Four teams, Lille, PSG, Lyon and Monaco, in the fight for the title… Five to six teams, Lens, Marseille, Metz, Montpellier, Angers, Rennes, still concerned by the race for 5th place… Five clubs fighting for avoid relegation ... In Ligue 1, the battle rages on all levels.
Paradoxically, the championship has never looked so resplendent, despite the health situation linked to Covid-19, empty stadiums and the crisis in TV rights.
We asked six observers from various backgrounds, from Stéphane Moulin to François Berléand, to give us their opinion on the level, attractiveness and prospects of Ligue 1.
🔙 For a while, our coaches from @ Ligue1UberEats also trod the lawns of France 🥰 pic.twitter.com/BrKrAs2m4l
- Ligue 1 Uber Eats (@ Ligue1UberEats) March 11, 2021
"Each match is uncertain and it is a sign of good health"
Stéphane Moulin, Angers trainer
/ Aude Alcover / LP / Icon Sport
“Paris is less Paris than it was, underlines the coach of Angers, current 9th.
Lille, Lyon and Monaco have increased their level.
So things got a little more balanced… ”Moulin said he was interested in this new situation:“ Most of the time, Parisians can allow themselves to relax, which sometimes affects the results indirectly.
When you play the maintenance, it is never pleasant to see a direct competitor beat Paris, under the pretext that the latter privileges the Champions League… There, they cannot give priority to one or the other competition and it's good like this.
Each Paris opponent will play the best bet.
"
The top four teams are not the only ones striving for a goal.
“There, in all compartments of the classification, there is uncertainty.
There is no respite for anyone, which is what makes the championship interesting.
Each team has something to play.
I consider the championship to be of a good level.
Apart from Dijon, which seems fixed on its fate, for the others, it is undecided, recalls the coach.
Every game is uncertain and it is a sign of good health.
Contrary to what I have always heard, this championship is extremely difficult.
Foreign coaches, when they come there, realize that it is not that simple.
Monaco won 4-3 in Nîmes… ”
"I do not believe that the proposed show captivates the crowds ..."
Jean-Michel Larqué, former international, RMC consultant
/ AFP / Nicolas Tucat
"The improvement is only due to the poor performance of the Parisians in the first part of the season," said the former Stéphanois.
Six defeats in twenty games, it's inexplicable and it allows others to dream… In ordinary times, we would have a three-way match for 2nd place.
But, even with the load of the European Cup, I think the Parisians will still be champions.
According to Larqué, however, the situation masks the intrinsic weakness of L1.
“Like the Parisian underperformance, I think we are facing a race to the bottom.
Technically, it's a real disaster.
Against suffering Rennes, it took Lyon the entry of Houssem Aouar, whom I consider to be a real good player, to shed light on the game and alone change the face of the match.
Lille is the permanent sinusoid.
I see them play a great match in Lorient and fall back into average, sluggish matches.
Apart from the small elite of the internationals, we have very, very average players.
I do not believe that the proposed spectacle captivates the crowds.
The number of distressing matches is too large.
I have seen a few worrying matches between FC Nantes and AS Saint-Etienne, which you can hardly imagine are at Ligue 1 level. There are more disappointments than satisfactions.
"
PSG express newsletter
Our information on the capital club
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
Beyond the observation, Larqué believes that a slimming cure would not harm French football: "Qatar and McCourt aside, that we do not have any illusions about foreign investors: they are only there for earn money.
Not for the love of the Lille, Bordeaux or Châteauroux jersey.
As long as professional football carries motivated investors to make money on its back, we will not be able to progress.
Trading
(Editor's note: buying and selling players)
has never made anyone progress.
When, for lack of investors, French football turned to training centers, it did not do that badly.
In 1993, OM won the European Cup with 8 or 9 French in the team… To an average foreign player, I prefer a French player with a significant margin for improvement.
"
"There is really a phenomenon of erosion of the public ..."
Hervé Mathoux, presenter of the Canal Football Club
/ Canal + / Charlotte Schousboe
“The season is exciting, but we have seen others… The 1998 title played on goal difference between Lens and Metz, Lyon-Lens on the last day for the first OL title in 2002, the elbow at the elbow of PSG with Monaco and Nice in 2017… ”
From the broadcaster's point of view, Hervé Mathoux paints a picture of a gradual recovery: “We must be aware that we are coming back from a very low level.
The L1 has noticeably disappeared from the screens for six months
(Editor's note: because of Mediapro's difficulties in establishing itself and the fragmentation of distribution)
.
There is really a phenomenon of erosion of the public vis-à-vis the L1 ”.
Since we have found an important program, that of Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 9 p.m., he notes, we are moving towards correct standards.
"" We feel that people are interested, even passionate about this sprint.
We had big audiences on OM-PSG for our big comeback at 9 p.m., with 1.7 million.
PSG-Monaco and OM-OL made 1.4 million, he said.
But it is still below those of a few years ago.
People need to reclaim L1.
And, to that end, the current scenario is a good vector.
"
Personally, the journalist does not fear the new ecosystem which, thanks to the crisis, will probably impose itself on football: “A questioning has begun.
It was not clear that clubs were able to pass salary restrictions on their players.
I find it healthy that this world, which was a bubble completely disconnected from social issues, wonders about how to take its share of degrowth.
Some clubs from countries less well off than France show that we can have results by working well, without necessarily having huge budgets.
"
"I think PSG is an aberration"
Christophe Bouchet, former president of OM
/ AFP / Guillaume Souvant
“The situation of French football is abnormal, analyzes the former radical mayor of Tours.
Because of Qatar, it is skewed.
I think PSG is an aberration.
There is still a distortion of competition which is not healthy… The clubs are working well.
Sometimes a story arises: there was Monaco, Rennes last year, Lille this year.
But I do not believe that this balance
(Editor's note: between PSG, Lille, Lyon and Monaco)
can last and I regret it.
Bouchet dreams of French football more centered on himself.
“We should be able to establish a bonus for territoriality.
That clubs which are structured on the territorial level derive a small advantage, like a time in rugby with an imposed number of players from training.
We feel that this lack of territorialization is detrimental to football.
If there is a contagion of the supporters effect in Marseille, Nantes or Saint-Etienne, it is also because identities are trampled underfoot.
And, that, for football, in the long term, it is a serious mistake.
You have to keep your roots deeply rooted in the territory.
I believe that in order to be there, the supporters need a flag, a rooting.
"
On the economic level, this former player in sports marketing announces a new deal: “We are going to enter into sustained sobriety.
Beyond the Mediapro phenomenon, we must stop believing that trees rise to the sky.
Today, there is a global panorama of entertainment that is no longer at all the same as that in place when rights could increase by 2 digits, from one call for tenders to another.
The leaders of the club have known only the theory of the new entrant, accompanied by an escalation.
However, we can see that Amazon is putting money only to complete catalogs, with a view to presenting a complementary offer.
However, by definition, this is less expensive than the overall offer.
"
"The lousy and ugly Ligue 1?
It's an old cliché… ”
Charles Biétry, former sports director of Canal +, former president of PSG
/ Icon Sport / Dave Winter
“If the championship is so close, it is because PSG does not keep its rank, loses matches, has injuries, does not play very well, is slow to find its formula, changes coach, etc.
So many reasons that cost him between 6 and 8 points, ”he explains.
And whatever the situation, Biétry is a fan of the championship: “I find this edition fascinating, but I have never hated or criticized L1.
I am happy to follow her, as the supporters are to follow their team, whether it has Neymar, Mbappé, Sidibé, Le Goff or Pied in its ranks, he enthuses.
The lousy and ugly Ligue 1 is an old cliché conveyed by a few snipers… ”
However, the TV man does not fall into angelism: "The quality of the game, the level of uncertainty of the championship or the leader PSG with 10 points in advance, it has no influence on the business, on the intentions of a potential buyer.
The proof, regardless of the fact that Mediapro could not pay, is that someone came in 2018 to put more than a billion on the L1… TV rights only depend on the price that buyers decide.
Let us imagine that eventually, Amazon comes, probably not on the next call for tenders: this company has such power and can organize such a trade around football that it can very well save a lot of money… On the other hand, if Canal + is all alone, TV rights will remain low but that will not change the quality of L1.
"
"There are posters that don't make you want to ..."
François Berléand, actor
/ AFP / Yohan Bonnet
"It has tightened at the top of the standings this year, but for the wrong reasons," said this longtime PSG fan.
Neymar did not play for two months, Mbappé was injured, Di Maria too, there was the Covid, etc.
What is great, finally way of speaking, is that with the Covid, I am not doing theater at the moment.
So I can see all the matches on TV, despite having not seen a match live for years.
There, I take advantage of it… ”Up to a certain point:“ Me, I would rather be in favor of a tightening of the elite, to 18 clubs, even to 16. It would be more interesting for the spectator and for the broadcaster.
There are posters that do not make you want to and that we do not care.
In the Coupe de France, I'm not saying, it's great.
"