

Matchday 23: The 32 Goal Weekend
Lots of goals this weekend, more than on any individual weekend last season. However, it should be noted that 35 goals were scored on week six at the beginning of the season (which was a week before this blog was reestablished). Here are all of the goals from this beautiful (in California) first weekend of February (with the exception of Grenoble 5-0 Auxerre which I covered in my last post).
Boulogne 0-2 Montpellier
Montpellier narrowed the gap at the top, keeping the pressure on Bordeaux whose eight point lead has evaporated to a three point lead after their loss to Rennes later that same day. Interesting that this match was covered on ESPN Deportes…
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Grenoble 5-0 Auxerre
By: Thomas |
8 ‘ LJUBOJA
10 ‘ AKROUR
36 ‘ MATSUI
42 ‘ AKROUR
53 ‘ MATSUI
In a spectacular day of Ligue 1 action, the standout match was last place Grenoble’s drubbing of sixth place Auxerre. The home side knocked in five goals without reply, astounding everyone, even the most die hard home fan. [...]
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Ligue 1 Liveblog: Lyon vs. PSG
By: Thomas |Come join us about 15 minutes before the match for a liveblog of the Battle of the Underachievers. Liveblog: Lyon vs. PSG
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Ligue 1: Sarah’s 10 Biggest Moments of the Decade (4-1)
By: Sarah |And the countdown continues- though I have a feeling that the order of these will be slightly more controversial…
4. Roughly 2004- 2010 – The nurturing, growth and success of the next generation of best players in the game (Benzema, Nasri, Ben [...]
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Best of the Decade Awards: Ligue 1 Foreign Players
By: Thomas |

We’re continuing the Decade Awards series with an overall award for player of the decade, broken down into Foreign Player of the Decade and French Player of the Decade. The winner of each poll will be put into [...]
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Ligue 1: Sarah’s 10 Biggest Moments of the Decade Countdown (10-5)
By: Sarah |Though we are already into 2010 (sorry! I became busier than I originally anticipated over the holidays and I just couldn’t find the time to get this done!), I still wanted to mark the end of the decade with a reflection on the biggest moments. In the last 10 years, Ligue 1 has truly evolved into [...]
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Liveblog: Girondins de Bordeaux vs. Olympique de Marseille
By: Thomas |Come join us to watch a match that has been billed as a title decider. The liveblog will start ten to fifteen minutes before kickoff. Bordeaux vs. Marseille
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Ligue 1: Matchday 20 Saturday Review
By: Thomas |Montpellier 1-0 Nice
Well, Montpellier seem to have recovered from their match midweek. Victor Hugo Montano seems to think he’s the next Diego Maradona, attempting a “hand of god” that was coolly spotted by the linesman and disallowed. I think we now have conclusive evidence that on current form David Ospina is the [...]
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Earthquake in Haiti: French Football is Helping
By: Thomas |
As many of you have heard, on Tuesday night and on into Wednesday of this week the Caribbean island nation of Haiti was hit by a 7.0 (Richter scale) earthquake, causing devastation in the western hemisphere’s poorest nation. The epicenter of the quake was barely seven miles [...]
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Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
By: Thomas |Here’s a quick roundup of all things Ligue 1 in the past couple days…
Monday, January 11th:
Auxerre 1-0 Amiens (Coupe de France)
Auxerre went through to the French Cup round of 32 with a late Cedric Hengbart header after a largely even game.
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Team News

Happy Birthday Charles Kaboré!
[caption id="attachment_1360" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Just what exactly is going on here? "][/caption]
A very happy birthday as Charles Kaboré turns 22 years old today. If you're wondering as to why out of all OM players I've decided to make an article for Kabore well I'm trying something new for the blog. Basically it give me the excuse to talk about an individual player when its their birthday. Their performance thus far and what we as fans like/dislike about them.

Olympique de Marseille vs Valenciennes: Player ratings
Well my voice is officially gone after today's amazing game. I think this was the most exciting game for me personally even eclipsing the Lyon game. This weeks cup game I believe has been the turn around we needed and with the cup final on the horizon plus the Europa League, things are definitely looking up if not great! As a result of today's excellent performance I've decided to post my own player ratings.
Feb 07, 2010 | Read this article...
Video: Makelele Confronts Fans
After the horror that was the match against Lorient (No, I'm not doing a review, to0 painful) the masses at the Parc were understandably infuriated. They chose the normal path one chooses when incensed at the players and hurled obscenities and jeers at them while they entered the tunnel. Most of the players ingnored them, but Captain Claude decided to have a word, pushing past the overwieght men in orange vests to have a calm conversation (presumably about the problems with the club) with screaming fanatics many of whom had whipped out their cell phones to upload Maka's explanations to youtube (thank you user "matt2784"). I love that instead of yelling right back at the fans, Makelele trys to reason with them in a gentlemanly fashion. Pure class.
Feb 07, 2010 | Read this article...
Starting Lineups for Toulouse vs. Lyon
Well, since today is Super Bowl Day (and on the last Ligue 1 Talk Podcast I predicted a Colts victory 35-17, but I am going for the Saints), I will not be able to join any live discussions for this match. Therefore, I wanted to bring the late breaking news before the start of today's match.
First of all, Colin Kazim-Richards has been praised by Alain Casanova, according to the official Ligue 1 site. As we have mentioned in the past week, his play has been quite good (which I didn't expect). "I think Kazim was one of the few satisfactions in the first half against Marseille in midweek," said Casanova.

TOULOUSE vs. LYON: PUGILISM IN THE PINK CITY
Week 23 - Sunday, February 07, 2010
Le Stade Allée Gabriel Biénés, Toulouse
11:00EST, 10:00CMT (1700 CET, 1600GMT)

Claude Puel: Toulouse a 'team with quality'
Getting ready for the big matchup between Toulouse and Lyon, OL manager Claude Puel knows that his team has to be prepared to play against a Toulouse side that will be looking to avenge their mid-week exit from the League Cup to Marseille.
"They are a team with quality and we know it," he said, according to www.olweb.fr.

Leproux: "The current situation is unacceptable"
“Our current situation is unacceptable. It’s shameful. You have not right to give up when you play for PSG. We have to get out of this situation and everyone needs to take a good long look at themselves. Me included. There will be those that want to fight, to lift, and those that keep on with the same routine. I’m stepping up a gear and with Antoine Kombouaré, we’re going to fight to get the best out of the players that decide to follow. Perhaps I was a little naive in certain analysis. That’s finished now. Even if we have to lower our expectations, its unacceptable to humiliated at the Parc des Princes. We have to change the way we work, our spirit, we need to discover the necessary desire to defend the club’s colors.”
Feb 06, 2010 | Read this article...
Lens-Le Mans (2-1) Victory! Recap
A freezing and foggy Stade Felix Bollaert made for the perfect foil as Lens returned to the win column handing a dreadful Le Mans side another nail with which to seal its coffin.
The final score read 2-1 but when it was all said and done it could have been ...
Feb 06, 2010 | Read this article...
Toulouse vs. Lyon Preview
After a heartbreaking loss to Marseille earlier this week in the semifinals of the League Cup, Toulouse looks to concentrate more on their Ligue 1 season as they will host Lyon at the Stadium Municipal Sunday evening.
While they were the losing side in the Cup match, Toulouse had the better play throughout the 90 minutes. So, even though they have been knocked out, they have a lot to look forward to. And this past lost to Marseille is Le Tef's first loss of 2010.

Cup Glory: A Reality
Years without any silverware may be coming to an end as claiming the Coupe de la Ligue is within our grasp!
Feb 05, 2010 | Read this article...



