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Ligue 1 is a competition which is not taken as seriously as the other major leagues in Europe. Perhaps the lack of quality in the league and clubs is a reason why it is shunned in favour of other leagues like the Barclays Premier League or La Liga.
The rise of Paris Saint-Germain though has made heads turn and make people take notice of one of Europe’s lesser leagues again. PSG’s performance in the Champions League last season won them a lot of admirers, especially after their performance against Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the competition. Of course, PSG have bought their way to success, but it has helped the French Ligue 1 to lose its anonymity among other European leagues.
But PSG are not the only club in France with an unlimited supply of cash reserves. AS Monaco, the forgotten club in France is on the rise once again. It’s not long ago that Monaco were playing in the Champions League, they were runners-up in the competition to Jose Mourinho’s Porto in 2004. After that night in Germany though, the downfall began. Mid-table finishes coupled with financial problems led to their relegation at the end of the 2010/11 season. Ligue 2 beckoned for the club which once stood shoulder to shoulder with European powerhouses like Real Madrid and Chelsea.
2011 was a year of change for Monaco. Dmitry Rybolovlev became the majority shareholder of the club. He couldn’t help the club surviving in the league as Monaco were relegated to Ligue 2. But the Russian billionaire promised to take the club back to the place where it belonged, back in Ligue 1 and back to in Europe’s top tier in the Champions League. Claudio Ranieri was appointed as the manager and his task was to take Monaco back into Ligue 1. Armed with Rybolovlev’s cash, Monaco won Ligue 2 at the first time of asking and got promoted to Ligue 1 for the 2013/14 season.
Once promotion was secured, Rybolovlev’s grand vision of taking Monaco back to dizzy heights was set in motion. The task given to Ranieri was simple, to challenge PSG for the title and qualify for the Champions League.
With an almost bottomless pit of cash available for player purchases, some of the best players were targeted by the club. Players like Radamel Falcao, Jeremy Toulalan, Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez were signed for astronomical prices for a club just promoted to the top tier of the French league. Monaco broke their transfer records multiple times in the same transfer window.
Not only did Monaco sign star players as a statement to announce their arrival on the big stage, they also signed players needed in the right areas to make them a strong team as well as contenders for the title. Players like Geoffrey Kondogbia, Lucas Oscampos, Isimit–Marin and Eric Abidal were signed to improve the depth as well as add steel in to the Monaco side. With a raft of new signings made, players who helped achieve Monaco promotion the previous season were either released or sold to make room for the new signings.
The main challenge for Ranieri was to integrate the players into the squad so that the team could start performing and start delivering what was expected from them from the word go. Ranieri had the experience of integrating a team under a Russian Billionaire owner at Chelsea, so his handling of the team and the new players has been fantastic as the squad started gelling as the season progressed and the performances improving every week.
Monaco started the season with a 2-0 win against Bordeaux at the Stade Chaban-Delmas. With a set of tough fixtures to follow, Monaco navigated through the first five fixtures of the season picking 13 points out of a possible 15 points. Then came the game that the entire league was waiting for. The battle of the wealthiest teams in the league. PSG vs AS Monaco was dubbed as the Clasico of Ligue 1 as the winner of these games in the league would probably have an upper hand in the title race.
At the full time whistle, the clubs couldn’t be separated as the match ended in a 1-1 draw. With no European distraction like PSG, Monaco have been able to concentrate solely on the league and domestic cup competitions this year. With big clubs all over Europe taking note of Monaco’s financial as well as squad strength, Monaco’s rise in France will be complete if they can challenge PSG and end their superiority in Ligue 1.
With Monaco playing steadily in the league and challenging PSG, their aim of getting back to the Champions League is now a reality. It has been a season of cheer for Monaco and their fans so far with the club playing an attractive style of football at the iconic Stade Louis II.
At this rate of growth and stability, Monaco have the ability to challenge PSG for supremacy in France for a long time and perhaps start challenging European powerhouses in the Champions League as well as in the transfer market for the best players.A return to the Champions League will complete Monaco’s return from the dead for good.
