continue its dominance and perhaps fare better under the care of disciplinarian new manager Claude Puel.

In addition to the pressure carrying the torch at Lyon, Puel was expected to a cure (or rather address) locker room unrest, transform a lackluster formation under the old regime, shut up shop in defense, provide an alternative to the team’s sheer reliance on Juninho for any creative play and ease the burden placed on Benzema as the sole attacking threat.

To everyone’s astonishment, Puel wholly failed at every task.

Tipped heavily to win its 8th Ligue 1 title in a row, Lyon finished a disappointing third last season. Much worse than its final standing in the table was the team’s sometimes abject display during most of the season as ongoing dressing room squabbles, morbid attacking play and a non-existent defensive unit contributed to a rather forgettable season for Les Gones.

Surprisingly, Claude Puel (Lyon’s first silver-less manager in 7 years) was spared the chop. More surprisingly, his position was further strengthened as the club engaged in a summer spending spree unlike any other in its history.

At the end of the domestic campaign, aging influential midfield lynchpin & club legend Juninho Pernambucano announced his departure from the club and his subsequent retreat to the footballing hotbed of Qatar. Along with Juninho, much heralded wonder-kid Karim Benzema was snapped up by Real Madrid to the tune of €30m and former club record signing turned disaster Kader Keita was sold to Galatasaray for about half his purchase price.

Following the exodus of its best two players, the question on everyone’s lips was how club Chairman Jean Michel Alaus would revamp the club. Would the hard talking horse trader really loosen the purse strings or would he be skimp with the cheque book? And in what can only be described as letting shooing the cat out of the bag, Alaus not only let go of the purse strings, but went as far as ripping its latch with € 70m investment in new faces – some class, others crass.

As the the club’s hierarchy indulged in a lavish spree of top talents, the pressure on Claude Puel grew; could he banish last year’s mishap, integrate the new players into a successful playing style, reclaim the Ligue 1 crown thus silence his critics or was he a marked man, his days all but numbered?

Surely this wasn’t part of the plan; had the best-laid plan of mice and men gone astray?

Before his appointment as Lyon manager, Claude Puel spent 6 years at the helm of Northern French power house Lille OSC. The 2000-01 Ligue 1 title winning manager at Monaco quickly transformed Lille into a defensively astute club with a “never say die” attitude. Furthermore, lacking funds akin to French heavyweights Lyon, Marseille, PSG or Monaco, Puel – within a span of two years – guided the club to a second place finish – its best in over 80 years.

Considered a demi-god by the Les Dogues faithful, he masterminded arguably the club’s greatest ever win as they defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford in the 2005-06 Champions league group stages, and subsequently improved on last year’s results by finishing second in its group the following season, thus qualifying for the second round only to lose to a revenge-eyed Manchester United.

During his time at Lille, Puel groomed the likes starlets Matthieu Chalme, Jean Makoun, Mathieu Bodmer, Kader Keita and Michel Bastos – most of whom ply their trades at Ligue 1′s Big Three. With an absence of financial power, and the yearly sale of the club’s best players, Puel was often exacerbated, and the desire to compete at a higher level eventually resulted in his appointment as Lyon manager.

After the summer transfer hullabaloo at the Stade de Gerland which saw the replacement of Benzema in the shape of FC Porto’s Argentine striker Lizandro Lopez, Lille’s Brazilian playmaker / dead-ball specialist Michel Bastos as playmaker / Juninho clone, the questionable €14m spent on FC Porto’s French fullback Aly Cissokho (who cost Porto €300k twelve months ago from Vitória Setúbal) and the utter daftness of wasting €13m on the most “over-rated” rated player in French domestic football aka Bafetimbi Gomis, the onus was on Lyon to wrestle the title away from the hands of Bordeaux whilst keeping abreast off potential title challengers Marseille.

And once again due to reasons beyond a lay-man’s comprehension, Puel failed to build on his managerial strengthens by overlooking the club’s most graving issue; an overcrowded and non-effective midfield further overshadowed by a center back defensive unit that is deceitful at best, criminal at worst.

Mathieu Bodmer. Kim Kallastrom. Ederson. Miralem Pjanić. The four aforementioned players have, at one period of the other, labeled heir to the Juninho Pernambucano. Yet all have failed to reach the King’s mantle. With a squad and manager preferred two holding midfielders (Makoun & Toulalan), Kallstrom, Ederson and to a lesser extent youngster Pjanic whom are not the most versatile footballers have been inconsistent when employed as the central play-maker.

Kallstrom (once dubbed the Swedish Zidane) has witnessed days as Stade Rennais sorcerer disappear and Ederson – though has shown some brilliant flashes reminiscent of his time at Nice – has come short in big games. Pjanic is young and regarded one for the future while Bodmer has seen his natural attacking instinct almost become a thing of the past as he’s often employed as a center back – mostly due to height, and not any applicable defensive prowess.

If the void of a genuine midfield artist presents a worrying sign to the ardent Lyon fan, the deterioration of its center defensive constituent is a precursor to insomnia. Loic Abenzoar is 20yrs old, yet to feature much for the first team, and is probably best suited to go on loan to gain experience. 29yr old Cleber Anderson just returned from a loan spell at Sao Paolo after failing to settle in French football and stated his desire to return to his homeland.

Joining Anderson down the slippery slope is John Mensah, who was rated the number one player in French football as of the 2006-07 season, has been rather shit since his transfer from Rennais. The Ghanian defender has been heavily linked to English side Sunderland with Lyon chairman Alaus eager to dispose of him.

Last but not the least are preferred center back pair Cris and Boumsong. It goes without saying that footballers lose their place as they become older, but Cris has also managed to lose his defensive positioning which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the error prone Boumsong.

Boumsong is fast (his sole impressive trait), poor in the air, an abject tackler, has horrible positioning, complicates the simplest of tasks and is overly casual when in possession of the ball.

Despite these glaring errors, Puel has failed to bring in any reinforcements to seal a porous defense.

The first impressions of Puel’s Lyon don’t look promising. It’s hard to envision Lyon (in its current state) terrify clubs aiming for the Europa league such as Toulouse, Lille or PSG. And its even harder to conceive title hopefuls Bordeaux and Marseille succumb to the threat posed by a languid Lyon side.

If I were a betting man, i would be tempted to wager a considerate sum of money on the Puel getting the sack before the start of the winter transfer window. Add to that a nice chunk of cash on Lyon finishing in 3rd place. It’s still early days in the new season with considerable time left for the team to address its shortcomings, but all signs point to another enigmatic season for Olympique Lyonnais.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

What a difference a year makes. Against odds, FC Bordeaux dethroned Ligue 1′s 7 time consecutive champions Lyon to lift the Ligue 1 trophy. With 12 wins on the trot at the tail end of the season, FC Bordeaux secured a top dog status with its first league title in a decade. Along with the Coupe De La Ligue crown to secure a league and cup double, les Girodins wagged its tail at fellow title hopefuls Marseille and Lyon – leaving the former chasing tails and the latter stuck with its tail between its legs.

Buoyed by the brilliance of young play-maker Yoann “the new Zidane” Gourcuff and strikers Chamakh and Cavenaghi coupled with a brilliant defensive unit led by Souleymane Diawara, the inhabitants of the Stade Chaban Delmas delighted domestic French football fans with its style of salivating attacking football whilst keeping a tight noose at the back of the park. While the team’s on the pitch success has been credited to the genius of Gourcuff, off the pitch lay manager Laurent “the new Mourinho” Blanc, pulling the right strings and pushing the right buttons.

Girondins Bordeaux

After last year’s spectacular season, the club moved hastily to secure the permanent transfer of Bordeaux’s bread and butter and Ligue 1 player of the season Yoann Gourcuff from AC Milan to the tune of €13 million – a mere pittance in the ridiculous world of the current transfer market. With the next best thing since sliced bread on the books, Laurent Blanc snapped up Toulouse’s much heralded goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso (€10 million) to replace the aging Ulrich Rame. The addition of versatile box-to-box Czech international midfielder Jaroslav Plasil for € 3 million from Spanish side Osasuna should add more creativity in a midfield which was solely dependent on Gourcuff.

Blanc biggest regret is undoubtedly the departure of his defensive rock Souleymane Diawara who fled the port city for the pastures of the Stade Velodrome. In return, Bordeaux recouped € 6 million from Marseille for the services of the 30 yr old Senegalese international and swiftly went shopping for a replacement in the mold of FC Lorient’s center back Michaël Ciani. Rumors have swirled around the club for a possible bid for FC Lokomotiv defender Marko Basa to help shore up a defense hit bad by injuries. As Blanc prepares his squad for the upcoming season with well thought out shrewd signings, his good deeds have failed to attract the global media attention thanks to the saga following highly rated prized asset Marouane Chamakh.

The subject of a highly publicized interest from English heavyweights Arsenal, Chamakh has strutted around like a peacock with repeated cackling of his desire to ply his trade in England (preferably Arsenal), but has so far been disappointed with the Bordeaux’s hardball stance at Arsenal’s transfer bid. More amusing was Bordeaux’s President Jean Louis Traiud reaction after learning English club Sunderland were interested in his goal poacher;

“We never received any offers for Marouane Chamakh and what is he going to do in Sunderland? I don’t want to insult Sunderland, but I don’t even know where they finished last season. You have heard him say he will only sign for a big English club.”

As the end of the transfer window approaches, the onus is on Blanc to find a suitable replacement for the soon departing Chamakh; someone who not only can duplicate his 13 goals last season but also has a great chemistry with Gourcuff, can partner Cavenaghi and isn’t a dressing room headache.

Despite not having spending lavishly like title rivals Lyon and Marseille, Bordeaux fans will expect the club to do all it can to retain its league crown. After years of languishing in the shadows domestic heavyweights Lyon, UEFA cup (now Europa league) finalists Marseille and Champions league finalists Monaco, it seems FC Bordeaux have decided not to put new wines and old bottles as the club hopes to stake claim as the new force in French domestic football.

A certain question lingers; can Laurent Blanc repeat last year’s feat, resist the call of big European clubs and the French national team, and lead FC Bordeaux to further glories or is “Lilo” wining and dining at the Aquitaine capital until the fat lady sings?

Key Players:

Yoann Gourcuff
Fernando Cavenaghi
Alou Diarra
Cederric Carasso
Marouane Chamakh (if available)

Olympique Marseille

With five weeks to go in the 2008-09 Ligue 1 season, Marseille sat pretty atop the table as the engraver slowly penciled L’OM onto the Ligue 1 trophy. However the prospect of winning a first league title in 17 years were quickly erased as big boy rotary club members ex-manager Eric Gerets, ex-Chairman Pape Diouf and the club’s now deceased owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus all conspired to – pardon my language – FUCK it up in every possible manner (and I use that word in its strongest context). The uneasy relationship between coach and owner, behind the scene bickering between chairman and owner and a team that once again flattered to deceive resulted in self capitulation as Bordeaux overtook L’OM to win the title with 2 games to spare.

With a new sheriff in town in the mold of Marseille legend Didier Deschamps, L’OM have gone through a transformation unlike no other. Deschamps has continued Eric Gerets’ unfinished project by further solidifying last season’s best defensive unit with the capture of the aging yet reliable center-back Diawara from rivals Bordeaux .Gabriel Heinze has been left off the crazy Jackie Collins novel starting lineup name sheet at Real Madrid to wind down his career at the Stade Veledrome. Along with Heinze and Diawara, Ligue 1 veteran defender Cyril Rool has joined Deschamps’ pensioner recruitment to the sum of half a million pounds.

S-Hh-Iii-Tttt!!!

Those were my first reaction (and I reckon those of several Marseille fans) upon learning that Marseille captain Lorik Cana had moved to Sunderland for a paltry €6 million. Deschamps or Didi (as he’s famously known amongst the French press) has replaced the “Marshall” with an €18 million club record purchase on Porto’s Argentine midfield general Lucho Gonzales. While the fee spent is somewhat debatable, the talent and creativity the 28yr old brings to the pitch is unquestionable and might eventually be worth every penny.

Along with Cana, the team has seen a host of departures as Karim Ziani joined Bundesliga Champions Wolfsburg for €10 million. Modeste Mbami, Boudewijn Zenden and Renato Civelli have been released while Djibril Cisse, on loan at Sunderland last season, has been shipped to soak up sun on the Greek Islands – Panathinaïkos to be exact. Drafted to fill in the gaping hole in the center of the park is €12 million ex-Rennais anchor Stephen Mbia who last season managed to link himself to several English clubs all at once in the span of sentence akin to:

“I want Everton – it’s my dream. Everton want me, and Arsenal do too, so I’m waiting. I want to play for Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. Chelsea is my favorite. If Manchester, Everton or Arsenal come for me, I will go. It’s all very, very good. Manchester is my dream: I’d join them. And I like Everton. So I’m waiting.”

Fernando Morientes, Monaco’s Champions league cult hero, has joined ranks with Ligue 1′s most potent attack. Deschamps, like his predecessor Gerets, has put his faith and trust – rightly so – on the shoulders of explosive striker Mamadou Niang. The Senegalese is expected to continue his scintillating form from the past two years and shepherd a forward line which boasts the services of Ivorian speed demon Bakari Kone as last year’s winter transfer signing Brandao, who will hope to build on last season’s performances.

On paper and online fantasy football, Marseille possess a squad fully capable of winning the Ligue 1 title and should be considered slight favorites over its title rivals. While Eric Gerets managed to get the best out of les Phoceens’ for much of last season only to throw it all away, the presence of Deschamps is a welcoming sight as Marseille 1993 European cup winning captain is better equipped to add composure and stability to a team famously renowned for its self destructive tendencies. Furthermore, the pressure is on Deschamps to secure top honors as the team celebrates its 110th anniversary.

Key Players:

Steve Mandanda
Lucho González
Hatem Ben Arfa
Mamadou Niang
Mathieu Valbuena

Olympique Lyonnais

All good things must come to an end. And for les Gones, last season was the straw that broke the camel’s back. After seven straight years of utter dominance in its domestic league, Lyon was knocked off its perch. More embarrassingly, new manager Claude Puel failed to replicate the success of his predecessors as the team finished the season void of silverware. Unlike two seasons ago when Chairman Jean Alaus wielded the axe on ex-manager Alain Perrin following the club’s first double trophy winning season citing locker room unrest, Claude Puel has beenspared the chop and given full backing by the board,  with his position further strengthened with a transfer kitty of over €60 million.

Wonder-kid Karim Benzema – Lyon’s brightest ever talent – has left the Stade de Gerland to join the new galacticos of the Santiago Bernabeu. With the €30 million received from the sale of arguably Europe’s brightest talent, Claude Puel went high end shopping with the purchase of FC Porto’s goal poacher Lisandro Lopez for a club record €24 million. Joining the burly forward at Lyon is fellow Dragões teammate Aly Cissokho who made waves with his brilliant form in last year’s Champions league.

The transfer turnstiles at Lyon saw the departure of midfield maestro Juninho who championed the club for the past eight seasons. While Juninho influence and artistry will be sorely missed, the arrival of Lille play-maker Michel Bastos (skillful, creative and an amazing dead ball specialist) will surely go down as a great capture despite the hefty €18 million price tag. Former record purchase Kader Keita has been shown the exit following two disastrous years as he was sold to Turkish side Galatasaray for a fraction of his cost. Along with Keita, “shit-on-a-stick” striker Frederic Piquonne will most likely be gone from the club by the time anyone reads this.

Once again Alaus may have moved to hastily and repeated novice mistakes as he has sold a promising youngster with no opportunities to assert himself at the club. And like last season, he most likely will regret it. Last year, after failing to receive adequate playing time to prove his worth, young forward Loic Remy was sold to Ligue 1 counterpart Nice for €7 million and quickly established himself as fan favorite with 11 league goals. His form caught the eye of ex club Lyon who tabled a bid of over €15 million (fleetly rejected) – more than twice his sale price less than 12 months ago. This year’s honor is bestowed on highly rated young defender Sandy Paillot, (on loan last season at Grenoble) and deemed surplus to requirements by Lyon, might prove to be a lost gem as Grenoble paid about €2 million for his permanent move.

If the €24 million spent on Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez appears somewhat nuts, surely the club’s pursuit and the consequent €13 million spent on the transfer of starlet French forward Bafetimbi Gomis from St. Etienne is risky at best, and catastrophic at worst. In spite of recording double digit goal tallies the past three seasons, – an astounding 16 goals in the 2007-08 season – he was largely ridiculed by St. Etienne supporters last year as he was largely anonymous on the pitch, thanks in part to waning performances and a questionable over inflated ego.

Frankly, this is a make or break season for Claude Puel’s side. Should Lyon fail to capture league honors this season, the Monaco legend will shown the door at the end of the season. Should Lyon stutter to find form at the beginning of the season, Alaus will show no mercy and replace Puel. Should Lyon win the Championnat by razor thin margin, Puel will most likely be off the radar. The club is at low ebb with its manager wedged between a rock and a hard place which all points to be one hell of a season for very nervy season at the Stade de Gerland.

Key Players:

Lisandro López
Michel Bastos
Ederson
Aly Cissokho
Bafétimbi Gomis

(pretty much the entire team plus manager Claude Puel, minus Toulalan and Lloris, must prove last season was just an oddity).

Also See: The New Stars of Ligue Un

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Zenit St. Petersburg was the straw that broke the Camel’s back. Rubin Kazan let the cat out the bag. In 2007, after years of domination by Moscow teams – Spartak, Lokomotiv and CSKA – Dick “the little General” Advocaat coached the Sine-Byelo-Goluboy (Blue-White-Sky-Blues) to its first ever Russian Premier league title, followed suit by winning the UEFA Cup and the rather innocuous UEFA Super Cup.

Since Zenit secured its place on the World football map, the club’s players have been subjects of numerous transfer rumors; Pavel Pogrebnyak to Blackburn or Bolton, Pavel Pogrebnyak to Munich (that has a nice ring to it), Arshavin to Arsenal, Tottenham, Barcelona, Man City, etc.

Even Scotland tried to get Arshavin nationalized following his man of the match performance against Rangers in the UEFA Cup final. OK, maybe not but after a year of the “Arshavin-saga”, the club is finally at calm and are out to prove they can compete with the loss of their Owl eyed star.

Five games into the Russian Premier League season, the league’s richest club courtesy of bottomless-pit-of-cash owners Gazprom (the same financiers of German club Schalke) have made a good start but committed a major faux pas during this past weekend tie at Lokomotiv Moscow. Against the Railroaders, Dick Advocaat fielded 7 foreign players at once – Fernando Meira, Danny (Portugal), Ivica Križanac (Croatia), Kim Dong-Jin (South Korea), Anatoliy Tymoschuk (Ukraine) and Szabolcs Huszti (Hungary). With the league cap at 6, Zenit face a fine and the possibility of points deduction. The tie finished one goal a piece.

It’s shaping up to be a rather tough season for newly promoted sides Rostov and Kuban Krasnodar. Russian First Division winners Rostov have found hit hard to hit the back of the net with 2 goals in 5 games so far but are proving to be sound defensively by conceding the same number of goals. Meanwhile the Canaries, following a momentous win in round 2 against Spartak Moscow, have slipped down the table and are without a win in 3 games with a weekend loss to Amkar Perm. It’s still early days though I reckon if the first few games are anything to go by, Rostov are better suited to remain in the Premier league whilst Kuban might find it hard to resist to drop.

No Love, no problem. Without talisman Vagner Love, the Zico reign at CSKA marched on as Milos Krasic took advantage of the shambolic defending by FC Khimki. His hat-trick sunk the beleaguered hosts who have yet to record a win this season, conceding in a whopping 11 goals in the process – the same number CSKA have tallied.

In weekend’s Moscow derby, FC Moscow’s shaggy Argentine striker “Braca” secured hero status with his lone goal. In a feisty match which resulted in a late sending off of the Caps’ Dmitri Tarasov, Saturn came ever so close to leveling the game in the final minutes but were unable to break down a compact FC Moscow side. The home loss sees Saturn drop to 13th while their city rivals are up to 6th.

The new czars of Russian football Rubin Kazan have continued last season’s exploits by drubbing a dynamite-less and dynamic-less Dynamo Moscow. Roman Sharonov put last year’s league champions ahead in the 10th minute which was followed by Alejandro Domiguez’ (on loan from Zenit) penalty. The game was signed, sealed and delivered when Dynamo midfielder Kirill Kombarov scored an own goal 15 minutes from time. Rubin occupy top spot and have let in just one goal all season.

Rubin Kazan and CSKA Moscow look early favorites for the league title – the latter welcome Rostov next week while Rubin host another Moscow team, Spartak.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

We all know the story of the Trojan Horse  - after a fruitless 10 yr siege of Troy, the Greeks built a figure in shape of a horse in which a select group of soldiers hid. The Greek army then pretended to sail away which tricked the Trojans who pulled the horse into their city in a show of victory.

Under the cover of darkness, the army sailed back into town, their hidden soldiers emerged from the horse statue and opened the city gates for waiting Greek soldiers.

While Valencia is neither a Greek army nor engaged in a siege against fellow La Liga teams, the team has finally turned the tide following a tumultuous 3 months. 

“The only thing we want is to win to reach second spot and reduce the points advantage that Barca have…” Those were comments made by club goalkeeper Renan Brito in the new year prior to the team’s mauling of Atletico Madrid and the subsequent downturn in fortunes. Yet almost midway through this season, things looked rosy for Los Che; they sat in 2nd place, looked heavy favorites in the UEFA Cup and looked assured of Champions league football the following season.

Then the well dried up. The bottom came falling out. Valencia was in a financial meltdown, the club was effectively doomed. Idiomatically, Valencia was a fool who soon parted with her money as she had put all her eggs in one basket, resulting in her becoming as poor as a church mouse leaving a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Ex club President Juan Soler’s ill conceived plan sunk the club to a tune of over €600m.

In 4 years, fresh off from winning the league and UEFA Cup in 2004, the club had gone through five sporting directors, spent €30m on getting rid of 3 managers, banished its 3 longest serving players, faced a €60m lawsuit by one of its players and quintupled its debt with no trophies to show for it.

Furthermore, Valencia were stuck with 2 stadiums – an old one it couldn’t sell and a new one it couldn’t afford to finish, – 2 training grounds, – one it desperately needed to sell and a new one it might never get to use. In addition the club owed €60m to the banks, due ASAP. The players hadn’t been paid in 2 months, the club was without a win in 9 games and lay 8th in the table. As Tommy Smyth would say, “The club has nothing left in the old onion bag”.

But it did. Not in the old onion bag or any other porous pockets but in the shape of local business group Fomento Urbano de Castellon. The club secured a €50m loan from the construction magnet which was set aside to pay outstanding wages. Three months after receiving their last paycheck, a hapless locker room turned jubilant and the club began to win once again. The agony and grin on player’s faces were gone, replaced with joy and congratulatory hugs. Since then, the club has won 4 on the trot and occupy a Champions league spot on the table.

Golden boy a la world’s best striker David Villa looks magnificent on and off the pitch with 5 goals in his last 4 matches. David Silva is playing out of his skin, former Real Madrid cast away Juan Manuel Mata just earned himself contract and Joaquin’ s petulance is at an all time high as evident by his sheer pubescent reaction following his substitution during the weekend’s theatrical performance against Sevilla at the Mestalla.

Theatrical performance you ask?

Yup, the Valencia – Sevilla encounter swung along the lines of a Shakespearean novel rather than a football match, needless to say it was a sight for sore eyes. Oscar winning performances – check! Animosity against fellow stage actors – check!! Inept authority figure – checkaroo!!! In what Guardian journalist Sid Lowe referred to as “a game that was a cheat-fest, packed with scything challenges, dreadful dives, utter lunacy, appalling refereeing, and some shameful play-acting,” Valencia and Sevilla’s ill-tempered affair resulted in 15 yellow cards and a solitary disappointing red card.

Here’s a recap of the drama aptly titled:

Stacking the Deck

Act 1, Scene 1

With 8 minutes on the clock Jesus Navas’ right field corner finds the head of Escude, 15 – Love to Sevilla. A little later Jesus Navas earns a silly yellow as he blocks David Silva from taking a quick free kick.

Act 1, Scene 2

Mere minutes later Valencia captain Albelda leaves a flailing arm which conveniently finds the head of Renato. Blood streamed out. Albelda professed his innocence, the referee bought it. Albelda plays the role of good Samaritan by kicking the ball straight at Renato following the restart. No harm, no foul.

Act 1, Scene 3

Seconds later, Rojiblanco midfielder Duscher fouls Silva. The yellow card is shown. Right after, Villa nutmegs left back Adriano. Adriano is called for the foul and receives a yellow card. Sebastian Squillaci protest earns him nothing but a card. Tempers continue to flare as Baraja adds a sore ankle to Renato’s sore head. He gladly accepts a booking. Valencia right back Miguel receives a yellow card for … well for being himself.

Act 1, Scene 4

A minute till half time and Adriano received his marching orders following a rough challenge from behind to David Villa. Interestingly enough Sevilla manager Manolo Jimenez reckoned he’d wait till the second half to make a defensive substitution but sees his plan goes awry when Mata, doing his best effort to levitate feels the effects of gravity by a not so grave clip by Escude. Valencia 1 – Sevilla 1, thanks to a David villa penalty. Immediately after, Manolo chucked out left winger Perotti for defender Aquivaldo Mosquera – better late than never.

Act 2, Scene 1

€25m record signing turned flop Joaquin is put out of his misery with the introduction of Pablo Hernandez 10 minutes into the second half. Joaquin isn’t happy, neglects a pat on the back by Coach Unai Emery and heads straight down the tunnel with heavy eyes. Did someone once say grown men don’t cry?

Act 2, Scene 2

Valencia continued to press 10 man Sevilla and are rewarded when Fernando Navarro relives the memories of Paco Hervas – the famous Spanish Volleyball player – by volleying the ball in his own box. Mata slots in the penalty to give the home side the lead.

Act 2, Scene 3

Sevilla’s night gets much worse as manager Manolo Jimenez receives his marching orders after chastising the referee for not allowing him to make a quick change in personnel.

Act 2, Scene 3

With injury time left to play, the newly introduced Luis Fabiano gets in on the violent spree as he catches Valencia’s Raul Albiol with a high boot.

Act 2, Scene 4

Morientes reckons it’s best not to be the last kid to get chosen during a pick up game and gets his name in the book.

Act 2, Scene 5

Pablo Hernandez secured all 3 points for punch-drunk Valencia with a near post strike 3 minutes into added time. Valencia run out 3-1 winners.

The win puts David Villa and co. five points behind 3rd place Sevilla with 7 games left to play. And for the 1,250th time, Villa stated his desire to remain at the club. Stick that where the sun don’t shine Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and a bunch of other clubs i can’t seem to recall.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Bordeaux 1 – 0 Lyon.

No Cavegol, no problem. French international and ex-Lyon player Alou Diarra’s 43′rd minute poke gave Les Girondins a deserved win against a rather lackluster Lyon side; adding misery to manager Claude Puel’s future and potentially kissed away Lyon’s title hopes.

In the biggest game of the Ligue 1 season, Laurent Blanc’s men outpaced, outfoxed, and outshone their opponents and the home fans outroared Lyon’s outmoded travelling supporters.

Once again Les Gones €18mil record signing Kader Keita produced another lethargic performance which left Benzema isolated up front and the young striker’s night didn’t get any better when the apathetic Frederic Piquonne replaced Keita in the second half.

The away team missed a glorious chance to equalize when Benzema found himself alone with Bordeaux goalkeeper Ulrich Rame but his lob was a tad too heavy as the ball sailed over the bar. Likewise Chamakh failed to make Lyon rue their missed chance when his close range low shot was saved by Hugo Lloris. Bordeaux’s fifth straight win saw them climb above the defending champions to second place. Lyon have 2 wins and one clean sheet in their past 10 games, and the prospect of the club playing in the Champions league looks increasingly unlikely.

Marseille march on

After rejecting a formal approach to coach his home country this past week, former Belgian football great Eric Gerets moved a step further to cement his legacy amongst the Marseille faithful as the club strengthened its hold at the helm of the table. L’OM wenr a goal down to Lorientin the 8th minute courtesy of lax defending which saw Kévin Gameiro round a hapless Mandanda to lot the ball in the net.

Eric Gerets half time team talk coupled with Sylvian Wiltord’s introduction paid off as his cross found Renato Civelli whose tap in levelled the match. The away side continued to press and were rewarded 11 minutes from time when newly arrived uncapped Brazilian striker Brandaoscored his 4th for the club, ensuring Marseille stayed top of the league for another week.

Ah, the glare from the Ligue 1 trophy wax has never shone so brightly at the Stade Veledrome.

Grenoble assured themselves of another season of top domestic league football with a 1 – 0 win over Toulouse. The away loss all but shut Toulouse’s title aspirations and Alain Cassanova’s men must now focus on securing a Europa league spot for next season.

Like Toulouse, Lille saw its slim title hopes draw to an end as Ilan and Batafemi Gomis sunk the Mastiffs. Goal shy striker Nicolas Fauvergue first league goal in the latter part of the second half wasn’t enough to as AS Saint Etienne held on to win the match 2 – 1. The much needed 3 points sees the 10 timeLigue 1 champions briefly ease relegation fears as they occupy 18th spot, tied on points with 17th place Sochaux.

Nancy’s consecutive wins has seen them secure a 4 point cushion above the drop spot. Yousouff Hadji’s 2nd minute strike, second goal in as many matches, gave the visitors a shock lead against Caen. The hosts crawled back with a late first half goal but were left broken hearted with a late winner by French youngster Geoffrey Adjet’s goal four minutes before the final whistle.

On the same front, FC Nantes were uncharitable when Nice paid a visit. The hosts comfortable two goal win margin leaps them off the relegation spot. Caen’s disastrous form – 1 win in thierpast 17 league games saw them swap places with Nantes, a far cry from their promising start to the season.

Goals from Giuly, Rothen and Hoarau effectively meant Havre – or in this case Have-nots will ply their trade in Ligue 2 next season. The Parisians are whiskers from securing Champions league football and are within a shout of the league title. Paul le Guen returns to the Stade de Gerland (a place he won 3 league titles) on Friday as PSG travel to Lyon, a must win for both teams.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

“I am not the coach but it’s true that with all those changes we sometimes find it difficult to get our bearings… It would be a catastrophe of the prospect of Lyon not winning an eighth consecutive title.”

Those words, by Lyon ace Karim Benzema, adequately describe the club’s state of mind. As the recently deposed table toppers travel to Lauren Blanc’s Bordeaux this weekend, a loss for the Les Gones would spell a trophy less season.

What a difference a year makes; in Lyon’s case, add to that managerial changes. Last year, the club won its seventh consecutive title, and did its first ever double by winning the Coupe de France. Despite being heads above shoulders in Ligue 1, the had club failed to win any Cup titles – Coupe De France & Coupe de la Ligue – during its run of league coronations.

After the departure of Gerard Houllier, Alain Perrin was appointed club manager. It was a short lived one as things didn’t go according to plan. The ex-Portsmouth man never took charge of the dressing room, and more frighteningly never received the full support of the club’s hierarchy. His double winning season as Lyon manager did little to save his job and was promptly fired at the end of the season, mainly due to a Dutch-like dressing room unrest.

The locker room malaise resulted in a player vs rest of the squad squabble, player vs coach conflict and a player vs self skulduggery. Hatem Ben Arfa, one of the club’s brightest ever talent, was the thorn in the side, with persistent rumors of a feud with untouchable boy wonder, Benzema. The ongoing petulance between both players irked teammates who castigated Ben Arfa, further ostracizing him.

Manager Alain Perrin’s bullish approach to the situation didn’t bode well for both player and coach which culminated in the turbulent playmaker to boycott training, claiming his egotism – the very thing that makes him special – was being used against him. He was fined, suspended and effectively put on the transfer list for his actions. As the club was concerned, that chapter was over.

And as they say, the rest is history.

Or was it?

At first glance the removal of an agitated unmotivated player will do wonders for squad harmony. Yet, the sloughing of such player or any other player at any cost to caress the club’s jewel is sanity at worst, foolish at best. In an interview given by former goalkeeper Gregory Coupet, the Atletico Madrid man shed light on the power struggle in the Lyon locker room.

According to the Frenchman, “… today’s system gives too much to the very young players, it cedes them everything. If Karim were better supervised, better helped, if he ever had an authority figure around him, he wouldn’t have this attitude. Besides, if I were in charge of his communications, I’d ask him to smile more, because everytime I see him in a photo, he has a nasty look! And I’m sad to see him like that because I know him well and he’s a great guy. But at 20, he’s already a bigshot. And yet today, Karim is more withdrawn into himself, more into the business side. And this is where the sport is beginning to die a little, because that doesn’t bring happiness to people.”

Coupet’s alleged comments – he has since claimed he was misquoted, right!, – caught fans and media off guard. Most were 100% positive Benzema was the innocent party in his altercation with Ben Arfa, but Coupet remarks raised flags about Benzema’s influence at Lyon, and worryingly what role club president Jean-Michel Aulas played in Ben Arfa’s departure.

While it would be pathetic for anyone to slander Alaus; the club plied its trade in Ligue 2 when he took over in 1987 and in a span of 15 years turned it into the envy of French domestic football, he is only human, not perfect, and I reckon it would be shameful journalistic duty to ignore his flagrancies. In all honesty, Aulas indulged and continues to indulge in errors he could easily avoid.

The ever present binoculars worn around the collars by scouts of European giants Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Man Utd and co has mounted pressures on the Chairman. Gone are the likes of Essien, Abidal, Diarra and Malouda – all for extravagant sums, – which has put Aulas between a rock and a hard place. Should Lyon be run as a feeder club or should it hold on to its best player at all costs to compete against Europe’s elites?

Veering off topic to briefly assess the wealth disparity amongst Europe’s various leagues, French football as whole is quite well run, second only to the Bundesliga. Still, domestic heavyweights such as Lyon or minnows like Le Havre will find it hard to hold onto players due to the greater financial incentives in Italy, Spain, England and even Germany.

To his credit, Aulas has managed to find a balance during his time at the helm but the previous two seasons has seen the beloved Chairman go off kilter. Lyon, like Bayern Munich, exerts its dominance on fellow domestic counterparts by foraging the league’s best talents. Unlike Bayern, Lyon doesn’t possess the funds to pay over the odds for star players.

Therefore the club cannot, and must not pay, €18 mil for the very over-rated turned absolute dross 26yr old record signing Kader Keita without a view to make profit or break even by selling him to Europe’s top guns. Aulas’ brilliant transfer nuance appears to be waning as he continues to spend aimlessly by crowding the midfield with players of the same abilities (Bodmer, Makoun, Ederson, Anderson, Fabio Santos), replace a young promising striker (Loic Remy) with an old “shit on a stick” (Frederic Piquionne), and fail to sign adequate defensive reinforcements to cover the injury suffered by Cris in the mold of Boumsoung, or the departure of Squillaci with the former Rennes man Mensah.

Like his predecessor, current manager Claude Puel appears to have lost the dressing room. Benzema’s statement is corrugated by comments made 3 months earlier by vice captain Cris and club veteran Govou. The Brazilian center back stated the team had no leader and French international Govou followed suit by stating “You either have the unity or you don’t and we don’t”.

As the club stutters to end of the season, sources close to the club whisper rumors of a possible change in management; ah crap! this is starting to look a lot like Chelsea. When Puel gets the sack, sooner rather than later i envisage, he will be leaving a squad in major need of an Alex Fergurson-like hairdressing. Ego’s need to be put in check, the extra odd squad man needs to be let go and crap players need to be shown the exit, a la Keita et Piquonne.

Lyon are not in a crisis, but the club needs a gust of fresh air if it is to live up to the billing as potential Champions league dark horses, and continue its reign in French football.

However, this season might be a lost cause.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Das Eisen schmieden, solange es heiß ist. The famous proverb – make hay while the sun shines – aptly applies to several clubs aiming to strip Bayern of consecutive Bundesliga titles, its 22nd in waiting. Wolfsburg, Hamburg, Hertha and to a lesser extent Stuttgart  harbour title hopes in the most exciting Bundesliga season, and perhaps the most captivating league in Europe .

After last year’s dominance by Bayern Munich – aka the Toni & Ribery show – many, if not all, expected the Bavarian giant to strengthen its hold on German football, and with the arrival of former national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann, the odds for another league crown were firmly in Bayern’s favor. However, in what can only be described as a cataclysmic series of unfortunate events, the Klinsmann era has been, for lack of a better word, SHIT!

Klinsmann’s club/managerial debacle has given heed to a crop genuine title challengers; the surprising (Hertha) and the not so surprising (Wolfsburg & Hamburg), who either have a massive amount of luck (Hertha), talent (Hamburg) or both (Wolfsburg). Hoffehneim, shocking Bundesliga supremos of the first half of the season, have tailed off since the beginning of new year with just a win in its past 10 games and find themselves 6th in the table, four point adrift of Stuttgart for a Europa league place.

Ralf Rangnick, club manager, has attributed the decline of his squad to the season ending injury to hitman Vedad Ibisevic and the slowly but surely ever growing inflated ego’s of his squad. “The boys have been hyped-up like pop stars for the last three months and are being asked about everything, not just football. They are only human and it’s no surprise if they sometimes believe they are little Riberys,” said the Hoffenheim coach when asked about the team’s run of disastrous results. Yup, its the same Frank Ribery; the newest addition to German footballing hyperbole.

Hoffenheim’s fairly tale season has been replaced by Hertha Berlin, the Tottenham of the Bundesliga — figuratively, not literally. Despite being based in the German capital and one of the founding members of German football, it’s been 77 years since Die Alte Dame (Old Lady) won the Bundesliga. Self acclaimed “sexy-chest” footballer Andriy Voronin, on loan from Liverpool, has been a revelation for the Berliners. His double against Bayern Munich in fixture 20 lifted the club to top spot and his hat trick against 3 weeks later gave Hertha fans unexpected title hopes. Since his 11th league goal against Bayer Leverkusen three weeks ago, the club has lost 3 straight games and have dropped to 4th place, 5 points behind Bundesliga table toppers Wolfsburg.

Surprise league leaders Wolfsburg, — not in a fairy tale “Hoffenheim” way but in a rather ” f***!, we actually are this good” — have been blessed with the league’s best strike partnership. Former Le Mans striker Grafite hasn’t stop scoring since his move to the Bundesliga side last year and Bosnian youngster Edin Dzeko is nailed on as the Bundesliga young player of the year. Grafite’s 20 goals along with Dzeko’s 16 have propelled the Wolves to 9 straight league wins; the 5-1 demolition of Bayern Munich producing the GOAL OF THE SEASON.

Under the stewardess of the “Quälix” (torturer) , sporting director, CEO and club manager Felix Magath’s winning mentality from his championship seasons as Stuttgart and Bayern Munich boss has provided much needed balance to a side that narrowly avoided relegation in the 2005/06 & 2006/07 season. In his first season, Magath revamped the squad with over 20 new signings, most importantly the additions of the aforementioned Grafite and Dzeko, veteran defender Ricardo Costa, highly rated youngsters Marcel Schafer and Christian Gentner and former Freiburg midfielder Sascha Reither. Last summer’s coup d’etat of Palermo’s defensive duo, Andrea Barzargli and Christian Zaccardo, along with the capture of Bosnian playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic has molded last year’s UEFA cup participants into a major title threat.

However, the Quälix’s master stroke was the recruitment of Sao Paulo’s Brazilian holding midfielder Josue. The unsung hero has been the club’s “Makalele”. He has shored up its defensive frailties, and thus provided much more freedom for the club’s attacking threats which has resulted in the concession of 33 goals – second only to Schalke’s 27 – and a league’s best 60 goals. Magath’s men havent’s lost since the second week of November and remain the league’s only unbeaten home team with 12 wins and a draw.

The big fella has worked wonders since his arrival at Bundesliga Dinosaurs Hamburg. With the imminent departure of former coach Huub Stevens to PSV, deposed Tottenham manager Martin Jol took reigns in the summer hoping to steer the club into a possible champions league spot. Armed wtih the “Red Shorts” cheque book, the Dutchman has added depth to a leaky, vunerable defence with the signings of Alex Silva, Dennis Aogo and Marcell Jansen. Thiago Neves, fresh off from leading Fluminense to the final of the Copa Libatadores, joined the club along with €5 mil goal poacher Mladen Petric. The team has overcome the loss of influential playmaker Rafael Van de Vaart to Real Madrid with Piotr Trochowski taking over creative midfield duties. While Jol still suffers mildly from the “no plan B” syndrome – a la Sven Eriksson, – he has been lauded for his non “gung ho”equilibrium style of play which has helped a goal shy team keep pace atop the table. Hamburg missed a chance to stay on level points with Wolfsburg last weekend with a 1-0 loss, courtesy of over-rated striker Mario Gomez, whose €20mil price tag is jaw dropping.

Hamburg face EUROPA League hopefuls Dortmund and Leverkusen in the run up to the climax of the season. Martin Jol’s title credentials will be heavily tested at an away tie against Werder Bremen in round 31, their most important game of the season. Should lady luck smile on Hamburg, they will relish their final three fixtures against teams with nothing to play for. Wolfsburg, unlike Hamburg, have a tougher fixture list with matches against next season’s European football hopefuls Hoffenheim, Leverkusen, Dortmund and Stuttgart. On the last day of the season, Wolfsburg host Werder Bremen. The result of that game might decide the Bundesliga coronations.

Worringly for both Hamburg and Wolfsburg is Bayern’s relatively easy end of the season matches. Klinsmann’s men face a trio of relegation candidates (Bielefeld, Mönchengladbach and Cottbus), have a home date against an out of form Schalke side. On the slightly gloomy side of things, Hoffenheim and Stuttgart are Bayern’s last two opponents of the season; the former on a free fall, the latter rather unpredictable.

Truth be told, the Bundesliga crown is there for the taking and this might be the best chance Wolfsburg and Hamburg have to knock Bayern’s off its perch. Magath may find it incredibly hard to hold on to his beloved Dzeko who has been heavily linked with Arsenal and Villareal. Barzargli continues to rebuff rumors linking him back to Italy by underwhelmingly declaring he’s happy in Germany. Martin Jol is set to lose Ivica Olic to Bayern next season and €10 mil summer signing Thiago Neves hasn’t settled in Germany and has thus been loaned back to Fluminense till kingdom come. Even if Bayern lose Ribery in the summer, the addition of Anatoliy Tymoshuck (Zenith St. Petersburg), Ivica Olic, world class defenders not named Van Buyten or Demicheles and maybe a change in management will make Bayern far too strong for its peers in the years to come.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

“I’m an honest man and you’ve got to say that Marseille and Bordeaux have worked well these past two seasons. This year maybe they deserve to go all the way…”

Those truly sincere words were uttered by Lyon’s Juninho following the team’s 2-2 draw last weekend which saw the seven consecutive domestic champions lose top spot since week 4 of the Ligue 1.

There have been two very close calls for the Stade De Gerland side in its relentless grip on French football – Lens famously lost the title on the last day of the 2001/02 season (Juninho’s first season & Lyon’s first league title – coincidental? i think not) and Monaco lost its footing with 4 games to play the following year to hand Lyon its second title.

Since the onset of the 2003 season, the defending league champions have all but strolled in the domestic league withstanding timid attempts by P.S.G and Bordeaux – much to little surprise of anyone.

The 2008/09 Ligue 1 season began like the previous seasons as Lyon faced Bordeaux aiming to win its 7th successive Trophee Des Champions (a la Community Shield or Supercoppa Italia). Unlike preceding occasions, Lyon lost. Victors Bordeaux, via penalty shoot-outs, signalled their intentions to challenge Lyon at the helm for the upcoming season as they completely bossed the entire match and were justly rewarded.

With owl eyes on European glory, club Chairman Jean Michel Alaus and new manager Claude Puel strengthened the side to a tune of €60m with re-enforcements in the likes of promising talents Miralem Pjanic and Hugo Lloris. The club splashed €15 for Brazilian playmaker Ederson, apparent heir to fellow country mate Juninho, and highly rated defender John Mensah – replacement for Atletico Madrid bound Sebastian Squillaci.

Lyon recouped half of its summer transfer kitty with the sale of gifted youngsters Loic Remy and Hatem Ben Arfa to Nice and Marseille while “jet-setter” Milan Baros clocked more travel miles as he was sold to Turkish side Galatasaray. On paper Lyon looked unstoppable, on the pitch, the were unbeatable.

Carefully tucked away in the Sud-Ouest region of France, twice league runners up to Lyon (2005/06 & 2007/08), Bordeaux under the management of former French footballer and reigning Ligue 1 coach of the season Laurent Blanc just about derailed Lyon’s train as they battled with the champions till the end.

But almost doesn’t kill a bird, yet when there’s hope, there’s always whispers of a “new Zidane” in the wings, and thus Blanc brought in highly rated French playmaker Yoann Gourcuff, on loan from AC Milan. Following in his footsteps was near homophone namesake, Yoan Gouffran, (€6.5m from Caen) – both deemed necessities if the club hoped to capture its first domestic championship in a decade.

Despite not having the financial prowess to challenge Lyon, Blanc assmebled a solid lineup capable of enduring ardous campaigns (domestic & European front) and with a tad bit of luck, thwart Lyon.

“Allez Gerets, Allez Allez Gerets” rained down at the Stade Veledrome. It been half a decade since L’OM were outright leaders – Week 6 of the 2003/04 season to be exact – and light years (17 years) since L’OM were French champions, but those memories were short lived as manager Eric Gerets shrieked following Lyon’s draw against Monaco which saw his team hold a point lead in the Ligue 1 table. With 8 domestic championships as a player with Standard Liege and PSV and 5 championships as manager (Lierse, Brugge, PSV (2) and Galatasaray), Gerets is no stranger to success and the resurgence of Marseille under his helm is testament.

Football pundits and bookies put Marseille as third favorites to win the Ligue 1 title, behind Bordeaux and Lyon, rightfully so if I might add. Despite a good showing last season, the team lost influential playmaker Samir Nasri to Arsenal and prolific yet unsettled striker Djbril Cisse was loaned out to Sunderland.

Club President Pape Diouf (European football’s sole black President, much praise) stood by his vows to challenge for honors by giving manager Eric Gerets a sizable transfer kitty. The club took proclaimed dressing room “trouble maker” Hatem Ben Arfa off Lyon for €12m, diminutive pacy Ivorian foward Bakari Kone was brought in from Nice to partner runner up player of the year Mamadou Niang and veteran defender, Hilton, joined the club after 4 seasons with Lens.

Perhaps the most surprisng addition to L’OM was the loan capture of Derby County’s Tyrone Mears. The Jamaican international reportedly made his way across the channel by sneaking out the bathroom window at the club’s training ground without the consent of manager Paul Jewell. As they say, the end justifies the means, and in the case, it surely did.

Two wins, a draw and two losses. That was Bordeaux’s record after 5 games into the season. In all fairness, Blanc’s men had the hardest early fixtures as they succumbed to losses on travels to a new look P.S.G side managed by Paul Le Guen and the league’s best home team, Lille. Marouane Chamakh cancelled out Bakari Kone’s 2nd minute goal to earn Bordeaux a draw at the Stade Chaban Delmas during fifth round of games.

With 9 games played, things looked rather rosy at the L’OM camp. Along with an unblemished spot in the loss column, the team had scored 19 goals (thanks to 4 each from newcomers Kone and Ben Arfa) and were a point behind league leaders Lyon.

Blessed with the easiest start to the season, Lyon looked comfortable after 14 games despite a shocking 3-0 loss to a Mickael Pagis hat-trick away at Rennais. Claude Puel’s men had a 7 point cushion above Marseille and had only conceeded 9 goals. It was another case of Deja vu as Lyon, like fellow title hopefuls Bordeaux and Marseille, lost to P.S.G. in week 15. Midway through the season notwithstanding a slender 3 point lead over Bordeaux, Les Gones were odds on favorite.

That was then and this is now.

Undoubtedly the turning points of the Ligue 1 season were week 27 & 28. In week 27 under a Ligue 1 record crowd of 78,056 at the Stade de France, Lille defeated Lyon 2-0 with a brillant Michel Bastos chip two minutes from time. That same weekend, Toulouse hammered Bordeaux 3-0 while Marseille could only manage a goalless draw with lowly Valenciennes.

P.S.G. capitlized on everyone’s stutter with a 1-0 over Lorient narrowing the gap to a point behind Lyon. The Parc des Princes supporters were ecstatic, alas P.S.G. could really have a shout in the title race. The next week Lyon succumed to its second straight loss at the hands of Auxerre – its first since weeks 20 & 21 of the 2006/07 season, Bordeaux bounced back with a 2-1 victory over Nice while Marseille briefly derailled P.S.G title hopes with a 3-1 win.

Lyon’s 5 point lead over Marseille at the beginning of week 26 had been shrunk to 1 while Bordeaux had narrowed the gap to 3 points at the end of week 28.

Over the past 3 weeks, Bordeaux and Marseille have kept pace with Lyon. Bordeaux made light work of relegation bound Le Havre, and looked in good form as they scrapped by AS Nancy, thanks to a late strike by Chamakh. Lyon snapped its run of consecutive losses with a 2-0 win over Sochaux which was followed with a Benzema double to sink Le Mans 3-1. Marseille followed suit by trashing relegation candidates FC Nantes and AS Saint-Etienne. Over the weekend as Frederic Piquonne saved Lyon’s blushes by securing an unjust 2-2 draw against Monaco, Fernando and Wendel put Bordeaux past Auxerre. However Marseille stole the headlines with a 4-1 demolition of Grenoble to knock Lyon off the helm.

With 6 games to play, things look far more complicated for Lyon as it aims to secure another title. Next week, Benzema and Lyon travel to wine country to face Bordeaux which is followed by a tough home date against P.S.G. An away trip to Valencinnes is followed with a home tie to Nantes, both must win encounters.

Claude Puel’s future might lay at the Stade Veledrome on week 36 as Marseille welcome Lyon, a loss will all but spell the end of Lyon’s title credentials. Should Marseille fail to in its title quest against Lyon, all eyes will be on Ligue 1 revelation of the season – Andre Pierre Gignac – as Toulouse welcome Lyon to the Allée Gabriel Biénés on the final day of the season.

Marseille’s run in at the end of the season is arguably tougher than Lyon as they are still involved in the neverending UEFA CUP as Shaktar Donetsk travel into town tonight with a 2 goal lead. Meanwhile on the domestic front, Eric Gerets’ men have an almost impossible task as they travel North to Lille in week 33, a team with just one home loss all season. Next is a home fixture against Europa Cup hopefuls Toulouse followed by a massive encounter against Lyon with 2 games to spare. L’OM round out the season at home with Stade Rennais hoping to swing the 4-4 thriller in the first game of the season in its favor.

In theory, barring any abmormal results or “Tevez’s”-like West Ham miracles, Bordeaux have the easiest fixture list for the next 6 games, a reward for having the toughest fixtures at the beginning of the season. Apart from a tough home tie against Lyon next week, Laurent Blanc’s have an away postponed fixture against Stade Rennais. The final 4 games are against teams battling to avoid the drop – Sochaux and Caen – and teams with nothing to play for – AS Monaco and Valencinnes.

Lyon should count themselves quite lucky if they secure 11 points from thier last 6 games. Marseille will be very fortunate to secure draws away at Lille and at home to Lyon, and thus should come out with about 10 points. On the other hand, even if Bordeaux lose to Lyon at home, they should easily pick up about 13 points from 18, enough to secure its first Ligue 1 title since Sylvian Wiltord’s 22 goals led them to thier 5th championship – a point ahead of Marseille.

Coincedence? nah… it’s just a certain Je ne sais quoi.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Arithmetic took center stage with number “7″ as second place PSG travelled away to ninth place Lorient this past weekend. Living up to his number jersey number, 32-year-old Ludovic Guily scored his 7th league goal as he volleyed in Guillaume Hoarau’s carefully headed pass. The 1-0 result see PSG close the gap on Lyon as Paul Le Guen’s men aim to cap Lyon’s consecutive Ligue 1 crowns at 7.

Elsewhere fellow title hopefuls Bordeaux could not withstand the seduction of Alain Casanova as they fell 3-0  to Toulouse. Despite being the far superior side for most of the encounter, Laurent Blanc’s men failed to capitalize and found themselves down by 2 at the end of the first half with goals by Francois Sirieix and Andre-Pierre Gignac – the latter’s 16th league goal. It was more of the same after both teams arrived from half time team talks as Cavenaghi and Chamakh came close for Bordeaux before Moussa Sissoko added injury to insult with a 93rd minute goal.

Grenoble Foot 38 almost put its “foot” in its mouth prior to Larsen Toure added time goal which gave the hosts a 2-1 win against 10 men Caen. The thrilling affair was marked with Gregory Leca’s red card ten minutes into the tie for a professional foul. On loan Lyon defender Sandy Paillot gave Grenoble the lead minutes before halftime before Caen suffered its second casualty as manager Frank Dumas was sent into the stands for arguing with the officials. Veteran midfielder Anthony Deroin almost stole a point for the Normandy side five minutes from time before Toure’s strike snatched all three points for Grenoble.

Marseille lost more ground atop the Ligue 1 table as they were held to a goalless draw by 15th place Valenciennces. L’OM manager Eric Gerets appeared livid as his team failed to score despite their dominance for most of the tie.  Marseille narrowly hold on to a Champions league spot over Toulouse thanks to a slightly better goal difference.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News