The 2010/11 Ligue 1 season will be remembered as the campaign when Lille came of age, and in particular, the mercurial Belgian winger-cum-forward Eden Hazard. Les Dogues claimed their first title since 1954 in style after holding off Marseille to record an historic triumph. In what is usually a tight, defensively minded league, Lille played a wonderful brand of attacking, creative football. To use the new football cliché, they were the Barcelona of Ligue 1.
There was no repeat of last year, when a late defeat to Lorient on the final day saw them miss out on the Champions League. The Northern side showed they had learned the lessons of that painful day, demonstrating the resolve and mental fortitude to keep their cool in the crucial final weeks of the season as Didier Deschamps’ Marseille threatened to grind to the title.
This was demonstrated perfectly by victory over the then-champions in March. Rudi Garcia’s side had been pursued by Marseille since going top in December, and the clash between the two could have been decisive, a contest which finally saw last year’s table-toppers overhaul the youthful pretenders.
Yet Player of the Season Hazard wrote his own script, firing in a brilliant long range strike to put Les Dogues in front. Though Marseille pegged them back, a late goal from Pierre-Alain Frau won all three points for the visitors, and with it, the momentum and belief in the title race swung decisively in favour of Lille.
Whilst the subtle, unpredictable genius of Hazard rightfully won most plaudits, the power and finishing of Senegalese forward Moussa Sow, who led the scoring charts with 26 goals, and the skilful and direct Gervinho, combined to form a front three whose varied threats posed questions Ligue 1 defences were unable to answer.
As with all successful teams there are those crucial unsung heroes. Rio Mavuba produced exceptional displays, the tireless and tenacious midfielder breaking up so much of Lille’s opponents’ attacking play. Every team in France searches for a Claude Makeléle-type player, and Mavuba was up there with Yann M’Vila as the best in that position in Ligue 1. Behind him, the centre back pairing of Aurélien Chedjou and Adil Rami, who signed for Valencia in January and was subsequently loaned back for the rest of the year, proved a capable and reliable defensive barrier.
Before Lille came through the pack to claim the Ligue 1 crown, the title race was incredibly tight and unpredictable. The champions of the last three seasons, Marseille, Bordeaux and Lyon, took just one point between them after two full rounds of games, setting the tone for a fitful campaign.
By the time Garcia’s men went top close to Christmas, Toulouse, Saint-Etienne, Rennes, and Brest had all enjoyed brief spells leading the way. While Marseille put up a spirited though fruitless defence of their title, the fortunes of France’s other big names were varied. Bordeaux struggled after losing manager Laurent Blanc and star man Yoann Gourcuff as the 2009 champions finished a disappointing seventh, missing out on Europe.
And it was a year to forget for Lyon. Having sat perilously close to the drop zone after an awful start, Claude Puel’s men fought back to become title contenders before imploding in spectacular fashion. A run of poor results at the start of the calendar year ended any hope of regaining the title and ensured Puel’s inevitable departure at the season’s conclusion. The 2-2 draw with Nice, where Lyon had led 2-0 going into injury time, and a 4-0 defeat to Auxerre, were low points. The Stade Gerland side secured a Champions League place on the last day though, but only just, finishing ahead of Paris Saint-Germain.
The Parisians by contrast enjoyed an encouraging though disappointing campaign, running out of steam at the end, winning none of their last six games. Antoine Kombouare’s side played with flair and spirit, and though not ultimately proving strong enough to maintain a title charge, showed that they are on their way back to the top of the French game. Brazilian Néné was superb after his move from Monaco, and one of the players of the season, but the winger’s form deteriorated at the turn of the year, and with it, so did his side’s.
Rennes and Sochaux will also feel pleased, both qualifying for the Europa League. For Sochaux, a youthful and attacking team were one of the most entertaining in France. Marvin Martin was arguably the unsung player of the season, the youngster leading the assists chart in Ligue 1. Ryan Boudebouz, Modibo Maiga and Brown Ideye provided further flair and firepower for Les Lionceaux as they finished fifth.
Rennes were another who fell away after having made a promising start and, at one point, threatened an unlikely title challenge. An obdurate hard to beat outfit, they may wonder what could have been had they not sold Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan at the start of the season. Young midfielder Yann M’Vila was their outstanding performer and the club will do well to retain his services for another year.
At the bottom of the league, drama lasted until the very end. Going into the final weekend, no fewer than seven sides were threatened with the drop and separated by just two points, from 18th placed AS Monaco to Auxerre, who last season qualified for the Champions League, in 12th.
One side whose fate was sealed long ago were Arles-Avignon. The provincial outfit were desperately poor and relegated to Ligue 2 after failing to put up a fight, equalling a Ligue 1 record for the least wins in the process (three). For a team who enjoyed a rapid rise from obscurity to Ligue 1 with successive promotions, their tale will be one that newly promoted Evian, another side to have embarked upon a similarly rapid rise through the French football pyramid, will be playing close attention to as they look to adjust to life in the top flight next season.
If Arles’ return to the second tier was predictable and to be expected, then Lens and Monaco could rightly be disappointed with failing to beat the drop. In particular, Monaco will be counting the cost, both in terms of prestige and financially. It will be of little consolation that they set a record for the most points any team has ever been relegated with (44). The principality club, who in 2004 were thrilling audiences on the way to the Champions League final, now find themselves in Ligue 2 for the first time in 34 years.
As the curtain closes on a memorable year, foreign suitors are circling some of the stars of this campaign. Ligue 1 observers will hope that Monaco are the only big name missing from the cast next season.
