After guiding Bordeaux to a second place finish and taking Manager of the Year in just his first season, former French International Laurent Blanc‘s sophomore season proved even better with his side knocking out wins in their final 11 matches to take the 08 / 09 Ligue 1 title.
Via TheGaurdian
Marseille missed their chance when they had it. So did Auxerre, and Monaco too. All three clubs turned down the opportunity to give Laurent Blanc his first job as a coach, and all three will regret it now, after Blanc led Bordeaux to a wholly deserved Ligue 1 title, their first for 10 years, in only his second season as a coach. Bordeaux beat Caen 1–0 to stay three points clear of Marseille, whose 4–0 hammering of Rennes carried a note of defiance but ultimately was in vain.
Bordeaux were unbeaten at home (their last defeat at Stade Chaban-Delmas was in October 2007), and earned 12 more points at home than the runners-up, Marseille; they showed huge mental strength, not least in the nine-man 1–0 win over Grenoble in Week 6, the comeback from 3–0 down to beat Monaco away 4–3 in Week 19 and, in Week 33, the 3–2 win at Rennes after having a player dismissed in the first half-hour. Their youth policy is working, as evidenced by the emergence of young local talents such as Benoît Trémoulinas and Grégory Sertic and their recruitment has been spot on, as the yo-yo pairing of two Yoanns – Gourcuff and Gouffran – proved on Saturday night.
Blanc, typically, has already started playing down expectations for next season. “No French team will be able to repeat the dominance of Lyon,” he warned. But with Gourcuff staying and Chamakh changing his tune and claiming he now wants to stay, Blanc’s next ambition, to match Lyon’s quarter-final place in the Champions League, might just be achievable.
It seems incredible to think that had Bordeaux’s president, Jean-Louis Triaud, not appointed Blanc two years ago, a coach now tipped as a possible successor to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United might never have returned to the game. “If Bordeaux had the same attitude as some, I might never have made it to the bench,” he said. “Just when I thought I might never get a job, Bordeaux came along and I’m very grateful to them.” This week, the feeling is most definitely mutual.
Image via Cache
