Monaco and Paris Saint Germain reached the Cup final. Given the squads, Paris SG had a good chance to fulfill at least some of the great ambition driving the club since formation. Monaco had ambition too, so it was going to be close match without favourite.
The opponents clashed and Monaco prevailed 1-0.
Cannot blame then for being boisterous with the Cup in their hands.
Well, Paris SG failed again. This was the third Cup final they played – they won the first two, but not this one. Yes, they had a chance – old, experienced squad is always dangerous in a single ‘the winner takes it all’ match. The veterans, old as they were, knew how to win and they pushed hard. Yet, they lost.
Monaco even at its best always looks somewhat unfinished, not really a great team, having a weak post or two. Perhaps the reason they never dominate, but win sporadically. The title was out of their reach this year, but they were better in the one-on-one Cup format and, since Monaco enjoyed strong period, were good enough to prevail over ambitious, but oldish, Paris SG. Well done, yet, it was still not a great squad… Bravo, Genghini, Ettori, Bellone, Le Roux… nothing like Bordeaux and needing additional players to fill the gaps. Characteristic for Monaco, so they were winning sporadically – it was their 4th Cup, but the previous 3 were won in 1960, 1963, and 1980. Meantime they lost 2 finals – in 1984 to Metz. True, they lost only in overtime, but still lost to weaker squad. This time they won over a squad with similar limitations and it was unlikely that Monaco will made a truly balanced squad, building on this success – they did not make it before in similar circumstances. Just because that club philosophy, guided by budget restrains, Monaco’s victories were perhaps more valuable than those of most successful clubs. And that was why Monaco deserved more to win than Paris SG – after all, the old Parisian stars won quite a lot in their prime time, but for the mentioned above players of Monaco winning was a rare achievement. Good for them to have the Cup.
France I Division
First division. Two teams above the rest, dominating and entangled in battle for the title. No hopeless outsider. French football was hot, no doubt, but it was not just a talented generation of players – perhaps the new crop of coaches was more important: Roux (Auxerre), Jacquet (Bordeaux), Le Milinaire (Laval), Houiller (Lens), Wenger (Nancy), Suaudeau (Nantes).
Racing (Paris) finished last with 26 points. Just came back from obscurity and dropped right away to second level. The ambitious project was not yet blooming.
Tours – 19th with 29 points and out. Front row from left: Fonseca, Kaiser , Diecket, Furlan, Loiseau, Zdun, Krimau, Polaniok.
Middle row: Besnard, Jublot, Desrousseaux, Gressani, Varady, Morabito, Thénier, Dobraje, Briet, coach, masseur.
Top row: Levève, De Zerbi, Lorenzo, Devillechabrolle, Coiffier, Colleu, ?.
Rouen – 18th with 29 points and relegated.
Marseille – 17th with 31 points. Barely escaped relegation, which was pretty much the goal for the moment. Reemerging after a crisis is never easy.
Starsbourg – 16th with 31 points. Like Marseille, trying only to stay afloat. Hard to believe they were champions not so long ago.
OSC Lille – 15th with 31 points.
Bastia – 14th with 32 points.
Paris Saint Germain – 13th with 33 points. Perhaps Paris SG was seen as eternal losers by now, but a team made of Baratelli, Rocheteau, Janvion, Bathenay, Susic, Jeannol, Couriol, and Toko should not have been performing so bad. On the other hand… may be that was why Paris SG was so low: the great names were getting too old, their peak was almost 10 years ago.
Nancy – 12th with 34 points. Modest team as ever, but playing as best as they could and not giving up.
Toulouse – 11th with 35 points. Like Nancy, historically speaking, but with bigger ambitions presently – Bergeroo, Domergue, Stopyra looked like a good cluster and the addition of the Argentine World champion Tarantini suggested continuous development, but it was still building process in an early stage.
Laval – 10th with 36 points. Not bad for a squad without single recognizable name in it.
Brest – 9th with 36 points. Le Guen was at the beginning of his career, practically unknown – like many small clubs, Brest had to do without stars. But they managed.
Sochaux – 8th with 38 points. Their strong years were seemingly over – back to midtable.
Lens – 7th with 40 points.
Toulon – 6th with 44 points. Strong season, but unlikely to be repeated. The great Argentine scoring machine Delio Onnis still delivered.
Metz – 5th with 45 points. Unassuming club, hardly ever attracting attention, but performing well.
Auxerre – 4th with 47 points. By now it was clear that Auxerre was accidental one-time wonder – rapidly they joined the leading teams and seemingly were going to do only better. Loyal to its “Polish connection”, characteristic of their rise from obscurity to glory – Szarmach and Janas, currently. Bats and Ferreri in the French national team, Vahirua not far behind, B. Boli only a promising youngster at the moment, Cantona in the junior team, not old enough yet for the first squad. Home made boys and Polish imports – that was the secret.
Monaco – 3rd with 48 points. Strong period, leading club, but not a title contender this season. Not to be dismissed, though – if not the championship, then there was something else.
Nantes and Bordeaux dominated the championship, fighting for the title. It was just right – those were the leading clubs at the time. Nantes, however, was in a leading position for a third decade already – the most consistently strong French club. Bordeaux climbed to true leading position only recently, but it was hotter team. Eventually, they prevailed.
Consistently strong does not automatically mean consistently great. The squad captained by Henri Michel in the 70s was perhaps better than the current one, but it was overshadowed by St. Etienne. This vintage was overshadowed by Bordeaux. Second best… and they finished 2nd this season with 56 points.
Bordaux not only prevailed, but even built 3-point cushion by the end of the season. 25 wins, 9 ties, 4 losses, 70-27 goal-difference, 59 points and the title was theirs. Rightly so, given the squad they had: Lacombe, Giresse, Tigana, Battiston were the great stars at the moment – not just in France, but in the world. Add the Poruguese midfielder Chalana. Girard and Tusseau were not far behind, already members of the French national team. Dropsy and the former West German star Dieter Muller may be were yesterday news, but not to be dismissed yet. Rohr and Specht were hardly anonymous players too. Coached by Aime Jacquet. Compared to the squad of 10 years ago… well, back then the team had a few stars, but only Giresse remained from the old days and 10 years ago he was unknown. The club moved a long way up since 1976 and won its 3rd title. Second in a row too, for this team won it in the previous season. Wonderful success.
France Second Division Group B
Second Division Group B. As far as names go, Group B looked the stronger and tougher championship than Group A – St. Etienne, Lyon, and Nice were here – but the season actually mirrored Group A: two leaders competing between themselves on top, one outsider at the very bottom, and the bulk of the league quite equal and thus more concerned with avoiding relegation than anything else. At the end, only one team was promoted from this groups, but two came to it, relegated from First Division and that made in turn the last three relegated to Third Division.
FC Valence was out of the game from start and settled in the last place with 11 points.
AEPB La Roche-sur-Yon ended 17th with 29 point and went down.
CS Cuiseaux-Louhans – 16th with 29 points and the third relegated team.
AS Beziers – 15th with 30 points. Managed to survive.
CO Le Puy – 14th with 31 points.
FC Limoges – 13th with 31 points and the only team to stay in this group for the next season.
FC Martigues – 12th with 31 points.
FC Grenoble – 11th with 32 points.
FC Sete – 10th with 32 points.
FC Gueugnon – 9th with 33 points.
AS Cannes – 8th with 34 points.
Olympique Lyon – 7th with 35 points. Food for thought: Schumacher was on the peak of his world fame in 1985. Ten years earlier he was considered rather hopeless and Topalovic was the first goalkeeper of 1. FC Koln. Later the roles reversed, Topalovic became non-entity and did not last long even in Lyon’s second division squad.
Olympique Ales – 6th with 35 points.
CS Thonon – 5th with 38 points.
La Paillade Montpellier – 4th with 41 points.
Olympique Nimes – 3rd with 42 points. Good or bad, Nimes was on top of the bulk of the league, but not able to challenge the leaders.
St. Etienne – 2nd with 48 points. Stronger than the general level of the league, but lost the race for the first place. And eventually lost its second chance to return to first division to Rennes. Strange to see one of the most exciting clubs of the 1970s in second division, but that was the reality.
OGC Nice prevailed in the battle for promotion and won the championship. 20 wins, 10 ties, 4 losses, 73-29 goal-difference and 50 points. Like St. Etienne, Nice declined sharply and it was not sure at all they could climb back to leading place in French football, but second division was a bitter pill to swallow and they did their best to return to top flight. And succeeded.