Montpellier’s historic triumph wasn’t the only lesson of the 2011/2012 campaign. The Championnat had some other revelations as well which could set the tone for things to come next season
The Ligue 1 campaign end with Louis Nicollin doing something really extraordinary with his hair. The Montpellier Herault president promised that he would cut his hair into a Mohawk and paint it blue and red if his team won the title. And, the robust president
did exactly what he promised.
Bettor.com now takes a look at a few things and quotations from a gripping Ligue 1 campaign that will forever remain etched in the memory of its followers as one of the most exciting campaigns ever.
Promises are promises
In http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749, Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich remained relatively calm despite seeing their teams amass historic achievements. However, that was not to be the case with Montpellier Herault’s president Louis Nicollin.
The outspoken, flamboyant, over-exhuberant and sometimes over-emotional Loulou said that he will paint his hair red and blue if Montpellier Herault won the Championelle.
And Montpellier went on to defy all odds to beat Paris Saint-Germain to become the latest addition to Ligue 1 winners.
Rather than sheepishly going back on his words, Loulou stayed true to his word and got himself a blue and red Mohawk.
La Paillade play in the Champions League next season and Nicollin has said that if his side managed to win the Champions League, he will shave all of his body hair. Well, promises are promises and it’s very likely that the outspoken Montpellier supremo will
give himself a ‘thorough’ shave if his side managed to defy the likes of Real Madrid, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 and Manchester City.
Not many presidents have proven to be men of their words and in a world of football that is full of false promises from players to presidents to coaches to agents, Nicollin’s antics show that there are still men out there who will stay true to their word
regardless of how outrageous their words can be.
Paris Saint-Germain are far from a finished product
Go to a fantasy league and buy players like http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thiago-Motta-c34897 and you will have quite a formidable team. However, real football is no fantasy league – a fact that the oil-rich Qatari owners
of Paris Saint-Germain can attest to.
With almost 100 million euros spent in the last two transfer markets plus making Carlo Ancelotti the new manager, PSG still finished another season without a trophy to show for all of their spending power.
Buying established stars is one thing, making a productive team out of them is a different story altogether. However, there is still hope for the cash-laden side from Ile as they will surely not end the next campaign trophy-less.
Waling Velodrome
Stade Velodrome residents, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 would have heaved a huge sigh of relief when the final whistle blew an end to a campaign Les Phoceens would love to move on quickly from. The campaign started badly for Didier Deschamps’ side and ended even
more woefully than many expected.
In the last 50 years, Marseille have never cut such a sorry figure and it seems that the Rhone giants are heading for tough times ahead.
With no Champions League football and many players wanting to jump ship it seems that the next campaign could prove to be one of the most testing times for one of the most successful sides in French football history.
Disclaimer: Views and opinions in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect bettor.com's editorial policy
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