Champions League: the revenge of the "Farmers League" in Lisbon

Special envoy to Lisbon,

"It's a great victory for us and French football," jubilant Rudi Garcia, after the victory of "his" Olympique Lyonnais over Manchester City (3-1), Saturday, in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. A new feat for Les Gones, joining Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals. Two French clubs in the last square of the C1? Never seen. “We made an achievement after that of Juventus. And we hope that the adage "never two without three" could possibly be verified, because it will be necessary to make another one to go to the final. " If the Parisians will be favorites against Leipzig on Tuesday (9 p.m.), the Lyonnais will indeed not have the favor of the predictions against Bayern on Wednesday (9 p.m.), especially after the card against Barça (8-2).

Expectations

Never mind: French football is celebrating in Lisbon, beyond all expectations. Especially after the controversial decision of the authorities (and the government) to put a definitive end to the season in March, due to the coronavirus pandemic, while the other major championships have been at the end, them. And in particular the Bundesliga. “Like idiots?” L'Equipe had wondered , on the front page, while Lyonnais and Parisians have regularly castigated this imposed cut, President Aulas or Leonardo claiming only recently that it was synonymous with disadvantage for their respective club in view of the C1.

 "I don't know if it comes from the fact that they stopped their championship, but these are two teams which showed character and who worked a lot"

In the short and medium term, this decision will have serious consequences in terms of competitiveness, to be sure. But we can now wonder if this does not represent an asset for OL and PSG in Lisbon. In any case, the two teams are not suffering physically, as one might have feared (see elsewhere). "I do not know if it comes from the fact that they stopped their championship, but these are two teams which showed character and which worked a lot", underlines the Munich and ex-Lyonnais Corentin Tolisso, trying to explain this historical presence of French clubs at this level.  

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One thing is certain: often criticized, described as the "Farmers League", the L1 is in full light. However, France only occupies fifth place in Europe, far behind the Top 4 (Spain, England, Germany, Italy) and not so far from Portugal (6th) and Russia (7th). The opportunity is great, for many actors, to show off these last few hours, like the Parisian Kylian Mbappé. Others see parallels, like President Macron, with the approach of this double Franco-German duel: "In Brussels as on the ground, France and Germany, engines of Europe!"

The semi-finals of the @ChampionsLeague will pit @PSG_inside against @DieRotenBullen and @ OL against @FCBayern. In Brussels as in the field, France and Germany, engines of Europe! Chancellor Merkel will not blame me for supporting Paris and Lyon on Tuesday and Wednesday ...

Remember that if France has drawn the curtain, Germany was the first to restart its championship. Difficult to find a rule and draw conclusions suddenly ... Spaniards and English will watch the rest of the competition on television. A first since the 1995-96 financial year. And we have to go back to the 1990-91 season to find no Spanish, German and Italian representative in the semi-finals. That year, OM lost in the final against Red Star Belgrade, two years before their coronation against AC Milan.

"The players have seized on this injustice which has nailed us ten matches to the end in a 7th place which is not European, whereas we have been European since 1997."

Believing that “this competition comes at the right time”, President Aulas sees it as a revenge: “The players have seized on this injustice which has nailed us ten matches from the end to a 7th place which is not European, whereas we had been European since 1997. " All while not setting "no limit", says Garcia. “The appetite comes with eating,” he smiles. On the Parisian side, we also aim to "do something big", as Ander Herrera indicates. It must be said that if the context and this unique format can help the “little ones”, like OL, PSG has nourished the legitimate ambition to brandish the C1 for a long time. 

Format

If this continues, French football will campaign to perpetuate this format! In any case, Mr. Aulas already claims more qualified in C1 for next season. “This format is interesting because it gives more chances to outsiders, underlines Tolisso. The context is also a little weird, with the virus, no supporters. But it gives a lot of emotions. The teams that have passed could be favorable to this format, less the others (smile). ” Herrera does not agree: "It creates a lot of emotion, but the most important thing is the supporters, and we must respect the history of football, of all clubs."

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In any case, UEFA President Ceferin has already closed the debate: return to the usual formula in 2029-21. For full stadiums, however, it will still be necessary to wait ... It is the virus that dictates the tempo in this matter. In the meantime, charge to Paris and Lyon to continue writing history. Theirs, that of French football. Hoping that this is not just a simple enchanting parenthesis, before a difficult tomorrow ...

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