By 5am quite a crowd had gathered outside the Stade Gerland. When the ticket office opened, it took a mere two hours for Olympique Lyonnais to sell out the tickets for their Champions League quarterfinal against Porto on Wednesday. The lucky ones skipped off, clutching little rectangles of paper as if they were gold bullion.
Lyon are one of five French teams who got to the quarterfinals of European competitions. That’s a bigger contingent than the English, the Italians, the Germans, the Portuguese, the Dutch — basically the lot except for Spain. For France to have such extensive interest in the continental showdown come the spring is unheard of, as for the past few years they have felt like second-class citizens in Europe.
Success was accessible via their exported sons — through Zinedine Zidane’s virtuoso match-winner for Real Madrid in the 2002 Champions League final, through Didier Deschamps lifting the trophy with Juventus, Bixente Lizarazu with Bayern Munich, Claude Makelele with Real.
The last time Le Championnat produced a quarterfinalist team Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet were raw hopefuls turning heads in Monte Carlo. They giddily turfed out Manchester United at Old Trafford before Monaco bowed out to Juventus in the semi. This year, in Lyon and Monaco, France have an unprecedented pair of quarterfinalists, while Manchester United, Juventus and Bayern Munich lie in what France Football’s editorial delighted in calling ‘the elephants’ graveyardâ€.
It’s a big statement, symbolic of progress for a league that had a reputation for nurturing talent for the wealthier leagues to pillage at will. But football’s economic breakdown has allowed for a kind of parity. French clubs are relishing the moment and growing.
Since those too-good-to-refuse offers stopped coming in, they have retained their best players — the Philippe Mexes, Djibril Cissé, Ludovic Giuly generation have stayed longer than expected, enabling teams to mature, to generate a well-drilled gameplan, to foster wonderful spirit.
On top of that, French clubs found themselves quite unexpectedly in the hunt for the kind of stars previously beyond their range. Last summer Monaco attracted Fernando Morientes from Madrid and Lyon swooped for Bayern’s Giovane Elber, inspired signings both.
So how serious is this French renaissance? Lyon’s coach Paul le Guen, normally a cautious judge, couldn’t contain his ebullience after watching his team bypass Real Sociedad in the last 16.
‘We’re in it to win now,†he proclaimed. ‘The gloves are off and we will do our best to win the whole thing.â€
This is a change of outlook for a team who play bright football, but are mentally brittle. Captain Gregory Coupet frequently trots out the line about ‘lack of mental strengthâ€. Now, however, it seems the rise and rise of Lyon knows no bounds. They have progressed steadily, patiently, year after year edging a little farther in the Champions League.
Back home, their ambition is backed up by two consecutive French titles and the pride of being the first French club to make it into the top 20 of the footballing rich list.
Monaco’s appearance alongside the big guns is, however, a real surprise. For a start, they are broke. It’s amazing to think that they were almost relegated last year as punishment for financial irregularities and it just goes to show how much can be achieved with a youthful, exuberant set-up led by fervently ambitious young coach.
‘To reach the last eight is truly extraordinary for this team,’ Deschamps reflected, reminding us that half of them were either in the second division or the youth-development system 18 months ago.
‘Frankly, considering this is their first participation in the Champions League, you have to take your hat off to them.â€
Aware that the side are likely to be broken up in the summer, Monaco are very much together in this season’s adventure, the highlight of which was certainly that captivating 8-3 scoreline earlier in the competition. In the Principality last month, could there have been a better way to spend €20 than to snap up one of the cheap seats for Real Madrid’s visit to the Stade Louis II?
Monaco lost 4-2 at the Bernebeu but, as Real director Emilio Butragueno pointed out: ‘We have to respect a club who scored eight goals against Deportivo La Coruna.†With two key players — creative flanker Giuly and inspirational defender Sebastian Squillaci — expected back from injury, Monaco at least have some important tools with which to attempt this feat of mountaineering.
Deschamps is aware that it is too early to get carried away.
‘Having two teams at this stage proved the good health of our game, but to accurately evaluate French clubs’ strength we’ll need several seasons,†he said. ‘Reaching the quarterfinals regularly would be the ultimate proof. Now we have to do it again next year.â€
As well as market forces helping the French, Deschamps is aware that other factors are currently working in their favour. Uefa’s decision to reduce the competition’s format was a big help — ‘I don’t think we could have got through another group stage,†he admitted — as was the luck of the draw in the last 16, which pitted Monaco and Lyon against relatively manageable and inexperienced opposition.
Great as it is to see two French teams in the quarterfinals, France doesn’t possess a team genuinely fancied to win the tournament, as Marseille did 11 years ago.
The real winner in this French revival is national coach Jacques Santini, who has called upon a chunk of players from the domestic league. Although the majority of his first XI — the best of the best — are abroad, a shade over half of his recent selections are the cream of French club football. Monaco’s thrilling young left-back, Patrice Evra, and the redoubtable Squillaci, are knocking on the door of the full squad, while Lyon have six current internationals.
Olympique Lyonnais plough €3.5-million into their youth system every year. That club and country, rather than foreign vultures and bank managers, are enjoying the rewards makes it all the more worthwhile. —