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Ligue 1 Focus - League success down to shrewd acquisitions
With Ligue 1’s biggest teams set for a crucial weekend of fixtures, all eyes will be on Sunday’s blockbuster encounter between last term’s top two, with Bordeaux hosting Marseille at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.
The gap between the two heavyweights currently stands at 11 points, with Bordeaux having played a game more. If Marseille can defeat les Girondins in Bordeaux and win their game in hand, the title race will well and truly be back on, as Bordeaux threaten to run away with the league after an impressive first-half of the season. Defender Souleymane Diawara has this week stated to the Press his side’s belief that they can get back into the title race provided they cause on upset on Sunday evening: “For us, it’s a critical match. It’s psychological, there are important points up for grabs, it’s everything in this match. Mentally, if we get the points, it will be a huge boost. If we don’t win, it will be a big blow and it will be very hard to bounce back and win the championship." The league leaders have shown an unwillingness to be unseated at the top of the table and approach every game with cool heads and a composed nature. The Marseille defender, who spent two seasons with the title winners, believes Laurent Blanc has built a successful team that appears to be at the summit to stay for a long time to come. He added: “This year the team has more experience and stays calm. Bordeaux never panic. That’s where they’ve improved a lot."
Les Girondins will certainly need the reluctance to panic this Sunday if they are to continue their march towards their second successive title. The midseason statistics certainly back up their supremacy with a current lead of a gigantic nine points, which is the biggest lead that any side has enjoyed in the past two and a half years. In addition to this, Les Girondins possess the meanest defence in the league with an impressive 11 clean sheets so far this term, with only 12 goals conceded. The success of the league’s high flying teams has depended on the effectiveness of the summer signings. Top dogs Bordeaux have acquired the right players, which back up their remarkable statistics. Although as a team, Les Girondins have been spectacular, their success is largely down to the form of three players. The acquisition of goalkeeper Cédric Carrasso from Toulouse has turned out to be an effective purchase, who was brought in to replace veteran Ulrich Ramé for only 10 million Euros. Having missed only one Ligue 1 fixture this term, the shot-stopper has already kept an incredible 16 clean sheets and appears to be one of the main factors in guarding Bordeaux’s position at the summit. Combine the excellence of Carasso, with the definitive transfer of Yoann Gourcuff and the retention of Moroccan starlet Marouane Chamakh, Bordeaux have spent wisely in the summer months.
Similarly Lille can attribute a lot of their success to arguably the player of the year so far, Cote d’Ivoire international Gervinho. Since signing from basement club Le Mans, the striker has quickly established himself at the top of the scoring charts with 11 goals already this term. At 8 million Euros there simply has not been a better signing in Ligue 1 this season and potentially in the whole of Europe in relation to value for money. Gervinho’s explosive pace and dazzling skills have terrorised defences in recent months with the form of Les Dogues in conjunction with the phenomenal form of the dreadlocked star. It is therefore no surprise to see Bordeaux and Lille sitting pretty at the top of the league, due to their carefully selected signings. Poor Lyon on the other hand have seen their fall from grace continue, following Bordeaux putting an end to their seven successive titles. In response to this, Les Gones spent big in the summer in order to put things right, spending 24 million Euros on Porto’s Lisandro Lopez. Filling the boots of the Real Madrid bound striker Karim Benzema was always going to be a tough task, but while Lopez has quietly got on with his job of scoring goals, the team has struggled to make its way up the league. It just shows that in football, the ins and outs have never been so important in guaranteeing domestic and European success.
Meanwhile, the French footballing community has this week pledged its support to the grief stricken Haiti. After the quake days earlier, which has left up to 50,000 dead, the LFP and the French Football Federation have made a generous donation to help the victims of the tragedy. The two organisations under the guidance of the respective presidents, Frédéric Thiriez and Jean-Pierre Escalettes will reportedly donate the sum of over 200,000 Euros to the relief fund. Le Championnat is set for resumption this weekend after the winter break, with public collections to be made at all professional football grounds.
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