John Welsh
Although Paris Saint-Germain won the Ligue 1 title this season by a commanding 12 points, with many now forecasting a period of PSG dominance in French football, the past nine months has also highlighted a renaissance in the fortunes of teams residing on the Cote d’Azur. Both Marseille and Nice performed admirably in the top flight this season, but it is the re-emergence of Monaco and their promotion from Ligue 2 which may add extra spice to the 2013/14 campaign.
After suffering the embarrassment of relegation from Ligue 1 in 2011, Monaco have been spared a long spell in the wilderness by the intervention of Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev and his purchase of a majority stake in the club. After a moderate campaign in Ligue 2 following their demotion, former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri was subsequently appointed and has guided Monaco to the title and promotion during his opening campaign at the helm.
With promotion secured, Rybolovlev is already showing signs of flexing his financial muscle and rivalling or even surpassing the expenditure lavished at PSG by the Qatar Investment Authority. Already, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho have been signed from FC Porto for a combined fee of approximately €60m and Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao has joined the pair on a five-year contract.
At a club where the prospect of European football will not materialise for at least a year and at a Stade Louis II stadium which barely attracts 10,000 spectators for home matches, questions will remain as to the validity of the efforts of Rybolovlev in conforming to the forthcoming UEFA financial fair play rules. No doubt, the means have been discovered for allowing the Russian to entrust Ranieri in spending part of his vast fortune on team rebuilding and French football may benefit from the extra competition for PSG.
However, further along the road, the upsurge in fortunes at Nice have also warranted attention especially with their impending summer move to the Allianz Riviera Stadium, after many years playing football at the rather dilapidated Stade du Ray. After a season in which they have exceeded all expectations by finishing fourth and securing Europa League qualification, the move to the new stadium and with it hopefully larger crowds may help to sustain Nice’s sudden improvement.
After several seasons in which they flirted with relegation, the appointment of former Lyon boss Claude Puel was an inspirational move and he is idolised by the various supporter factions which occupied both the North and South stands of the old venue. For next season he will need to prove that this was not just a one-off campaign, but it was perhaps the signing of the much travelled Argentinian Dario Cvitanich which helped Puel to re-establish his reputation following a disappointing spell at Lyon.
Cvitanich has netted 19 league goals in his most prolific season so far, and has been helped by Eric Bautheac in the goalscoring charts. Puel’s son Gregoire has also arrived from Lyon, but the justified suspension of young playmaker Valentin Eysseric for three months from March may have prevented Nice from enjoying further success this campaign. His return to duties for next season can only be a bonus for their 2013/14 prospects.
While Nice finished fourth in Ligue 1, their neighbours along the Riviera fared even better. After a very mediocre campaign in 2011/12, a second place position for Marseille reaffirmed their status as one of the dominant teams in French football. With baseball-capped Elie Baup appointed as boss in July 2012, Marseille soon rediscovered the winning formula which led to the title in 2010.
With many of their victories having been achieved via 1-0 scorelines, Baup has been instrumental in forging a more solid unit with leading scorer Andre-Pierre Gignac finally showing his true worth. Midfielder Mathieu Valbuena and goalkeeper Steve Mandanda have also performed admirably in a much improved season. And with a revamped Stade Velodrome in addition to the extra income generated from the Champions League, Marseille may be still be capable of upsetting big spending PSG and Monaco.
While the big French Riviera clubs appear intent on challenging for major honours in the next campaign, there are other teams in the area which are determined to publicise their merits. Frejus Saint-Raphael only just failed in their attempt to win promotion to Ligue 2 after finishing fourth in the third tier Championnat National, while in the holiday resort towns of Cannes, Antibes and Cagnes-sur-Mer, the local football teams are instrumental in encouraging the participation of the younger generation in specialised training sessions.
In the cases of Frejus and Cagnes-sur-Mer, there have been recent mergers between rival teams to form clubs with more solid foundations and which may ultimately lead to further progress up the French football pyramid.
Although the French Riviera may enjoy a reputation for glitz and very favourable weather, its football teams are also showing positive signs and the area’s bigger clubs may eventually halt the impending monopoly of Ligue 1 by Paris Saint-Germain.
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