French Football, Que Faisant?

What the hell is going on with the domestic French League? France have this reputation of unearthing talent, dare I say it, like no other country in the world. In 1998 they proved their domination on the world stage by winning the world cup, and then in more recent times were only just pipped out of the same result 8 years later at the 2006 world cup against Italy (lets not forget European champions in 2000). Most of this success is generally attributed to the French Federation of Football’s Youth Academy; Le Centre Technique National Fernand Sastre – also known as Clairefontaine.

Clairefontaine was established as an answer to the ever growing Lilleshal academy based in England allowing the most talented young French footballers from the Île-de-France région train there. The scary thing is there are 8 other major academies based in France that aim to offer the exact same service. I use Clairefontaine as an example because it is quite simply the most successful football academy in the world. 5 ex-students immediately come to mind; Thierry Henry, William Gallas, Louis Saha, Nicolas Anelka and Jerome Rothen. Not bad hey? On further research, other players to come through this academy include Hatem Ben Arfa, Phillipe Christanval, Vassiriki Abou Diaby and Jacques Faty. Holy crap!

So why is it that these french domestic clubs struggling to live up to the national teams’ success? I realise that not every French international player is going to be based in their homeland, far from it. In fact, from the 23 players from the 2006 French world cup squad, only 11 of them played their club football in France. Compare this statistic to their Italian counterparts who actually had all 23 squad members playing in Italy, and it makes for interesting reading. So from this it can be derived that the French league seems to struggle to keep their best players in the homeland. And it is clearly showing.

This seasons Champions League comprised of a total of 3 French teams; Toulouse, Marseilles and Lyon. On paper, these three very good teams are capable of at least putting up a fight against the biggest clubs in Europe. Toulouse was eliminated early in the proceedings by Liverpool F.C in the 3^rd and final qualification round. Of the aforementioned clubs, Toulouse are easily the lesser known and weakest team, but still proficient enough to work their way through a group stage had they made it through. As for Marseilles and Lyon, they had already gained automatic qualification as per the rules and regulations set out by UEFA (i.e. the top 2 teams from the French league gain automatic qualification into the Champions League group stage), and made good inroads towards further progression after the first half of the group stage. Marseilles were topping their group after earning 7 of 9 possible points, meanwhile Lyon had only earned 3 of 9 points but had picked up momentum after a good win against Stuttgart on matchday 3 and had 2 more home games left to play. Funnily enough, by the end of the 6 matchdays the roles had well and truly reversed, with Lyon earning a place in the last 16 after a smash-and-grab win at the Ibrox against Rangers, while Marseilles had crashed out after a 0 – 4 loss against Liverpool F.C.

So going into the round of 16, only 1 of the 3 French teams remain in the competition. I would have thought that, with the amount of talent coming through the country that a more positive showing would be on display from the French, but again they have failed to live up to their reputation. With only Lyon progressing, it seems their chances of winning Europe’s most prestigious title may be slightly out of reach.

Now focusing on the domestic league, again questions must be asked about the credibility of the country’s major league. Lyon again is the focal team, currently cleaning up all major domestic trophies with ease and style. For the past 6 seasons running, Lyon has won the domestic league title, the winning point’s margin growing with every season (their first title in 01/02 won by a single point, their most recent in the 06/07 season won by a massive 17 points). Their stranglehold on the domestic title is something unseen in any other major European domestic league, and even this season after losing a considerable number of key players another domestic title is in reach after finishing on top of the table after the completion of the first half of the current season. Watch this space!

So basically, even though Lyon do suffer the odd loss here and there during the season, the trend is they win the title in a one horse race and leave the other 19 clubs to scrap it out for the other minor positions. While such an amazing record occurs once in a lifetime so to speak, there are adverse effects. For me, the interests in all things French football is still limbering, but keep in mind I am a die hard football fan. Thankfully the French are also quite attracted to the sport, still flocking in numerous thousands to each and every match. But with this domination, for how long?

There is no doubt the French league can still lay claim to having some of the most talented footballers on the planet plying their trade locally and continentally for these French clubs, with names such as Juninho, Benzema, Govou, Micoud, Alou Diarra, Nasri, Valbuena, Koller, Kluivert and Pauleta all involved week in week out for their respective clubs. The paradox for me still remains. Why is the national team so damn good, and why are the domestic clubs failing so miserably? Or am I being slightly pessimistic here?

Bolo Zenden: Part Time Marseille midfielder, Part Time Custard Tart.

I feel that my opinion runs parallel to that of my young friend Nutsy; the French league is something of a sleeping giant. There is plenty of enthusiasm from the fans, they absolutely love the game. There are also a great number of clubs in not just Le Championnat (premier division) but also in the support leagues that can contend for a greater continental presence. Most importantly, the players are there to play the great game and keep it at a competitive level. So why, in the history of the UEFA Champions League have only one French team actually walked away with the title (this being Marseille in 92/93). And even with the continued improvement of the greatest youth football academy in the world, the domestic competition continues to grow ever one sided. Yet for all this the French national team quite rightly holds the 7^th highest spot in the FIFA world rankings (as of 23 November 2007), and 5^th in the UEFA national rankings.

Make no mistake, I want to see French teams grow more successful in the continental competitions (and align themselves with the top 3 nations in European football; Spain, England and Italy). I want to be able to switch on the T.V and watch a competitive game of football with the knowledge that, no matter the result, Lyon may not walk away with the title. I’m not saying that the games aren’t competitive at the moment, but it almost seems their efforts are all in vain. Hopefully come May 17^th 2008, the French league will finish as one of the closest seasons in recent history. I’m not biased towards any team in particular, but hopefully this season will springboard a number of French clubs towards a bigger and brighter future.