Why French Club soccer can't compete in Europe
If I'm not mistaken, and please correct me if I'm wrong, the last French team to even make a Final was Bordeaux in 1996, when they eventually lost to Bayern Munich. This seems like quite a long time for the league to go without any important success.
Is it a financial issue? Could the French economy really be any worse off than the Italians or the Spaniards? It can't be a question of talent in the country considering the French won the 98 WC and the 2000 EC. Is it because these players ply their trades elsewhere?
I really can't put my finger on this one and would like to know some opinions as to why the French Le Championnat is second tier when it comes to Europe, lagging well behind the EPL, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A.
You may now enlighten me...
But why the lousy attitude? Still a mystery if you ask me.
Hence PSG, OL, OM tend to win their fair share of championships but nowhere near the dominance that the major clubs in Italy, Germany, Spain, England, Holland, or Portugal. The trade off is that small teams have the ability to compete, making every campaign interesting. The down side is that French teams suffer at the hands of the big European clubs.
I'm not sure about this, but I heard that there was a French law regarding very strict financial constraints preventing clubs from spending more than a percentage of their total assests.
Nice was in the 2nd division last year.
Theres also a mentality in France which Luis Fernandez has exemplified: In Spain you ask a guy to do something, he does it, and askes you why afterwards. In France, you ask a player to do something, he askes you why, and contemplates doing it. A lot of players in France also seem to be on vacation all the time but do show occasional flashes of brilliance.
Then theres the obvious fact that other clubs buy our superstars at a young age.
Marseille was the last team to be in a final (UEFA cup) in 1998 agaisnt Parma in Moscow, a game they could have won but they were missing a ************ load of good players.
It's definitly not a lack of talent, had the Bosnan ruling not happened, the French league would be on par with the best of the best. Sure you say the big leagues make them better, but if the countless numbers of players didnt leave France, competition would be to great, players would know their place on the team is not assured, therefore forcing them to play up tp their potential all the time.
Thats my opinion, i may be wrong.
I think you have to be a citizen of Monaco to not pay taxes, the football players are generally not citizens so i think they still get taxed, someone correct me if i'm wrong here. I know the money comes from the casino, since Monaco has a fan base of about 7,000.
Guingamp is currently tied for 2nd place in the league. If this was another country no way a minnow like that could be that high. Guimgamp, Nice, Sochaux all way ahead of PSG how embarassing.
Like Rayo Vallecano leading the Primera Liga in December of 1998?
Like Chievo Verona in 2nd place in December of 2001?
So yeah the French teams dont have the wealth to compete with the big boys but they also lose a lot of games to teams they should beat. The attitude and effort of the players needs to be questioned. Also the typical French soccer fan isnt as rabid and crazy as other countrys fans so if the players falter on the field the pressure isn't as great as it would be elsewhere.
Another major factor is that most clubs are owned in whole or in part by their local municipalities. This results in the French leagues favoring parity (lowest common denominator) and exciting seasons versus the development of two or three 'super clubs'. This results in salaries not being on par with the big European clubs.
Hence PSG, OL, OM tend to win their fair share of championships but nowhere near the dominance that the major clubs in Italy, Germany, Spain, England, Holland, or Portugal. The trade off is that small teams have the ability to compete, making every campaign interesting. The down side is that French teams suffer at the hands of the big European clubs.
I'm not sure about this, but I heard that there was a French law regarding very strict financial constraints preventing clubs from spending more than a percentage of their total assests.
You're totally right there, there are no Reals, man yoos, or bayerns here, a bunch of teams can compete to win the league, thats what i like about the French league (to a certain extent).
I was very disappointed at our results in Europe this year, Lyon had the team to go far in the ECL, PSG & Bordeaux could have also done something in the UEFA cup, i dont know what the hell happened. We can say it was kind of a fluke, i think next year we'll do better, because this year we've reached the bottom, it doesnt get worse than this.
Like sportsboy said, French teams often don't take their oponents seriously, this mentality has to change.
But we've had Heerenveen (a town of about 15.000) come in 2nd and qualify for CL.
We've had Willem 2 in the CL.
Last season Heerenveen - Ajax .... 5-1.
And small time teams like RBC and RKC have a reputation of giving the big 3 a good run for their money at home for a sold our stadium (3000 and 5000).
We have the same trouble as the French have except that most French clubs have larger fanbases. And I think French clubs have a bit more money than Dutch clubs.
Still, the quality of French football is quite good. In general I would say higher than Dutch.
So why you do not perform well in Europe... it's a mystery.
I suppose it's the same type of situation for the Argentinians and Brazilians, but the contrast there is not as great because there aren't any other leagues immediately around them that are so wealthy and higher profiled like in Europe.
Do you know if players in Monaco have this same problem with the tax system? If I recall correctly, many big name athletes in Europe officially call Monaco home because of their tax laws - does this apply to team's players as well? I remember when Monaco was very strong a few years back with Henry, Lambert, Sonny Anderson and Ikpeba up front - did something change and that's why the team broke up?
Anyway, thanks for all the info and I'd appreciate many more responses and opinions.
Alot (not all) of the big named clubs have quite a few foreign based players.
Pochetino/Arg, Ronaldihno/Bra, Gallardo/Arg, Anderson/Bra, Edmilson/Bra, Fernandao/Bra, Sychev/Rus, Pauletta/Por, Savio/Bra, Cardetti/Arg,
Nonda/Rdc, Zicos/Gre, Juninho/Bra.
Established French players who look like they will stay:
Carriere, Guily, Lebeef, etc.
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