When Montpellier stepped out at the Stade de France to take on Marseille in the Coupe de la Ligue final, all France knew how far the south coast outfit had come. Victory would have meant only the fifth major trophy in the club’s history and their first piece of silverware since 1994. Alas, a late Taye Taiwo denied René Girard’s side the celebration they craved, but even as Montpellier trudged off the pitch, it was a measure of the team that most imagined it will not be too long until their trophy cabinet is added to.
A spot in the final capped quite a revival for a team who have spent much of the last decade in Ligue 2, the days of Carlos Valderrama and Laurent Blanc long gone. In their first season back in Ligue 1 last year, La Paillade finished fifth, qualifying for the Europa League in the process and at the time of writing look well placed to repeat that impressive achievement this season, with the side in contention to qualify for Europe again.
Yet just a few years ago the club seemed set to drop into the National League, the third tier of French football. Well-travelled former Marseille coach Rolland Courbis kept Montpellier up though and stabilised the team before gradually building a squad capable of achieving promotion, and in the summer of 2008 the Frenchman recruited seven players to help the push to finish in the top three and reach Ligue 1. More intriguingly perhaps, Montpellier arranged just two pre-season friendlies, with Courbis noting that players who played for only short periods in a large batch of friendlies were more likely to push themselves harder to impress and therefore pick up injuries. And Courbis was able to keep a large, talented squad fit for much of the season.
But there was also a sub-factor. ‘Tino’ Costa, an Argentine playmaker, was one of the seven signed during that summer, and he was to prove influential as Montpellier pushed for promotion in the second half of the season, scoring a number of crucial goals in the final weeks of the campaign, including the vital second in their 2-1 win over Strasbourg on the final weekend of the season. Alongside Colombian forward Victor Montano, who scored 15 times for La Paillade that season, Montpellier had a youthful, creative and prolific forward line to complement a solid defence and a healthily sized squad. But despite promotion, there was one major issue hanging overhead.
Courbis had announced before the season had begun that he would be leaving at its end, having taken charge of Montpellier to save the side from the threat of relegation and feeling his job well done. The southern coast side, having achieved promotion, now turned to René Girard to help them adjust to life in the top tier.
It proved a wise choice as Girard recruited intelligently. The 57-year-old took what was an effective and youthful side, and added experienced players who would strengthen the team’s defence. He brought in Bosnian international defender Emir Spahic, whose ability with either foot has tempted Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to make a move – despite verbally agreeing to join the Londoners, Arsenal refused to meet Montpellier’s price tag. Girard also added Cyril Jeunechamp and midfielder Romain Pitau, who brought with him the experience of winning Ligue 1 with Lens in 1998. And perhaps just as crucially, the club held onto Montano and Costa, despite the latter attracting the attention of a number of Ligue 1 sides.
Sure enough, both adjusted to life at the top level and picked up where they left off the previous season, threatening Ligue 1 defences with their skill and prowess in front of goal, so much so that even as late as February 2010 the club moved briefly to the top of the table. An eventual finish of fifth was still a good return and Montano and Costa inevitably continued to attract attention, with both soon on their way to Rennes and Valencia respectively.
Delving into Ligue 2, the club replaced Montano with Tours’ Olivier Giroud, who has struck nine times for Montpellier this season. The main obstacle that the Girard-led outfit have faced though is finding anyone else to contribute to the goal tally regularly. The south coast side may sit comfortably in a congested mid-table, but they have only scored 27 goals this season, the third least in the league, only better than Arles-Avignon and Nice. And Montpellier’s venture into Europe at the start of this season was desperately short-lived, trading 1-0 wins with Hungarian side Gyori before losing 4-3 on penalties to exit the Europa League before the group stages.
Yet there is an unpredictable quality to Girard’s side, despite their resolute defence, which wasn’t breached until their fifth game of this season. Amid another fine campaign, Montpellier managed to somehow lose 4-1 at home to relegation threatened Lens (which was the club’s worst defeat in their history).
But La Paillade remain remarkably resilient, and have shown enterprise where necessary and an ability to conjure up crucial goals; their comeback from 2-0 to down to Paris Saint-Germain in March to grab a 2-2 draw despite being down to 10 men is a case in point.
Despite losing in the Coupe de la Ligue final, Montpellier should be able to reflect on another season of steady progress in the French top flight. It is a far cry from battling relegation in Ligue 2.
