Lionel’s Blog

You can check my oral about the “Three Day Rule” (by Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother) > here <

Enjoy.

In this text, I’ll try to develop you my point of view about the French soccer. At first, we can say French soccer, since many years, has been dull. Only the “Olympique Lyonnais” has won every titles since 7 years, and no one among the other 19 teams could tease them. They really dispelled any lingering hopes from other teams. Last year, while Paris was undoubtedly out of his season, Bordeaux ended up second and Marseille was on top of the ladder. But this year, there is something different which makes it more attractive. Today, may, the 16th we are having a huge suspense about the team winner’s name to this title: Marseille, or Bordeaux? Lyon or Paris in the European Champions League? Who knows.

Although Lyon was the Winter Championship, the team has dialed down the rhythm of her game by many player’s injuries. These injuries revived bad results. Claude Pluel, the new fresh manager of this year, is now in an uncomfortable position. At the 35th day of the championship, Lyon gets 64 points, 7 behind Marseille and Bordeaux, 1 before Paris. At this time, they’re just trying to focus on a place for the European Champions League.

The 7 last years this opportunity has rised up and has promoted the outbreak of the two outstanding teams, Marseille and Bordeaux. Since the beginning, these two teams have been behind Lyon. Now, they are before and are fighting for the title. They have the same points, but at the difference of goals, Marseille is the first. It’s a good gift, if they win the title, for their manager, Eric Gerets, who will leave the team the next season. But, the farmer French World Champion, manager of Bordeaux, Laurent Blanc, wants too this Holy Grail.

Paris got up step by step the ladder to the 4th place. This summer, with the new President, new players came in the team, like Hoarau (2^nd scorer of the championship), Kezman, Giuly or Makelele. They have to go on in the same way if they want to take a place for the European Champions League.

Then, we can say, we have our “Big Four” in France (Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon, Paris), but it’s second to none of the “Big Four” of our English neighbours.

The past year, in the last square of the European Champions League, there were the English “Big Four”, Chelsea, Manchester United (the winner), Liverpool and Arsenal. This year, 3 of these 4 teams are English and the other one is Spanish. In France, for several years, it has been Lyon who went as far as possible in European Champions League, but didn’t take “part in any final, or any semi-final.

Finally, we hope that next year with Marseille, Bordeaux and Lyon or Paris, we’ll be able to do something better. Instead of doing a slow game based on defence, we have to take pride in doing a swift game and many relentless counterattacks to score as possible (like Barcelona for instance) and to win events raising up the French level to our European neighbours.

So, see you the next season, we only have to cross fingers.

And here is my 50 phrases > here <