For French football, the year 2011 was certainly a good one following Les Bleus shameful exploits at the 2010 World Cup in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Eden-Hazard-c11863, Paris Saint-Germain and even Antoine Kombouare made 2011 a year
to remember.
Les Dogues lift the Championelle
Perhaps, the biggest success story of the year was LOSC Lille’s first domestic triumph in almost five decades. After choking when it mattered in the final few weeks of the 2009/2010 Ligue 1 campaign, coach Rudi Garcia’s side made sure that the year 2011
was not to be remembered as the year of nearly-there.
A young and exciting Lille side brimming with confidence, talent and peppered with experience had all the ingredients of winning their first Championelle of the millennium. However, the task was certainly not going to be an easy one especially with Olympique
de Marseille repeating the form that made them Ligue 1 champions in the 2009/2010 season.
However, Rudi Garcia had the right men to lead the club from the North of France to lift the title. The side that contained the likes of Eden Hazard, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Florent-Balmont-c13837 were
perhaps the most consistent players in the French league as Les Dogues never once showed signs of choking throughout the campaign.
With only a few weeks left and with a good distance away from their nearest rivals Marseille, the young Lille players did however gave Rudi Garcia something to worry about when they dropped a few points to put the title race wide open once again.
However, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 failed to capitalise on Lille’s slump and in the end, Les Dogues were the deserving winners of the 2010/2011 Ligue 1 campaign.
It was the first time since Lille had won the Championelle as their last triumph came back in 1953-54 season. That season was a memorable one as well after Lille snatched the title on the last day of the season to take a one point lead over Stade de Reims.
Mission double complete
The Championelle triumph wasn’t the only thing that Lille had to smile about. Les Dogues even had the time and talent to lift the 2011 Coupe de France after beating Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade de http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899 in Saint-Denis on May 14, 2011.
Lille had to thank Ludovic Obraniak for grabbing the only goal of the game which handed Lille their first domestic trophy since winning the Coupe de France 56 years back.
A few days later, Lille were crowned champions of France and it was the club’s first domestic double in over 65 years.
Rudi Garcia had finally found the right ingredients to make a championship winning squad and the 2011/2012 Ligue 1 campaign has once again started on the same note that was so visible last season.
Currently in 3rd place in the Ligue 1 standings, Lille will be looking to mount a title assault in the second half of the campaign and no one can count the champions out from winning back-to-back Ligue 1 titles which would be the club’s first
successful title defence.
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