PSG 10/11-End Of Season Summary

What was largely a successful season finished in disappointment for PSG last week as a final day draw at Saint-Étienne (1-1), and a victory for Lyon at Monaco (2-0) that relegated Les Monégasques in the process; ensured that Les Parisiens will be playing Europa League football instead of Champions League next season.

Disappointing draws at Monaco (1-1), at home to Nancy (2-2) and a devastating late 0-1 defeat to Lille in the final of the Coupe de France sent PSG into their game with Bordeaux under duress and needing a victory to apply some serious pressure on a faltering Lyon side. However, they fell to a 1-0 defeat after which the players were criticised by club President Robin Leproux for a lack of desire, leaving them facing an uphill task to finish in third.

The following 2-2 home draw with Lille which saw Les Dogues claim the title, although a respectable result, and a great game of football, saw PSG barely clinging to faint hopes of beating Lyon to third place. However, these hopes were definitively extinguished by their inability to claim a victory over L’ASSE that would, in any case, have been academic due to Monaco’s capitulation at home to Lyon.

Although the final few weeks will leave a bitter taste in mouth for many at the club, it should not take away from the fact that this season has been a good one for the capital side. A small but talented squad have found a large amount of consistency this season and have now formed a solid unit that finally play as a team. Antoine Kombouaré has guided a squad with little depth to a fourth-placed finish and, had he been able to compensate for the loss of Stéphane Sessègnon, the club could arguably have finished in third place.

Because of their lack of depth, the Champions League probably would have been a step too far for PSG right now. Just look at Auxerre, a club with similar issues with depth, they started the season in the Champions League and struggled and could still have found themselves relegated on the last day of the season after a disastrous campaign. Although not being able to offer Champions League football next year hinders their ability to attract certain types of players, Lorient’s Kévin Gameiro for instance has said that a decision on his future is likely to depend on whether the club who wants him can offer top level European football, the club will be a more attractive proposition now after a steady season that has featured little of PSG’s regular drama.

Another reason that les Rouges-et-Bleu will be a more attractive proposition for many players will be that they are now financed by Qatari investors. Last week the club announced that they had agreed a deal to sell 70% of the club to Qatari Investment Authority whilst Colony Capital retains a 30% share, keeping the clubs’ hierarchy largely intact. With this sort of investment, the club can look forward to this summer’s transfer mercato with the knowledge that they can compete with Lyon and Marseille for the league’s best talents.

The move puts PSG in a strong financial position that had previously been questioned as, despite good merchandising figures, the club was in a poor state financially and had little capital to invest in transfers. Now, with financial backing to rival that of their most fierce rivals, the club have a chance to build on a successful campaign and push to become France’s strongest club.

This season has been Les Parisiens’ most successful campaign since 2003-04 when they finished second and claimed Champions League football and, with some form of European football guaranteed, the majority of the clubs bright young prospects staying and the core of a strong team likely to stay intact, next season could indeed be an opportunity for PSG to really assert themselves.

Now, on the back of a disappointing season for both Lyon and Marseille, the club have an opportunity to become France’s leading side and redress the balance of power that has recently been tipped in favour of the duo with Bordeaux and Lille in particular, also staking strong claims to become France’s new elite team. With the traditional powers weakening, PSG now have the chance to supplement the changes that they have already been making behind the scenes to make the club more family-oriented and redefine their identity as France’s flagship team.

Despite the departures of Claude Makélelé and Grégory Coupet, two seasoned veterans that brought a lot of experience to the side, there is still enough experience in old stagers such as Sylvain Armand and Ludovic Giuly to help guide the rapidly developing youngsters such as Clément Chantôme, Mamadou Sakho (now to replace Makélélé as captain) and Alphonse Aréola. Kombouaré will surely look to bring in another experienced player to take the pressure off the elder members of the squad but it is also the ideal time to raid Ligue 1 rivals of their best young talent.

Players such as Dimitri Payet, Marvin Martin, Mapou Yanga M’Biwa and Morgan Amalfitano will all represent good transfer value if the club decide to pursue them and would also give Kombouaré some much needed depth and competition within the side. With Nicolas Douchez already set to arrive from Rennes to replace Coupet and the transfer window days from opening, it promises to be an exciting summer for PSG fans.

Ligue 1 Transfer Market Blog-Week 1

No sooner had the French Ligue 1 season finished and clubs and players began announcing proposed moves. Triumphant Lille OSC manager Rudi Garcia revealed after Lille’s 3-2 victory over Rennes in the final game of the season that, despite the club’s success in tying down the majority of their star players to long-term contracts, one of those players was not Yohan Cabaye and that he would be leaving shortly to join Newcastle United. Gervinho soon followed by announcing that he will soon reveal the identity of his next club whilst Marseille revealed that they have agreed to allow last season’s star player, Argentine Lucho González, to leave after only two seasons with the club.

Paris Saint-Germain then made the announcement that they have agreed a deal to sell 70% of the club to Qatari investors with Colony Capital retaining a 30% share in the club, in a move which sees le PSG not only bridge the gap between themselves and France’s biggest clubs, but also put themselves in a strong position to become France’s leading side next season following disappointing seasons for Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux.

Plenty of good players in Ligue 1 are looking to move this summer and a number had announced their intentions to depart their current clubs before the end of the season. Lorient duo Kévin Gameiro and Morgan Amalfitano have both expressed their desire to ply their trade elsewhere next season with Valencia and PSG heavily linked with Gameiro whilst Marseille and a number of English sides have been sniffing around Amalfitano.

Dimitri Payet of Saint-Étienne announced in January that he intended to leave les Verts and came within hours of signing for PSG but the move feel through and the young winger saw out the season at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard as manager Christophe Galtier promised to grant the player a transfer if he maintained his good form until the end of the season. The 23 year-old fulfilled his end of the bargain and now ASSE coach Galtier must too and Payet is expected to complete his move to the Parc des Princes when the transfer window opens.

Another player set to join les Parisiens is Nicolas Douchez the Rennes goalkeeper, who Rennes’ General Manager Pierre Dréossi revealed a few weeks ago would be leaving for the capital.

In addition to the players announcing their intended departures, there is an abundance of attractive young French talent plying their trade in Ligue 1 currently. Marvin Martin has had a sensational season finishing with 17 assists and three goals to his name, forcing himself into Laurent Blanc’s most recent French side. Mapou Yanga M’Biwa at Montpellier has had a second consecutive consistent season and will now surely look to join one of France’s big five as he seeks a bigger stage to showcase his talent.

Raphaël Varane has also attracted much interest and is believed to be close to sealing a move to Manchester United despite only having been part of recently-relegated Lens’ first team for a season. It is believed that he is keen on a loan move back to France to continue his development as part of his agreement to sign for the Red Devils.

Grégory Pujol of Valenciennes and Youssef El-Arabi of Caen have had fine seasons in front of goal and will be keen to consider offers from teams in the top half of the table whilst relegated Monaco’s side looks set to be stripped of it’s best young players as Park Chu-Young, Stéphane Ruffier, Daniel Niculae and Benjamin Moukandjo surely will not take a step down to Ligue 2 at this stage of their careers.

With the transfer window opening on June 9^th, plenty of teams will be looking to revamp and strengthen their squads. Lille’s annual sale of their best talent is expected to stop at Cabaye and Gervinho, whilst they have already made moves to secure Auxerre’s Benoît Pedretti as a replacement for Cabaye. Despite agreeing a new contract with their brightest star, Lille still face a fight to keep precocious Belgian talent Eden Hazard, despite his insistence that he wants to remain in Pas-de-Calais next season to sample the Champions League and most likely put himself in the shop window for Europe’s biggest sides.

Lyon and Marseille endured miserable seasons and L’OM have already announced new rebuilding plans by putting Lucho González up for sale. Despite enjoying a fine first season in the south, González has struggled for form this year and his unease off the pitch and fractious relationship with the Marseille fans appears to have made the decision for the club. A lot however, will depend on the future of Didier Deschamps who is apparently in talks with Roma about becoming their new boss, so until a decision is made by the former French international, little transfer activity will occur.

Lyon also have a big decision to take. In a season when the board, fans’ and players’ patience has been pushed to the limit, Claude Puel has become a scapegoat for their failure. It would be a big surprise to see him leading the side next season despite his success in salvaging Champions League qualification from a disappointing campaign. Once a decision has been taken on his future, L’OL will surely be dipping into the market to supplement and replace members of a talented but inconsistent side. This will be financed, in part, by Michel Bastos’ expected departure for Juventus while speculation still abounds that Hugo Lloris could be set to move on too.

Whilst Marseille and Lyon struggle to come to terms with the shift in power in Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain should look to capitalise and consolidate their position back in France’s top five with a strong transfer campaign. With a number of veteran players moving on (Claude Makélelé and Grégory Coupet), a strong but shallow squad of talented players and a solid management structure in place, PSG could really make a serious push for next season’s title with some careful investment now provided by the Qatari investors.

Les Rouges-et-Bleu are perennial underachievers and now, finally with a handle on youth development which has let them down so often in the past, they now have a manager in Antoine Kombouaré with whom the fans relate to who is also strong enough to deal with the pressure of managing the club (he has also just extended his contract until 2013). With a group of talented young players yet to hit their prime, PSG can now seize their opportunity to use their newfound financial muscle to buy some of Ligue 1’s best talent and make a serious run at next year’s title and begin constructing a squad strong enough to compete in Europe.

With Douchez replacing Coupet, another name that has been linked with the club is Grégory Pujol. Scorer of 17 goals this season for Valenciennes, he will surely fancy this as his last opportunity to play for a big club in France and would be a great signing with plenty of experience. Kévin Gameiro was reportedly in talks with Parisien officials before the end of the season regarding a move to his boyhood club although that was thought to be dependent on PSG’s ability to offer him Champions League football next season. Without this, Valencia could firm up their interest and take him to Spain adding to their growing French contingent.

Another Lorient player on the move is Morgan Amalfitano who is reportedly attracting strong interest from Marseille, possibly depending on González’s transfer, but has also had strong propositions from English clubs over the last few months. A creative midfielder who has 13 assists to his name this season, he would be a great addition to a lot of European sides but he is just one of many talented French Ligue 1-based players looking to move on.

PSG - Ligue 1 Into The Final Stretch

With Ligue 1 now heading into the home stretch, Paris Saint-Germain find themselves vying with Lyon for third place and Champions League qualification after a disappointing run of results saw them slip out of the title race in March. Currently fourth but only on goal difference, le PSG are in good form going into their final five matches but will be frustrated that they are not still in contention for higher honours.

Disappointing results against Rennes (1-0) and Lens (0-0) saw the side stall in February, dropping from second to fourth whilst nervously looking over their shoulder at a resurgent Lyon side closing on their position. But despite this blip, progress into the last 16 of the Europa League after a victory on away goals over BATE Borisov of Belarus (2-2) added to good victories in Nice (0-3) and at home to Toulouse (2-1) saw the side rally and climb back into second place by the end of the month.

However, this was to be where les Parisiens’ title charge came to an abrupt end as devastating results in Auxerre (1-0), at home to Montpellier (2-2) and away to Marseille (2-1) in the Clasico nearly destroyed PSG’s season as they slipped to fifth place. In addition to only gathering one point from a possible nine domestically, the side also crashed out of the Europa League on away goals to Benfica following a 2-1 away defeat and a 1-1 draw at home.

The only consolation the capital side took from a miserable March was progression into the semi finals of the Coupe de France, thanks to a 2-0 victory at home to Le Mans, where they were drawn against further Ligue 2 opposition Angers.

Faced with a difficult task of having to motivate a group of players struggling to recreate the scintillating form that saw them top the table earlier in the season and amidst rumours of changing room unrest (Mamadou Sakho, Guillaume Hoarau and Mevlut Erding were accused of being disruptive by elder members of the squad including captain Claude Makelele), the pressure was building on Antoine Kombouare heading into May.

This tension showed no signs of abating as PSG started the month playing out a tame 0-0 draw with Lorient, looking like they were ready to drop out of European contention completely.

What followed though was a run of important victories over Caen (1-2) and Lyon (1-0), dragging themselves back into the Champions League reckoning whilst pegging Lyon back as Rennes slipped to fifth. A 2-2 draw away at Brest was disappointing, particularly as Lyon failed to win, maintaining the three point gap between the sides. But this weekend’s 3-1 victory over Valenciennes coupled with Lyon’s disastrous 0-2 defeat in Toulouse means that PSG are now only fourth on goal difference and a victory over Monaco next week will heap the pressure on Lyon ahead of their crunch match with Marseille.

In addition to their strong domestic finish to the month, PSG ousted Angers in the Coupe de France semi finals (1-3) to face Lille in two weeks time with a chance to defend their crown as last year’s winners.

With matches left against Monaco, Nancy, Bordeaux, Lille and Saint-Etienne with Lyon and Rennes facing tough run-ins, Kombouare will surely fancy that his side can pick up at least nine points from a possible 15 to give les Rouges-et-Bleu a fantastic opportunity to bring Champions League football back to Parc des Princes for the first time since 2004.

Christian Chivu Punch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1OrdQvwds0

Martigues 1-4 PSG

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/martigues-psg-8381397/

Where In The World Is Freddy Adu?

Since his Major League Soccer debut in 2004 at the tender age of 14, big things have been expected of Freddy Adu but he has never quite lived up to the great expectations of many soccer fans. Since the early promise in his performances for D.C. United, Adu’s career has gradually stagnated before coming to a complete standstill upon his move to Europe. Still just 21, the youngster currently finds himself on loan at Turkish Second Division side Caykur Rizespor from parent club Benfica, having already failed in loan spells at Monaco, Belenenses in Portugal and Aris Thessaloniki in Greece. The question is, why has such an obvious talent failed to develop since his move to Lisbon?

Since leaving Real Salt Lake, Adu has been competing with established internationals such as Simao, Pablo Aimar and Rui Costa in the first team at Benfica while also vying with the immense talents of Argentinian youngster Angel Di Maria, who has since joined Real Madrid, for a space in the squad. This competition is too great for a player as young and inexperienced as Adu and it was inevitable that he would not get much playing time. The same can also be said of his loan move to Monaco because, although it was a wise decision to send him out for first team experience (especially when the club’s chairman specially arranged his loan agreement), they too boasted established internationals in most of their positions and he was always going to have to wait for a chance to impress.

Why then did he fail to make the grade with Belenenses the following season when he was up against less competition? His time with the club was jinxed from the start as he picked up an injury during the first half of his debut for the club, and despite going on to recover from the injury and making eight further starting appearances, he failed to score a single goal and the club’s new manager Toni released him from his loan in December. Adu’s failure with Belenenses can be put down to bad luck, but in a similar situation with Aris, he still failed to recapture his best form so it begs the question, do his problems lie off the field?

Many American soccer pundits have raised the issue of Adu’s attitude and how he appears to thrive when he is the centre of attention and it appears justified. At D.C., he was the team’s star and he provided a focal point for all of their positive attacking play and, with his developing reputation, the crowd were constantly clamouring for their star man. This was also the case at Salt Lake although to a lesser degree, but since his move to Europe he has become a small fish in a big pond and in addition to his “me-first” mentality, his current ability just doesn’t command the regular starting places that his older, more experienced competitors do.

Now, with Aris having sent Adu back to Benfica and Yiannis Mihalitsios deciding that he can do without him, the youngster faces an uphill battle to resurrect his career as Rizespor were the only club willing to take a chance on him, and the only club small enough to persuade Benfica to part with the youngster without paying a fee. They were impressed having seen him on trial alongside Edson Buddle at Ingolstadt during the German side’s winter break.

Should he still be unable to make the grade in Turkey, this would leave him with two options; either he can return to the U.S. with his tail between his legs and work on rebuilding his career and getting himself back into international contention with a franchise willing to take a risk. Or alternatively, he could look to make it in a smaller European league that has proved successful for U.S. development like Benny Feilhaber, Michael Parkhurst and Clarence Goodson in Scandinavia.

Having looked at success stories such as Charlie Davies, a move to a less reputable European league could do wonders for Adu’s confidence and game time. He would be a star player in many leagues, a guaranteed starter and a focal point for the attack with whichever team he were to sign for, giving him the confidence and attention he was accustomed to in D.C. with a lower level of expectation that would see him potentially thrive. Success there would put him in the shop window for a transfer to a bigger European club, a triumphant return home or even a recall to the national side.

If it were my decision, despite the temptation to look at Landon Donovan’s example of returning to the MLS to rebuild his reputation and re-establish himself in the national side, I would take this latest chance in Europe and try to make it work. If that does not work, then I would try to release myself from the contract at Benfica and consider a move to a less-reputable league as a last chance in Europe. Yes he is just 21 but by the same token, he has been in the game for seven years and it is time to grow up. At least that way, if he doesn’t succeed it won’t be for a lack of effort and there will always be a franchise willing to take him on when he decides to return.

PSG 10-11 Season Update

It has been a while since I last blogged on Paris Saint-Germain and a lot has happened since mid-September. However, no sooner had I finished my article praising Antoine Kombouare for keeping the PSG squad together during this transfer window, Stephane Sessegnon left to join Sunderland throwing my finishing lines out the window.

Despite having lost a player of undoubted flair and ability, I think that the club have done some good business in letting the Benin international leave at this moment. Sessegnon has, for the best part of a year, been disrupting the team in his attempts to engineer a move away from the capital and, despite the club and the manager’s best efforts to keep him until the end of the season, it had become obvious over the last few weeks that he would not play for the club again in protest at being unable to move. After emancipating himself from the first team by refusing to train and falling out with Kombouare, Sessegnon had pulled out every stop to ensure that he would get his transfer. The move which sees PSG pocket seven million euros has come at the perfect time; the player has got his move and is one less headache for Kombouare, whilst the club get a good return on a player who has been out of the first team picture since November.

The transfer also comes as Saint-Etienne winger Dimitri Payet revealed that contract talks have broken down over an extended deal with Les Verts and that he would be keen to join the capital club after PSG officials enquired about the 23 year-old in the build-up to the Sessegnon transfer. This would be a considerable coup for Les Rouges-et-Bleu as Payet is a rising star on the domestic scene, an international and, having demonstrated his goalscoring prowess with an impressive 8 goals despite playing out wide; it would suggest that few will miss Sessegnon in the capital. However, PSG will have to wait until the summer to bring him in as the transfer failed to materialise before Monday’s deadline.

Otherwise, the squad is practically the same one that started the season. Siaka Tiene, bought from Valenciennes in August has yet to make any real impact, whilst Edel Apoula has ousted Gregory Coupet in goal, surely forcing the former French international into retirement. Guillaume Hoarau has overcome his difficulties in front of goal, establishing himself as first choice striker and centre-back Mamadou Sakho has earned rave reviews with some outstanding performances at the back.

On the pitch, Les Parisiens have been advancing strongly on three fronts and currently sit second in Ligue 1 having played just over half the season. Although currently four points behind surprise leaders Lille, they are three points clear of their closest rivals and have been in good form recently. They even looked set to reach another Coupe de la Ligue final before last week’s extra-time defeat to Montpellier, their second since late October when they succumbed to a home defeat to Auxerre.

Prior to that defeat, PSG endured consecutive, frustrating 0-0 draws with Rennes and Nice, whilst enjoying back-to-back 0-2 victories at Lens and Toulouse. Although the home draws were disappointing, the away victories maintained the capital club’s good league position as the early league table took shape. However, further disappointment at home followed as Auxerre claimed a 2-3 victory, leaving fans wondering if it was going to be a case of the same old story this season.

What happened next though proved to be a catalyst for Kombouare’s side. PSG travelled to Lyon for a Coupe de la Ligue tie that they managed to win 1-2 after extra-time and then went on a run that saw them draw 1-1 away to a difficult Montpellier side, win 2-1 at home against rivals Marseille in the Clasico, then pick up points at Lorient (1-1) and Lyon (2-2) either side of a home victory over Caen (2-1) followed by a Coupe de la Ligue victory at Valenciennes (1-3). They then registered victories over Brest (3-1) and Valenciennes (1-2) to briefly claim top stop from Rennes but a home draw against Monaco (2-2) and a surprise away defeat to Nancy (2-0) saw them slip to third going into the winter break.

Their form since returning has been impressive, with a 5-1 demolition of Lens at the Parc des Princes marking their return to the Coupe de France, followed by a 2-1 win over Sochaux in the league. However, the Coupe de la Ligue semi-final defeat in extra time (1-0) to Montpellier was a disappointment, but les Parisiens bounced back last weekend with a 2-3 victory over Agen in the Coupe de France, setting up a winnable quarter-final tie against lowly Martigues which they won 1-4 to reach the semi-final. They recorded a 1-2 victory at Arles Avignon on Saturday to maintain their league position.

These results see the club currently lying second in Ligue 1, but the real signs of progress have come in their Europa League performances. Drawn in a group containing Sevilla, Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund and minnows Karpaty Lviv, PSG were expected to finish third at best. However, they topped their group thanks to some outstanding results. Home (4-2) and away (0-1) triumphs over Sevilla and solid draws at home (0-0) and away (1-1) to Dortmund coupled with and an easy 2-0 home win over Karpaty saw Kombouare’s men qualify for the next round in top spot with a game to spare, where they fought out a 0-0 draw in Lviv with a second-string side. An impressive effort from PSG and their record of conceding only three goals in the group stages will give them great confidence as they head to Belarus to face BATE Borisov in February.

Kombouare will be thanking Nene in particular for their recent progress as he scored an impressive nine league goals, adding a number of other important strikes in Europe to cap a memorable end to 2010. Although 29, the Brazilian has never represented his country at the highest level, yet surely he must now be considered for future squads given his current form. His arrival has coincided with PSG’s resurgence as a force in French football after years of mediocrity and his impact on the team has been obvious as he has, at times, single-handedly kept the club in the title race. He has quickly become the face of the new PSG, as a playmaker and a scorer of simple and outrageous goals, also contributing sublime pieces of skill and assists that have rejuvenated players such as Hoarau and Ludovic Giuly who were stagnating in the capital. Whether he can maintain this form only time will tell, but if he does, then the club will face a tough task to keep hold of him as the bigger sides in Europe come calling.