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French football/soccer : French League 1 2008/2009 season preview

Exciting finish in France

Lyon wrapped up a record seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title last season and also lifted the French Cup to secure their first domestic double, but they were not as dominant as in previous years.They won their league crown with a 3-1 win at Auxerre in the final round of the 2007/08 campaign. No other team from a major European league have won six straight titles, let alone seven. Lyon went into the final day with a two-point cushion over Bordeaux, who had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Lens that sent the northerners down to Ligue 2. Lens joined already-relegated Strasbourg and Metz.

Paris Saint-Germain escaped being relegated with a 2-1 win at Sochaux. Marseille dramatically grabbed the last UEFA Champions League qualifying spot by defeating Strasbourg 4-3. Nancy, who slumped to a 3-2 home defeat by Rennes finished fourth and will play in the UEFA Cup. They will be joined in the competition by Saint-Etienne, who took fifth place courtesy of a 4-0 thrashing of Monaco. Grenoble will play in the French first division for the first time in 45 years this season. They finished third in Ligue 2 behind Le Havre and Nantes.

teamstitles2003/042004/052005/062006/072007/08
St. Etienne10-613115
Marseille875523
Nantes86171420-
Lyon711111
Monaco73310912
Bordeaux51215262
Nice411128168
Lille21023107
Paris SG22991516
Sochaux251015714
Auxerre1486815
Rennes-94746
Toulouse-161316317
Le Mans-19-11129
Nancy---12134
Lorient----1410
Valenciennes----1713
Caen--18--11
Le Havre------
Grenoble------
The table shows the overall number of titles for each club in French Ligue 1 and their league standings in the last five seasons. The number of titles includes only professional league championships.

Young and talented

Last season, Karim Benzema was named the French league's Player of the Year by his fellow professionals. The 20-year-old Lyon striker has scored 20 goals in 36 Ligue 1 appearance. Meanwhile, Benzema has ended speculation over his future by penning a new contract with Lyon until the summer of 2013. The deal represents a one-year extension for the player, who is considered one of Europe's brightest young talents, and also contains an optional extra-year clause.

Benzema finished just ahead of Marseille's Senegalese international Mamadou Niang, teammate Jeremy Toulalan and Bordeaux winger Wendel. Meanwhile, Lyon teammate Hatem Ben Arfa was voted Young Player of the Year. However, the 21-year-old winger joined league rivals Marseille during the offseason. A product of Lyon's youth system, Ben Arfa scored seven goals in his 64 league appearances for the club.

This page is introduction to the 2008/2009 French League 1 season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euro Football > France page.

Lyon remain favorites

For the third time in four seasons, champions Lyon will start their title defense with a new man in charge. Coach Claude Puel replaces Alain Perrin, who was fired in June despite leading the club to their first double. Puel guided Lille into the UEFA Champions League on three occasions and achieved two top-three Ligue 1 finishes in his five seasons with the club. Puel has signed a four-year contract with Lyon.

With the exception of Ben Arfa, Sebastien Squillaci and Gregory Coupet, Lyon managed to retain their best players while attracting newcomers such as highly-rated youngsters, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and midfielder Miralem Pjanic. Rennes defender Mensah, Nice midfielder Ederson, Lille midfielder Jean Makoun and Monaco forward Frederic Piquionne also joined the French champions. So, as the wealthiest club in France, Lyon remain a firm favorite to continue their domestic domination.

#teampoints g.dif. win-draw-loss
1Lyon793724-7-7 (38)
2Bordeaux752722-9-7 (38)
3Marseille621317-11-10 (38)
4Nancy601415-15-8 (38)
5St.Etienne581316-10-12 (38)
6Rennes58316-10-12 (38)
7Lille571313-18-7 (38)
8Nice55513-16-9 (38)
9Le Mans53-314-11-13 (38)
10Lorient52-312-16-10 (38)
11Caen51-513-12-13 (38)
12Monaco47-813-8-17 (38)
13Valenciennes45212-9-17 (38)
14Sochaux44-910-14-14 (38)
15Auxerre44-1912-8-18 (38)
16Paris SG43-810-13-15 (38)
17Toulouse42-69-15-14 (38)
18Lens40-99-13-16 (38)
19Strasbourg35-219-8-21 (38)
20Metz24-365-9-24 (38)
The table displays complete French League 1 standings for season 2007/2008.

Bordeaux, Marseille an PSG regarded as strong contenders

Lyon's biggest challenge last year came from Bordeaux, who finished as runners-up four points back. Bordeaux have also managed to keep their best players while signing young and promising forward Yoan Gouffran from Caen and playmaker Yoann Gourcuff on loan from Milan. In August, Bordeaux defeated Lyon 5-4 on penalties in the French Super Cup, a traditional season curtain raiser, to prevent the Ligue 1 champions from winning the trophy for the seventh successive year.

Marseille, who recovered from a poor start to finish third last season under the guidance of Belgian coach Eric Gerets, have lost young playmaker Samir Nasri to Arsenal. However, the team had the league's best striking duo last season, with Mamadou Niang and Djibril Cisse combining for 34 goals. Ben Arfa will help add even more firepower, as will new signing Bakari Kone, who had 14 goals for Nice last term.

The pressure is on Paris Saint-Germain and manager Paul Le Guen this campaign to improve on last season’s poor showing in Ligue 1. PSG, who won the League Cup, reached the French Cup final, again narrowly avoided relegation. During the summer, they reacted by signing two "big names", midfielder Claude Makelele from Chelsea and winger Ludovic Giuly from Roma.

Is Lyon's dominance about to end?

Online bookmakers also said that Marseille and Bordeaux will lead the charge in the 2008/09 season with the usual goal of upsetting Lyon and serious hopes they might succeed at last. Of the promoted teams, Nantes have the best chance of survival. They could be joined in a relegation scrap by Le Mans, who have lost six starters from last season. Coach Rudy Garcia also left Le Mans to replace Puel at Lille, with Yves Bertucci promoted from the reserve team now in charge.

teamoddsteamodds
Lyon1.65Marseille4.5
Bordeaux7.5Paris Saint-Germain14
Saint-Etienne35Lille40
Nancy-Lorraine45Monaco50
Rennes50Nantes130
Sochaux250Auxerre250
Toulouse300Nice300
Le Mans500Valenciennes750
Lorient750Le Havre1000
Grenoble1000Caen1000
The preseason odds for the outright winner of the 2008/09 French football league

French Cup (Coupe de France) finals in last five years

2004   Paris St. Germain - Chateauroux   1:0
2005   Auxerre - Sedan   2:1
2006   Paris St. Germain - Marseille   2:1
2007   Sochaux - Marseille   2:2   (5:4 on penalties)
2008   Lyon - Paris Saint-Germain   1:0   (after extra time)

League Cup (Coupe de Ligue) finals in last five years

2004   Sochaux - Nantes   1:1   (5:4 on penalties)
2005   Strasbourg - Caen   2:1
2006   Nancy - Nice   2:1
2007   Bordeaux - Lyon   1:0
2008   Paris Saint-Germain - Lens   2:1

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key players

Auxerre

Goalkeeper Olivier Sorin (€2.5m); Defense: Adama Coulibaly (€4m), Sebastian Gabriel Tamas (€3m), Jean Pascal Mignot (€2.5m); Midfield: Thomas Kahlenberg (€4.5m), Benoit Pedretti (€4.5m), Kevin Lejeune (€3.5m), Dariusz Dudka (€3.3m), Kamel Chafni (€3m); Forward: Daniel Niculae (€5m), Ireneusz Jelen (€3m).

Bordeaux

Goalkeeper Ulrich Rame (€4.5m); Defense: Marc Planus (€7m), Souleymane Diawara (€6m), Matthieu Chalme (€4.5m); Midfield: Alou Diarra (€10m), Wendel (€9m), Fernando (€8.5m), Yoann Gourcuff (€5.5m); Forward: Fernando Ezequiel Cavenaghi (€10m), Yoan Gouffran (€6m), David Bellion (€6m).

Caen

Goalkeeper Vincent Plante (€1.8m); Defense: Jeremy Sorbon (€2.5m), Nicolas Seube (€1.7m), Pablo Maximiliano Barzola (€1.5m); Midfield: Gregory Proment (€2.5m), Juan Eduardo Eluchans (€2.5m), Anthony Deroin (€2.3m), Benjamin Nivet (€2m), Remi Gomis (€1.8m); Forward: Steve Savidan (€5m), Lilian Compan (€1.7m).

Grenoble Foot

Goalkeeper Gregory Wimbee (€0.9m); Defense: Martial Robin (€1.8m), Milivoje Vitakic (€1.8m), David Jemmali (€1.3m); Midfield: Laurent Batlles (€2m), Jacques Alaixys Romao (€1.7m), Biagui Kamissoko (€1.5m), Laurent Courtois (€1.4m); Forward: Franck Dja Djedje (€1.6m), Daniel Moreira (€1m), Nassim Akrour (€1m).

Le Havre

Goalkeeper Christophe Revault (€1m); Defense: Jeremy Henin (€2.5m), Nicolas Gillet (€1.8m), Massamba Lo Sambou (€1m); Midfield: Nicolas Dieuze (€3.5m), Jamel Ait Ben Idir (€3m), Stephane Noro (€2.8m), Hassane Alla (€1.5m), Olivier Davidas (€1m); Forward: Cedric Faure (€2m), Nikola Nikezic (€1.2m).

Le Mans

Goalkeeper Yoann Pele (€4.5m); Defense: Marko Basa (€6.5m), Antonio Geder (€2.5m), Gregory Cerdan (€2m), Ibrahima Sory Camara (€1.9m), Cyriaque Louvion (€1.4m); Midfield: Mathieu Coutadeur (€3.5m), Frederic Thomas (€2m); Forward: Thorstein Helstad (€2.5m), Gervinho (€2m), Anthony Le Tallec (€1.8m).

Lille

Goalkeeper Gregory Wimbee (€0.9m); Defense: Gregory Tafforeau (€4m), Nicolas Plestan (€4m), Franck Beria (€3.5m); Midfield: Yohan Cabaye (€6.5m), Florent Balmont (€6m), Rio Mavuba (€6m), Ludovic Obraniak (€4m), Michel Fernandes Bastos (€3.5m); Forward: Kevin Mirallas (€3m), Pierre-Alain Frau (€2m).

Lorient

Goalkeeper Fabien Audard (€2m); Defense: Michael Ciani (€3m), Christophe Jallet (€2.5m), Jeremy Morel (€2m), Sylvain Marchal (€2m); Midfield: Fabrice Abriel (€4m), Oscar Ewolo (€2.3m), Yazid Mansouri (€1.8m); Forward: Marama Vahirua (€3.5m), Rafik Saifi (€2.5m), Kevin Gameiro (€1.8m).

Lyon

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (€8.5m); Defense: Cris (€13.5m), Fabio Grosso (€10m); Midfield: Jeremy Toulalan (€20m), Mathieu Bodmer (€13m), Jean Makoun (€12.5m), Juninho (€12m), Ederson (€11m); Forward: Karim Benzema (€23m), Fred (€12m), Abdul Kader Keita (€11.5m).

Marseille

Goalkeeper Steve Mandanda (€6m); Defense: Taye Taiwo (€8m), Julien Rodriguez (€6m), Gael Givet (€5m), Hilton (€4.5m); Midfield: Lorik Cana (€14m), Hatem Ben Arfa (€10m), Benoit Cheyrou (€8.5m); Forward: Mamadou Niang (€14m), Djibril Cisse (€11m), Bakari Kone (€7.5m).

Monaco

Goalkeeper Flavio Roma (€4m); Defense: Francois Modesto (€4m), Adriano (€3m), Leandro Damian Cufre (€3m); Midfield: Nene (€7m), Alejandro Alonso (€6m), Camel Meriem (€5m), Diego Perez (€4m), Lucas Bernardi (€3.5m); Forward: Jeremy Menez (€7.5m), Serge Gakpe (€3m).

Nancy-Lorraine

Goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano (€5m); Defense: Michael Chretien (€6m), Andre Luiz (€4.5m), Abdeslam Ouaddou (€4m), Jean Calve (€2.5m); Midfield: Pascal Berenguer (€5.5m), Benjamin Gavanon (€5m), Chris Malonga (€2.5m); Forward: Marc-Antoine Fortune (€4.5m), Youssouf Hadji (€4m), Issiar Dia (€3m).

Nantes

Goalkeeper Tony Heurtebis (€1.8m); Defense: Guirane N'Daw (€4m), Michael Gravgaard (€2.8m), Jean-Jacques Pierre (€2.5m), Remy Mareval (€2m); Midfield: Stefan Babovic (€3m), David de Freitas (€2m), Ricardo Faty (€1.8m); Forward: Ivan Klasnic (€5m), Nicolas Gousse (€2m), Mamadou Bagayoko (€1.8m).

Nice

Goalkeeper David Ospina (€1.5m); Defense: Onyekachi Apam (€4.5m), Vincent Hognon (€4m), Cedric Kante (€3m), Cyril Jeunechamp (€2.5m), Cyril Rool (€2m); Midfield: David Hellebuyck (€3.5m), Emerse Fae (€2.8m), Drissa Diakite (€1.8m); Forward: Loic Remy (€6m), Eric Mouloungui (€2.5m).

Paris St. Germain

Goalkeeper Mickael Landreau (€5m); Defense: Sylvain Armand (€5.5m), Zoumana Camara (€5m), Gregory Bourillon (€3m); Midfield: Jerome Rothen (€8.5m), Stephane Sessegnon (€7m), Claude Makelele (€6m), Jeremy Clement (€5m), Clement Chantome (€3.5m); Forward: Ludovic Giuly (€5m), Guillaume Hoarau (€4m).

Rennes

Goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez (€4m); Defense: Rod Fanni (€4.5m), Petter Hansson (€3.5m), Carlos Bocanegra (€3m); Midfield: Stephane Mbia (€5m), Jerome Leroy (€3.5m), Bruno Cheyrou (€3m), Olivier Sorlin (€3m); Forward: Asamoah Gyan (€6m), Jimmy Briand (€6m), Olivier Thomert (€4m).

Saint-Etienne

Goalkeeper Jeremie Janot (€6m); Defense: Efstathios Tavlaridis (€5m), Mouhamadou Dabo (€4.5m); Midfield: Pascal Feindouno (€7.5m), Loic Perrin (€6.5m), Blaise Matuidi (€4.5m), Christophe Landrin (€4.5m), Daisuke Matsui (€4.5m), Moustapha Bayal Sall (€4.5m); Forward: Bafetimbi Gomis (€10m), Ilan (€5m).

Sochaux

Goalkeeper Teddy Richert (€4.5m); Defense: Rabiu Afolabi (€3m), Damien Perquis (€2.5m), Stephane Pichot (€2m), Jacques Faty (€1.8m); Midfield: Stephane Dalmat (€4m), Romain Pitau (€3m), Michael Isabey (€1.8m), Badara Sene (€1.8m); Forward: Mevlut Erding (€4.5m), Valter Birsa (€1.8m).

Toulouse

Goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso (€3m); Defense: Albin Ebondo (€4.5m), Jeremy Mathieu (€4m), Herita Nkolongo Ilunga (€3.5m), Mauro Cetto (€3m); Midfield: Etienne Didot (€3.5m), Moussa Sissoko (€2.5m), Francois Pantxi Sirieix (€2m); Forward: Fode Mansare (€4m), Andre-Pierre Gignac (€2.5m), Soren Larsen (€2m).

Valenciennes

Goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau (€2.5m); Defense: Rudy Mater (€3.5m), Milan Bisevac (€3m), David Ducourtioux (€2.5m), Rafael Schmitz (€2m); Midfield: Carlos Sanchez (€4.5m), Jose Saez (€2.8m), Gael Danic (€2m), Djamel Belmadi (€1.8m); Forward: Johan Audel (€2m), Gregory Pujol (€1.9m).

 
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