Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News
By 2010, Marseille were embarking on an 17th year without a title, the last being the legendary 1993 UEFA Champions League triumph against AC Milan.
They had come close, including in the domestic cups over the years, having also finished 2nd in Ligue 1 the year before.
With the hugely popular Eric Gerets announcing his resignation, they turned to former club captain Didier Deschamps – the last OM skipper to lift a trophy in 1993 – to try and succeed where others had failed. The World Cup-winning captain achieved just that, as OM recovered from an eight-point deficit to Bordeaux and claim that elusive trophy.
CHANGES
There were a number of changes heading into the 2009-10 campaign, as no less than nine sides opted for a different manager. OM brought in Didier Deschamps, while PSG dispensed with Paul Le Guen in favour of Antoine Koumbouare. Guy Lacombe took charge of Monaco, while Montpellier, Boulogne, Le Mans, Rennes, Valenciennes and Nice all hired a new person on the bench.
Karim Benzema, Lyon’s highly talented young forward quit his hometown club to join Real Madrid’s Galactico project against a fee of 35 million euros. He was replaced by Porto’s experienced Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez. Lyon weren’t the only team to cherry pick Porto’s talents in what was a rare period of superiority for French football. Marseille also picked up the Portuguese side’s captain Lucho Gonzalez for 18 million euros.
Lyon, aiming to reclaim the title they lost in 2009 after seven consecutive league triumphs spent big in convincing Michel Bastos, Aly Cissokho and Bafetimbi Gomis to move to the Stade Gerland.
OM meanwhile brought in Stephane Mbia and Souleymane Diawara from Bordeaux and Rennes respectively, the pair forming what would become a title-winning defensive partnership.
SEASON SUMMARY
It had been the champions Bordeaux who raced out of the blocks quickest, picking up seven wins from their opening 10 games to claim top spot ahead of Monaco and Marseille. Indeed,…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/deschamps-returns-to-marseille-and-ends-17-years-of-hurt-ligue-1-in-2009-2010/800
Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-07-24 14:00:00
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