The Cup final opposed Bordeaux to Marseille. Now, cup tournaments escape common wisdom and logic, but there were also critical signs to the current state of affairs there: Marseille, at its current state, was big outsider – Bordeaux had the best squad in the country. Yes, Bordeaux won, but it was only 2-1 and they prevailed only near the end of the overtime. The first half ended with Marseille leading 1-0 and in regular time Bordeuax managed only to equalize. That was the rub: against quite mediocre Marseille, mighty Bordeaux prevailed with great difficulty. Age… the signs of dangerous aging were there.
Nothing surprising Marseille lost – after all, they had only one high-class players and he was the goalkeeper. But even the loss was no big deal – it brought new confidence, something to step on and build on. Of course, losing a trophy was no fun, but determination to do better was probably freshly fueled.
Bordeaux was still on top – lost the championship, but won the Cup. And this was not just a small consolation for failing in the championship: this was only the 2nd Cup Bordeaux won and the first time was in ancient 1941. May be not confident victory, but still a great victory! That was also a third year in a row the team won a trophy – two titles, now the Cup. They were still best, still running fast, still focused and eager for more. Aging? But they were winning, so who cares? Well, it was not the end. Not this year.