GIRONDINS DE BORDEAUX ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF FRANCE!!!!!

Okay, I might have gone a little comment crazy in my other post, but heck, does it matter? The first title in 10 long Lyon filled years is finally here! Behold immense partying and celebrating and official champagne spraying. (I’ll be celebrating with some iced coffee, thank you very much). There’s also Gourcuff crying and various other forms of naked, which I will pass to you when I find them. Now, on to the game (which I doubt many readers will bother to read, save one or two).

I’m so glad I got to watch this game. It was less exciting than the epic goal scoring of OM versus Rennes, but I really got to see the improvement of the whole squad. The defense was just IMPECCABLE. I cannot be more honest. Caen had so many opportunities and close shots at goal that if not for the amazing defense (that is to say Chalmé, Jurietti, but especially Diawara, Diarra and Trémoulinas) we’d be not only 5 goals down but also down in the gutters as OM celebrate their title win. Savidan would have scored a million goals if not for the tirelessness with which Diawara worked at.

I remember at the beginning of the season, I was concerned that the biggest problem with the squad would be the defensive aspects of the team, but we’ve obviously gotten over that (and added a permanent member in the defense, no doubt, with Trémoulinas). We all know that Bordeaux has a great deal of firepower and definitely play some of the most offensive football in France, but it’s always nice to know that we’ve got players that have got our backs covered. (Subtract from this equation the waste of money and time that was Diego Placente.)

I admit that midfield was less than stellar today, but it rather reflects the poor condition that has befallen it in recent times. While we have secured the services of Gourcuff (who has been consistent almost all season) and added to it the talents of Grégory Sertic (hopefully a regular next season), many players such as Fernando and Wendel, both of whom used to be the backbone of the team, seem to have…lost it. Both of them have seen a drop in mental form and a seeming lack of creativity when it comes to the game. I think that especially Fernando have never really taken to the country’s form of play, and I sincerely wish for him a spot in La Liga.

Strikers strikers strikers…Chamakh has really matured this season (though he still has that bit of indecision in him occasionally, today for example). He really is ready to leave us and I’m glad that we’re sending him off with a title. I only hope for him that he doesn’t follow the lead of Nasri and sign onto Arsenal because…well has anyone heard from Nasri recently??

The offense today was really everywhere, but we did capitalize on opportunities set up by both Gourcuff and Trémoulinas (his sporadic runs are another thing I like about him). This leads to our hero today: Gouffran. If you’ve read any of my other reports, you’ve seen me complaining about Gouffran. I alwaaaaaaaaaaays complain about his lack of consistency and decisiveness as well as confidence. He never seemed to try hard enough, and I could never notice him in games. Buying him (and playing him regularly) was one thing Blanc did that consistently baffled me. Now I see why. He was so solid in the past few games, always at the right positions and having the confidence when he shoots. He probably would have scored 2 more today had he been luckier, and I’m really glad we invested in him. I’ll skimp on Cavé. He’s always amazing to me. (And Obertan returning next season. I’m super excited to see his improvement.)

If you’ve bothered to read this far, I’ll have you know that the biggest problem I’m concerned with is goalkeeping. Ramé has been getting slower, and Valverde is NOT the successor. Olimpa, maybe, but he’s in line after Valverde. We need to shop for a replacement this summer for sure, and hopefully that would be Yohann Pelé.

After one season with Bordeaux, I really believe that this team has so much potential and can achieve so much more. I don’t think I would be wrong to accredit this to Blanc. Right now, I think he’s one of the best coaches any team can ever wish to have (better than Mourinho, I’m afraid). He has such insight to the game, and he’s one of those people who knows what they’re doing in it’s entirety. He is the person who pretty much single handedly brought the title to Bordeaux, and I’d sooner give Gourcuff away than to let him leave.

Anyway, I hope none of you bothered to read my rant. I’ll be adding photos and videos of the celebrations as soon as I can find them!

First he wins for the most beautiful goal, and then comes the best player award with Zidane. Towards the end of the video, Zidane comments on his opinion of Gourcuff in Bordeaux but always saying that it is Yoann’s decision, and then Yoann speaks about what he thinks *cut to Blanc looking srs all the time*.

The group for Monaco:

Ramé, Valverde – Chalmé, Diawara, Henrique, Jurietti, Placente, Planus, Trémoulinas – Diarra, Ducasse, Fernando, Gourcuff, Sertic – Bellion, Cavenaghi, Chamakjh, Gouffran, Jussi.

Some things to look at while biding by the 4 hours wait for the game to start:

-Mathieu Valbuena talks about what he thinks about Bordeaux and the loss to Lyon last week.

-It looks like Gourcuff’s contract contract negotiations are coming to an end. Apparently, there is a clause stipulated that he will be able to leave by the end of next season.

-It has been made clear that Yohann Pelé is a priority this transfer season. (Martha, from the Nice blog, has also informed me with some anger about Bordeaux interest in David Ospina. Not that I would mind.)

-Sevilla is interested in and following Fernando, who is bound to leave for either Italy or Spain this summer, with the right clubs.

-An interview Planus gave, in 5 parts, starting with this one.

After the game:
Looks like I had the insightfulness to put Chamakh in the photo before the game! I actually missed the game, even though it was on TV and I was at home. I had a nightmare that I couldn’t find the channel on TV, and by the time I woke up, the game already finished.

It sounds like a decent game, but I haven’t read any real reviews yet. OM also won 3-0 at Nancy, so a win or a draw at Caen will bring us the title for sure! (They lost 3-1 to Lyon today.)

Lots of Chamakh to Arsenal news today…please don’t.

(yeah, I’m bring back the first trophy this season to celebrate.)
Lyon beats OM 3-1 to give us a breather at the top and even more hope for the title.

Let’s consider the games left to play.
Bordeaux has to play:
AS Monaco – Monaco hasn’t been in terrific form lately, and was even in relegation for a while, but they seem to have risen from that and will probably not be relegated. They’re dealing with some coach issues. In the past three games they drew once (with VAFC) and lost twice (Sochaux and AJ Auxerre).

Caen – Overall speaking, Caen is a weaker team. They’re only a point away from the relegation zone. They’ve done fairly well in the last 3 games with two wins (Le Mans and Sochaux) and a loss to Rennes. They would want to keep their form and prevent relegation, and according to their latest form, this will probably the tougher of the two games.

Marseille’s last two games are:
Nancy- Their last 3 games all ended with draws, but this is a team to be reckoned with. I don’t doubt that OM will lose since they will be striving to get over this set back.

VAFC – VAFC powered over a struggling Lyon 3 games ago, put up a good fight against Bordeaux and tied with Monaco this weekend. They have a good players from the relegated Lens FC, but will not hold as a struggled to OM either.

What I think:
the difficulty of both Bordeaux’s and OM’s next two games are around the same, and as long as les Girondins continue their form and their drive, the title should not be out of reach. (Especially with a recovering Cavé and Jussiê, seeing as we will need to score as many goals as possible.) A title will probably also propel Gourcuff to a decision of staying with Bordeaux.

How to secure the title:
By next week: Bordeaux wins and OM either draws or loses. Bordeaux can afford a draw and a win and still win the title.

What a GAME that was. This is actually the first game I watched live in a long long time. The game was surprising close despite the 65:35 possession to Bordeaux. Even without some of our best players (Cavé, Jussie, Wendel) in their best forms, the team did so well. Gourcuff had so many shots on goal, it’s a miracle how he only got one goal. He would have gotten the winner if he didn’t hit the sidebar. Planus has a lot of thanking to do. 10 points ahead of Lyon, that means they’re not winning for sure (+ guaranteed CL spot).

Of course, the play wasn’t all good. Bordeaux was keen on winning and extending the win streak, and you could feel in the atmosphere that all the fans were there to see a win. Good rhythm was established, but Le Mans got that first goal in by Le Tallec. And then the two goals (I’m counting the number of goals Chamakh scored with his head). Bordeaux got visibly tired in the second half, and Valverde looked like a sensitive boy straight out of an emo movie. (Yeah, he wasn’t that great..) My heart almost broke when I saw Wendel in his tracksuit walk emoly to the bench

The only reason why Le Tallec got #2 is from all the holes in the defense and a few defensive mistakes from Trémoulinas as well as Chalmé. I think in a period of around 5 mins, Chalmé gave away two throw ins and a freekick (and proceeded to earn himself a yellow for protesting). The quality of the passing deteriorated, and despite the possession, we kept losing possession at the important places (in their penalty area and in our penalty area).

I do have good things to say though. Trémoulinas made up for the few mistakes by going deep into Le Mans half, making many many offensive runs. I’m pretty sure he contributed to 2 of the 3 goals. He was clearly the best player (or maybe second best to Gourcuff) on the pitch. Even to an oblivious unbiased eye, Gourcuff is pretty much essential to the flow of the team. I’m fairly certain this lineup was centered around him with the likes of Fernando and Gouffran playing around him.

Gregory Sertic wasn’t bad either. He was pretty good, but you can tell he had that air of nervousness around him, like a kid in the big leagues (..which he sort of is). I’ve read a lot of CFA games and he seems to hold a lot of potential, especially with freekicks. (Here’s an interview thingy with him and Traoré)

And lastly, this game finally allowed me a look at Yohann Pelé. He looks very promising and will be a great replacement to Ramé. At least that’s the feeling I get when I see him versus Valverde.

Man was that a long post in a while. I might be watching OL – OM tomorrow depending on if I can find a stream or not, and what can I say? I’m rooting for Lyon.

A bunch of stuff on the Gourcuff situation ensues..

Talks and negotiations started Thursday, and pretty much everyone wants him to stay as of right now. The decision has to be made final before the last game in Caen on May 30 or he goes back to Milan. The negotiations are said to be concentrated on wages as well as the amount of the buyout clause in his contract (can be easily paid if a rich club decides to buy him out). The advice of Christian Gourcuff to Yoann is to stay at least another year but ultimately it is Yoann’s decision.

Many bigger clubs have already set their eyes on him, some including Bayern and Barca.. Diawara even says that if Triaud finds Gourcuff too expensive, he’s willing to give up some of his salary to pay for Gourcuff. How sweet *tears up*

What about your future? Your decision for next season is already taken? No, I have not decided. There was a first contact last Thursday and I think we will need to revisit us soon, because the end Championships approach. I will see it quietly, and when I decided, I will keep everyone informed. For now, honestly, I do not know yet. It is not so easy. I feel good, and I’m happy this season. The group is healthy, with good guys, and lived very well together. So, even if it starts to trot a bit in my head, I’ll try to stay a bit outside of that. The end of Championship is exciting for the whole club. So do not waste energy with each other. ” (interview after Le Man – Bordeaux)

Wendel’s season is effectively over after that injury. He has a sprained right knee and damaged ligaments in the internal postural. He’s expected to be out anywhere from 6-8 weeks. And plus our top scorer Cavé is out too, and that’s just baddd. Hopefully Jussiê will be able to return ASAP and we can recover our losses. (This means that we might/will be missing Henrique, Jussiê, Trémoulinas, Cavé and Wendel all to injuries when we travel to Rennes tomorrow..)

-Gourcuff says that in order to keep up the pace we have to take points from Rennes (obviously). He’s afraid that the euphoria from the league title will screw with the confidence levels of the players. (Of course, the next 5 games are gonna be the most important ones that we play.)

The shortlist against Rennes:

Ramé, Valverde – Chalmé, So.Diawara, Jurietti, Placente, Planus, Sané – A.Diarra, Ducasse, Fernando, Gourcuff, Sertic, Ab.Traoré – Bellion, Chamakh, Gouffran, Saivet

Check out the South Americans doing the regular tourist thing

On the other hand Fernando is handed a 4 match suspension and Valencia wants Gourcuff (what else is new?)