CBC-Sports

Bordeaux turning heads in France and Europe

December 14, 2009 01:40 PM | Posted by   John Molinaro  

It wasn't that long ago that Olympique Lyon ruled French soccer like an iron-fisted dictator, brushing aside everyone who stood in their path as they won a record seven league titles in a row.

The natural order was disrupted when FC Girondins de Bordeaux broke Lyon's streak this past May, claiming the championship on the last day of the season with a victory against Caen.

But least you think that was just a blimp on the French soccer map, think again.

Big win over Lyon

Les Girondins, who call the port city of Bordeaux in the southwest of France home, have asserted themselves as the new kings of French soccer, a fact underlined by their 1-0 win in Lyon on Sunday - a result that gave them a four-point cushion over second-place Montpellier and an eight-point advantage over Lyon.

Bordeaux is for real, sweeping to the top of Ligue Un with the division's best defence (10 goals against in 16 games) and a potent offence, led by the incomparable Yoann Gourcuff (foolishly cut loss by AC Milan not so long ago) and Moroccan hotshot Marouane Chamakh (who Arsenal tried and failed to buy in the summer transfer window).

Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc has picked up where he left off last season, preaching attacking soccer – with an emphasis on maintaining possession - and imploring his players to move the ball quickly up field in order to catch the opposition off guard.

It's a tactical ploy that has worked to perfection not just at home, but also abroad.

Few gave Bordeaux much of a chance in the UEFA Champions League when it was drawn into a first-round group that included Juventus and Bayern Munich. The prevailing thought was that while the French side has come of age under Blanc, they still lacked experience and that would be their undoing.

Bayern, Juventus no match for the French

But Blanc's men defied the critics, not only beating Bayern twice and taking four out of a possible six points from Juventus, but also handily winning the group to advance to the round of 16.

Now everyone has stood up and taken notice, with Bordeaux being one of the clubs that everybody wants to avoid in the second round of European soccer's biggest club competition.

French clubs have historically under-performed in Europe. Olympique Marseille is the only team from France ever to win the Champions League, and that was in 1993 – an eternity in soccer terms.

Even when Lyon was dominating the French league, it always managed to stumble in Europe, getting no farther than the quarter-finals.

But Blanc's men are playing some inspired soccer these days – just ask Bayern and Juventus - and it would be a foolish person who would bet against Les Girondins reaching next May's final in Madrid.

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