Fireworks forecast as Bordeaux, OM resume battle

January 16, 2010

Bordeaux resume the defence of their French crown after the winter break with a home game against title challengers Marseille on Sunday, looking to open up a 14-point lead over their rivals.

Laurent Blanc’s all-conquering side are on a run of nine straight wins in all competitions and begin 2010 with a nine-point advantage over second-placed Lille in the French top flight.

Former France defender Marius Tresor, who represented both Bordeaux and Marseille during his 15-year playing career and is currently a member of the champions’ backroom staff, says the game is of pivotal significance.

“I think that, given the stakes, it will be a tough game for both sides,” he said. “But despite everything the pressure is more on the shoulders of Marseille, for the very simple reason that Bordeaux are 11 points ahead of Marseille. It’s a hugely important match, especially for OM.”

Marseille warmed up for the table-topping encounter with a 3-2 victory at Saint-Etienne on Wednesday that took them into the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

Bordeaux’s corresponding tie with Le Mans was postponed due to heavy snow and Marseille coach Didier Deschamps concedes that Sunday’s opponents are likely to be much fresher.

“We’ll have one more game in our legs than Bordeaux,” said Deschamps, who saw his side hold Bordeaux to a 0-0 draw when the teams last met in August.

“We’re going to Bordeaux with real ambition to obtain a positive result but we’ll have to do things much better because games against Bordeaux are never straightforward.”

Bordeaux can call on top scorer Marouane Chamakh and France international midfielders Yoann Gourcuff and Alou Diarra after all three were rested for the fruitless trip to Le Mans.

Marseille have been boosted by the return from injury of Senegalese international striker and club captain Mamadou Niang, who scored the injury-time winner against Saint-Etienne.

Lyon, like Marseille, began the year with back-to-back victories in the two cup competitions, but they are 13 points off the pace in sixth place in the league prior to their trip to Nancy on Saturday.

“We’ve started the year well thanks to the two cup matches, but the priority is still the league,” said Lyon midfielder Miralem Pjanic, whose side this week signed Croatian centre-back Dejan Lovren from Dynamo Zagreb for eight million euros.

Lille, who roared into second place on the back of a six-game winning streak at the end of 2009, host Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday.

The capital side go into the game in eighth place in the league standings, five points beyond their opponents and smarting after a disastrous own goal by defender Mamadou Sakho saw them sink to a 1-0 defeat to second-tier Guingamp in the League Cup on Wednesday.

“We’ll have to respond at Lille on Saturday,” said Paris forward Loris Arnaud. “It won’t be easy because Lille are in good form but we’ll do everything to achieve a good result.”

Third-placed Montpellier, who went down 4-0 at Monaco in a rearranged league fixture on Wednesday, take on Nice, while fifth-placed Auxerre welcome Boulogne to the Stade de l’Abbe Deschamps.

At the foot of the table, bottom side Grenoble host third-bottom Saint-Etienne, who parted company with coach Alain Perrin before Christmas and who have not tasted victory in the league since November 7.

Fixtures

Saturday (2000GMT)

Auxerre v Boulogne, Grenoble v Saint-Etienne, Le Mans v Lorient, Lille v Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco v Sochaux, Montpellier v Nice, Nancy v Lyon, Rennes v Lens, Valenciennes v Toulouse

Sunday (2000GMT)

Bordeaux v Marseille

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: Abbe-Deschamps, Alain Perrin, Boulogne, chamakh, club captain, cup competitions, diarra, didier deschamps, france international, french crown, Germain, heavy snow, home game, injury time, Lyon, marius tresor, midfielders, Monaco, Nancy, PARIS, point advantage, saint etienne, senegalese, time winner, top scorer, Toulouse, Zagreb

Galtier looking to lift St Etienne

December 19, 2009

New St Etienne coach Christophe Galtier has warned that his side will be looking for a confidence booster to lift their sagging campaign against Marseille on Saturday.

Alain Perrin’s former assistant takes over a side in freefall as they struggle in the relegation zone with just 15 points from 17 games and two games left before the winter break in the French first division.

The club are far from the glory days of the 1960s and 1970s when they were one of the powerhouses of French football – winning the last of their ten league titles way back in 1981.

But former Marseille player Galtier insisted the “pressure and great expectations” on his shoulders would prove a motivator as his team take on second-placed Marseille just days after Perrin’s sacking.

“I’m capable of reversing the slump,” boasted Galtier of a side still reeling from the 3-0 loss at Paris Saint-Germain which cost Perrin his job.

“The group’s confidence is in freefall. The most important thing is to get confidence back into a team hit by poor results.”

But with a long injury list, Galtier will be hard pressed to do better than his predecessor, although he can count on defender Yohan Benalouane, back from suspension, to bolster Guirane N?Daw.

In-form Marseille claimed their third successive win midweek with a 2-1 victory over Lorient to move up to second, six points behind leaders Bordeaux.

And Marseille coach Didier Deschamps admitted his primary concern was the freezing conditions forecast for St Etienne on Saturday.

“The number one worry is the physical shape of the players because the risk of injury is high,” said Deschamps. “To play matches in these conditions is more about balance than football.”

Bordeaux look to consolidate their position before the winter break as they host Lorient after their 1-0 win over Montpellier on Wednesday.

Coach Laurent Blanc knows his side were lucky to come away with a win from Montpellier after their success at Lyon the previous week.

“We weren’t good because the match against Lyon left its mark. Certain players hadn’t recovered and weren’t at a technically high level.”

But Blanc is happy with his side’s first half of the season.

“I’d be happy to have a second half of the season like the first,” said Blanc. “We’ve done almost half the work. We have to prepare ourselves because we mustn’t think that it’s going to happen by itself. Nothing is given, we have to go after it.”

Nevertheless Blanc isn’t underestimating his rivals.

“Christian Gourcuff has a well organised team,” said Blanc of his Lorient counterpart. “With few resources they produce beautiful football and players worthy of the highest level.”

Montpellier, sitting third seven points off the place, host 13th-placed Nancy as Valenciennes take on Lens and midtable rivals Rennes and Paris St Germain slug it out in Brittany.

Tailenders Grenoble host Nice as second-from-bottom Boulogne travel to Sochaux.

On Sunday, Lyon vist Monaco as Lille look to get back into the top four against Le Mans and Auxerre host Toulouse.

Saturday (1800GMT unless stated)

Bordeaux v Lorient, Boulogne v Sochaux, Grenoble v Nice, Montpellier v Nancy, Rennes v PSG, Valenciennes v Lens, St Etienne v Marseille (2000GMT)

Sunday (1600GMT unless stated)

Auxerre v Toulouse, Lille v Le Mans, Monaco v Lyon (2000GMT)

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: Alain Perrin, auxerre, Bordeaux, Boulogne, Brittany, Christian Gourcuff, Christophe Galtier, confidence booster, Daw, french football, Germain, glory days, great expectations, Grenoble, laurent blanc, league titles, Lille, Lorient, Lyon, Mans, Marseille, midweek, Monaco, Montpellier, Nancy, PARIS, powerhouses, relegation zone, Rennes, six points, st etienne, Toulouse, winter break

Bloodied Bordeaux look to re-assert superiority

October 17, 2009

Bordeaux’s French crown slipped after a shock 3-1 defeat at Saint-Etienne in their last Ligue 1 outing and the champions will hope to make an immediate return to winning ways at Auxerre on Saturday.

The unexpected reverse against Alain Perrin’s resurgent side was Bordeaux’s first league defeat in 19 matches and allowed Lyon to go into the international break with a one-point lead at the summit.

Auxerre, meanwhile, have recovered from a three-game losing start that saw them sink to the bottom of the table, rising to 10th on the back of a five-match unbeaten run.

Bordeaux’s Brazilian midfielder Wendel attributed the Saint-Etienne defeat to tiredness brought on by the club’s exertions in both the domestic championship and the Champions League.

“I think there was a lot of fatigue,” he said. “The matches against Rennes and Maccabi (Haifa) took a lot of our energy; energy which we missed at Saint-Etienne.

“But we’re second in the league table and still on track. We’re going to Auxerre for the next match and we’re going to do what it takes to get the three points and stay at the top of the standings.”

Lyon are France’s in-form side with six wins and two draws to date and guard the only unbeaten record in the top flight.

They host 14th-placed Sochaux, who will be without striker Charlie Davies after the USA international was seriously hurt in a car accident that claimed the life of one of his female companions.

The 23-year-old, who featured in the USA’s 3-2 win over Honduras last Saturday, suffered multiple facial fractures, a badly broken right leg, a broken left elbow and a lacerated bladder in the crash in Virginia and could be out for the rest of the season.

Elsewhere, Didier Deschamps’s Marseille travel to Nancy still reeling from back-to-back league losses against Valenciennes and Monaco.

The Mediterranean club also went down to a humbling 3-0 defeat at Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage at the end of September and midfielder Benoit Cheyrou says they must respond in the right manner at Nancy.

“We’re not thinking about defeat at Nancy,” said the 28-year-old.

“We’ve had three consecutive defeats, we know that we’re expected to turn it around but we still have to get the three points.

“It’s at times like this when things aren’t going well that we really need to show togetherness and solidarity. That’s what we’re trying to do at the moment.”

In Saturday’s remaining fixtures, second-bottom Le Mans host Boulogne, surprise package Montpellier — three points behind Lyon in third — take on Saint-Etienne, Rennes visit Lille and Grenoble’s quest for a first point of the season continues at Valenciennes.

Monaco, who moved up to fourth on the back of their win against Marseille, play Lens on Sunday, with Lorient facing Nice.

Andre-Pierre Gignac contributed a stunning goal to France’s 3-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Austria on Wednesday and the Toulouse man will hope to continue his fine form at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the last match of the weekend.

Fixtures

Saturday (1700GMT unless otherwise stated)

Auxerre v Bordeaux, Le Mans v Boulogne, Lyon v Sochaux, Montpellier v Saint-Etienne, Nancy v Marseille, Valenciennes v Grenoble, Lille v Rennes (1900GMT)

Sunday (1500GMT unless otherwise stated)

Lorient v Nice, Monaco v Lens, Toulouse v Paris St-Germain (1900GMT)

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: Alain Perrin, Andre-Pierre Gignac, auxerre, benoit cheyrou, champions league group, Charlie Davies, energy energy, exertions, female companions, Germain, group stage, Honduras, Ligue 1, Lorient, Lyon, maccabi haifa, Mediterranean, Montpellier, saint etienne, sochaux, Toulouse, unbeaten record, valenciennes, winning ways

Lyon´s Keita signs for Galatasaray

July 2, 2009

LYON, France (AFP) – Lyon announced on Thursday they have agreed terms with Turkish giants Galatasaray for the transfer of Ivory Coast striker Kader Keita.

The deal leading to a three-year contract for the 27-year-old goal-scorer in Istanbul is expected to be completed later in the day.

Keita joined Lyon from Lille in June 2007 along with midfielder Mathieu Bodmer for a total transfer fee of 24million euros.

He failed to make his mark on the team under coaches Alain Perrin and then last season Claude Puel as Lyon lost the French title they had won for seven straight years.

Galatasary are currently rebuilding under former Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard.

Tags: Alain Perrin, Barcelona, claude puel, coach frank, France, frank rijkaard, french title, Galatasary, giants, goal scorer, Istanbul, Ivory Coast, kader, Ligue 1, Lille, Lyon, lyon france, mathieu bodmer, signs, striker, Turkcell Süper Lig

Marseille eye French summit after golden week

March 21, 2009

PARIS (AFP) – After beating their fiercest rivals and then one of European football’s biggest names in the space of a week, Marseille are now eyeing the French first division summit.

The Mediterranean side moved to within a point of faltering leaders Lyon by beating Paris Saint Germain 3-1 at the Parc des Princes here on Sunday, and followed up with a 2-2 draw at Dutch giants Ajax that saw them into the last eight of the UEFA Cup.

"My players have a ferocious appetite," coach Eric Gerets said after an extra-time goal from English loanee Tyrone Mears sealed a 4-3 aggregate victory in Amsterdam on Wednesday.

"We did everything possible to eliminate Ajax because a run in the UEFA Cup could have a positive effect on our bid for the championship."

With Lyon not hosting Sochaux until Sunday, a victory for Gerets’s men at home to relegation-threatened Nantes on Saturday will take them to the top of the table for the first time since the end of August.

France’s best-supported club have not tasted major success since the glory days of the early 1990s – when they won four successive league titles and the 1993 Champions League – but Gerets says he can cope with the weight of expectation.

"The anticipation is enormous at Stade Velodrome, where we haven’t celebrated a title for 15 years," the Belgian said.

"Now that we are getting a bit closer to our targets, the expectation will reach a crescendo. The players must be capable of handling this pressure."

St Etienne enjoyed markedly different fortunes in the mid-week UEFA Cup action, scraping a 2-2 draw at home to Germany’s Werder Bremen that brought about a 3-2 aggregate defeat.

Les Verts slipped back into the Ligue 1 relegation zone after conceding an injury-time winner at Grenoble last weekend, leading coach Alain Perrin to announce that European competition was no longer his priority.

"From now on it’s all about staying up," echoed midfielder Geoffrey Dernis.

"We really need all our energy to finish the season well and save ourselves as quickly as possible."

On Sunday, St Etienne travel to 12th-placed Lorient, who haven’t won since mid-December, with second-bottom Caen visiting Nice on Saturday.

PSG will look to bounce back from their painful home defeat against Marseille when they visit a Toulouse side who have lost just once at home this season and who are only four points off the lead themselves.

Fourth-placed Bordeaux, runners-up last season, visit rock-bottom Le Havre on Saturday looking to re-ignite their title charge.

Laurent Blanc’s side play seven of the league’s bottom 10 teams in a relatively gentle run-in and they will go level on points with Lyon if they win at Le Havre.

Lyon are now without a win in three matches and must improve a record of just one win in their last seven home games when they meet Sochaux if they are to prove that they are still the force of old.

Fixtures

Saturday (1800GMT unless otherwise stated)

Nancy v Monaco, Auxerre v Le Mans, Le Havre v Bordeaux, Lille v Grenoble, Nice v Caen, Rennes v Valenciennes, Marseille v Nantes (2000GMT)

Sunday (1600GMT unless otherwise stated)

Lorient v St Etienne, Lyon v Sochaux, Toulouse v PSG (2000GMT)

Written by: AFP

Tags: aggregate victory, Alain Perrin, Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Bremen, coach eric, eric gerets, ferocious appetite, Geoffrey Dernis, Germain, Germany, glory days, Grenoble, injury time, laurent blanc, Le Havre, league titles, les verts, Ligue 1, Lille, Lorient, Lyon, Mans, Marseille, Mediterranean, Monaco, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, parc des princes, PARIS, paris saint germain, Rennes, sochaux, st etienne, time goal, time winner, Toulouse, Tyrone Mears, UEFA Cup, velodrome, werder bremen

St Etienne riding high 33 years after European final

February 19, 2009

ATHENS (AFP) – St Etienne’s 3-1 victory at Olympiakos here on Wednesday marked a return to free-scoring form in Europe 33 years after reaching the European Cup final.

The current team, in the French league relegation zone, hardly compare with the Michel Platini-led virtuosos of the 70’s but goals from Brazilian Ilan, Geoffrey Dernis and France international Bafetimbi Gomis allowed them to dream of a clash with AC Milan in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup.

This season is St Etienne’s first foray into Europe in 26 years and, far from the 5-0, Platini-inspired thrashing of Hamburg in the last 16 of this competition in the 1980/81 season, coach Alain Perrin can be thankful goals flowed freely in this first leg.

Lost possession by Olympiakos’s French defender Didier Domi, who crazily tried to dribble the ball out of his own penalty area, was picked up by St Etienne’s Paulo Machado who fed Ilan in the 12th minute, who netted for his fourth goal in this season’s competition.

Dernis put St Etienne two goals ahead in the 43rd minute though Olympiakos captain Predrag Djordjevic pulled a goal back from a 63rd minute penalty for a foul on Cedric Varrault. Gomis added a third for St Etienne in injury time to silence the crowd at the Karaiskakis stadium.

Bayern Munich’s Franz Roth scored the only goal in the 1976 European Cup final against St Etienne to give them a third consecutive title, immediately after Ajax had managed the same feat.

Written by: AFP

Tags: 33 years, ac milan, AFP, Alain Perrin, athens, Bafetimbi, Bayern, bayern munich, cedric varrault, consecutive title, current team, Domi, dribble, Etienne, Europe, foray, France, france international, Franz Roth, french league, Geoffrey Dernis, gomis, Hamburg, Ilan, injury time, karaiskakis, Ligue 1, Machado, michel platini, Michel Platini-led, Milan, Olympiakos, Paulo, predrag djordjevic, st etienne, Super League, uefa, UEFA Cup, virtuosos

French league in table-topping shake-up

February 2, 2009

PARIS (AFP) – A shake-up at the top of the French league this weekend saw reigning champions Lyon retain top spot, but five points separate the top six spelling a European qualification dogfight if the situation lasts.

A Juninho freekick equaliser for Lyon cancelled out Kevin Mirallas’s opener for St Etienne in a 1-1 draw in Sunday’s late match though Paris Saint Germain were the major winners of the weekend.

Paul Le Guen’s PSG beat Caen 2-0 to jump three places to third as they were the only team in the top six to win, boosting morale before a new club president is due to be named in the next few days.

Lyon have 43 points, one point ahead of second-placed Bordeaux who drew 2-2 at home to Lille, four points in front of third-placed PSG, with Marseille, who lost 1-0 at struggling Sochaux, and Rennes and Toulouse, who had a goalless draw, all on 38 points.

With three teams set for Champions League qualification and the fourth-placed team set for the UEFA Cup, the run-in looks like it will be a close-run affair.

A manic four-minute spell at the Gerland stadium saw both Lyon and St Etienne’s goals and Lyon’s Frederic Piquionne sent off.

After being fed by St Etienne’s Brazilian Araujo Ilan, Dimitri Payet in turn got the ball to Mirallas on the left and the former Lille player managed to fire a right-foot shot over Lyon keeper Hugo Lloris in the 50th minute.

Three minutes later Lyon scored from a freekick on the left by Juninho who managed to wrongfoot keeper Jeremie Janot, a minute before Piquionne received his marching orders for a second yellow card on tackling Mouhamadou Dabo.

In a match-day footnote, St Etienne coach Alain Perrin was making his return to the Gerland stadium having been at the helm of Lyon last year.

Marseille lost 1-0 at third-from-bottom Sochaux after a 24th minute Mevlut Erding goal for their second loss in just a few days following their midweek French Cup defeat to Lyon.

Marseille coach Eric Gerets said: "I’m not happy this evening. I don’t think we deserved to win this match but we did not deserve to lose either. We had been controlling the match pretty much until Sochaux’s goal. This was not a glorious day.

"To lose twice in the same week is hard but sometimes you have to accept things."

Written by: AFP

Tags: Alain Perrin, coach eric, dabo, dogfight, eric gerets, european qualification, frederic piquionne, french cup, french league, gerland, jeremie janot, kevin mirallas, Ligue 1, matc, match day, paris saint germain, paul le guen, payet, sochaux, st etienne

Le Guen takes Cup revenge, Marseille squeeze through

January 5, 2009

PARIS (AFP) – Paris Saint Germain coach Paul Le Guen finally took revenge on his French Cup jinx club in their 1-0 victory at Montlucon on Sunday.

Le Guen, who played for PSG during their golden days of the 1990s, was twice beaten at amateur club Montlucon, in 1997 with PSG as a player and then in 2005 with Lyon as coach.

Meanwhile, Marseille, a record 10-time French Cup champions, survived a major scare to go through at the expense of fourth division Besancon who had been just eight minutes from a famous victory.

But Marseille, who lost to minnows Carquefou in the round of 16 last season, levelled from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute before squeezing into the next round on a penalty shootout and a possible clash with league leaders Lyon.

Le Guen savoured the moment of finally settling the scores.

"It did me a lot of good to win here after defeats with PSG in 1997, then with Lyon in 2005, both times on penalties," Le Guen said. "It was very painful."

Stephane Sessegnon’s second-half goal propelled PSG into the last 32 to the satisfaction of coach Le Guen.

"It was a good victory," added the coach.

"We did what we needed to do. Even though we only won 1-0, I feel we played a good match. I hope we can continue in the same vein and we are still on course in four competitions."

Sessegnon’s goal came in the 52nd minute after PSG had upped the pressure following the break. He was unmarked when he fired home at the far post with his right foot following a Jerome Rothen corner.

Eric Gerets’ Marseille went behind in the 67th minute through an own goal by Ronald Zubar as he attempted to clear the ball from danger as Besancon striker Yohann Rangdet closed in.

Romain Hamouma might have got a second for Besancon as he only had Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda to beat, but defender Taye Taiwo managed to clear.

Taiwo then converted an 82nd minute penalty to send the tie into extra-time before Marseille clinched the shootout 5-4 and a last 32 tie against either defending champions Lyon or Concarneau.

Saint Etienne ended their three-year losing French Cup record on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Bordeaux to reach the last 32 and keep coach Alain Perrin on course for an unprecedented Cup treble.

Bafetimbi Gomis grabbed the winner in the 76th minute on a treacherous and slippy surface at Bordeaux’s Jacques-Chaban-Delmas stadium.

Perrin coached Sochaux to the 2007 French Cup title and repeated the success with Lyon last season.

Two first division clubs exited the competition this weekend — Nancy losing to fourth division Romorantin on penalties and Auxerre falling to Ajaccio also after a shootout.

Written by: AFP