Well it seems he made the right choice to quit football, because he could possibly release on to the world three more Zidanes, all equally as graceful and skilled. Scarey isnt it! Dont believe me, watch these:

Wow! Really impresive. Anyone see this coming? Lets hope he continues to progress in one of the worlds best academies, and leads France to glory in another 15 years or so when he is actually 26! Later.

Stade Louis II Monaco 1 - 1 Caen
52′ Frédéric Nimani 1 - 0
75′ 1 - 1 Jerko Leko (og)

Frederic Nimani continued his rich vein of form with anothher goal for Monaco, but it wasnt enough as they threw points away to Caen at home.

Full Review here.

Stade Marcel Picot AS Nancy Lorraine 0 - 0 Toulouse
77′ Issiar Dia (Red Card)

A nil-nil stalemate was always on the cards as these two low scoring sides took each other on. Other then a late red card for Issiar Dia, there was not much to talk about.

Check out a review here.

Jules-Deschaseaux Le Havre AC 0 - 1 Marseille
56′ 0 - 1 Boudewijn Zenden
90′ Ronald Zubar (Red Card)

Marseille labored to a win against promoted side Le Havre with a goal by the forgotten man Bolo Zenden. The lack of offensive punch is clearly evident after the loaning of Djibril Cisse to Sunderland, with Mamadou Niang and Baki Kone still not clicking. The possible arrival of Mamadou Samassa from Le Mans may help things, but I say let Elliot Grandin have a go with a start. Le Havre have had a decent start to their campaign, and will look to nik a point on the road to Nancy next weekend.

Review may be up soon here.

Leon-Bollée Le Mans 1 - 0 St Etienne
38′ Thorstein Helstad 1 - 0

Le Mans got a morale boosting home victory over the impressive St. Etienne with a goal by new boy Thorstein Helstad. Le Mans will look for a further three points next weekend against lowly Nantes, while St. Etienne will need to stay focused to challenge for a European place. The macth, from what I read, was a little dull, but oh well.

Review here.

Stade Bonal Sochaux 1 - 1 PSG
50′ Mevlut Erding (pen) 1 - 0
63′ 1 - 1 Stephane Sessegnon

The less then flashy Sochaux took on the much hyped PSG in an entertaining match that proved two things. PSG still have a ways to go before challenging for the title, and Sochaux should be safe in mid-table come season end.

Review here.

Stade Nungesser Valenciennes 3 - 1 Lorient
3′ Grégory Pujol 1 - 0
32′ Johan Audel 2 - 0
51′ 2 - 1 Kevin Gameiro
90′ Luigi Pieroni 3 - 1

Valenciennes scored 3 goals, which may sound like a lie, but Gregory Pujol and Johan Audel have continued where they left last year with a pair of first half goals. Young promise Kevin Gamiero got off the mark for new club Lorient but it wasnt enough as Luigi Pieroni scored the final goal in stoppage time. Lorient will need to improve, as Christian Gourcuff’s team is looking like a relegation canidate early on.

Review here.

Stade de Gerland Lyon 2 - 0 Grenoble
6′ Jean Makoun 1 - 0
37′ Karim Benzema 2 - 0

Grenoble’s fairy tale entrance into Ligue 1 ended as they were thoroughly beaten by Lyon. Better finishing from Lyon could have seen the score much higher, and Lyon are now the only team to have not conceded a goal this year. Grenoble will look to move on and focus on their next game, at home to Monaco.

Review here.

Route de Lorient Rennes 2 - 1 Lille
34′ 0 - 1 Yohan Cabaye
90′ Bruno Cheyrou 1 - 1
90′ Moussa Sow 2 - 1

Rennes continued to leave it late with two injury time goals to best Lille. Lille boss Fredric Hanz may be feeling the heat a bit after an embaressing loss, but the season is young and both these teams should challenge for a UEFA Cup spot this year.

Review should be up soon here.

Abbe-Deschamps Auxerre 0 - 1 Nice
29′ 0 - 1 Alaeddine Yahia

Welcome the Auxerre Offside everybody, we are continuing to expand our Ligue 1 coverage, and as always if you interested, let me know and Ill try and set you up. Laurie may have something up as well here.

Review here.

Chaban-Delmas Bordeaux 2 - 0 Nantes
6′ Fernando Cavenaghi (pen) 1 - 0
86′ Fernando Menegazzo 2 - 0

The Cavenaghi train keeps a rolling as he scores another goal for Bordeaux as they down sorry Nantes. Nantes boss Mikeal Der Zakarian now faces a gloomy future if his troops cant put 3 points on the board, but to be honest, it looks like one and done for Nantes, who will be heading right back down to Ligue 2.

Review here.

Bakary Koné (Marseille), 12th minute, against Nicolas Douchez
Precise ball from Ben Arfa to Koné in the box, who cuts back and places a powerful left-footed strike in the very top corner.

Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), 53rd minute, against Vincent Planté
Run by Wendel and leaves it for the ex-Milanista who unloads a bastard of a right-footer from the arc to mark his first match with his new club.

Karim Benzema (Lyon), 59th minute, against Cédric Carrasso
Good ball from Govou across into the top of the area, Benzema controls well, volleys a left-footed strike into the back of the net from an uninviting angle.

David De Freitas (Nantes), 67th minute, against Rémy Riou
Without Auxerre applying any pressure, the French midfielder stepped up and struck a great long-range effort into the short side.

Bruno Cheyrou (Rennes), 90th+4 minute, against Steve Mandanda
Great collective goal in a wild finish, crisp passing by Rennes on the right flank, Cheyrou finishes it off with a crucial and well-taken header.

And now the fun part…
Who gets your vote?
( surveys)

Final Abbe-Deschamps Auxerre 2 - 1 Nantes
36′ Ireneusz Jelen 1 - 0
68′ 1 - 1 David De Freitas
72′ Julien Quercia 2 - 1

Nantes blog is coming soon, Aditya will keep us up to date on the Canaries, for now check out this match report.

Final Chaban-Delmas Bordeaux 2 - 1 Caen
14′ 0 - 1 Benjamin Nivet
54′ Yoann Gourcuff 1 - 1
80′ Fernando Cavenaghi 2 - 1

Match Report from the Bordeaux Offside.

Final Jules-Dechasseaux Le Havre AC 1 - 0 Nice
72′ Jean-Michel Lesage 1 - 0

Match Report from the Nice Offside.

Final Leon Bollee Le Mans 0 - 1 Lorient
58′ 0 - 1 Christophe Jallet (pen)

Match Report Here.

Final Stade Louis II Monaco 1 - 0 PSG
79′ Frédéric Nimani 1 - 0

Match Reports from the Monaco Offside and PSG Offside.

Final Marcel-Picot AS Nancy Lorraine 0 - 0 Lille
90′ Adil Rami

No Match Reports but check out the Nancy blog and Lille blog, I am sure Nate and Julien will put something up this week.

Final Route de Lorient Rennes 4 - 4 Marseille
6′ Olivier Thomert 1 - 0
12′ 1 - 1 Bakari Koné
15′ 1 - 2 Hatem Ben Arfa
28′ 1 - 3 Mamadou Niang
51′ Olivier Thomert 2 - 3
89′ Steve Mandanda (og) 3 - 3
90′ 3 - 4 Eliot Grandin
90′ Bruno Cheyrou 4 - 4

Magnusson wants to talk about the game here.

Final Auguste-Bonal Sochaux 1 - 2 Grenoble
78′ Mevlut Erding 1 - 0
87′ 1 - 1 Nassim Akrour
89′ 1 - 2 Daniel Moreira

If anyone wants to blog for Sochaux or Grenoble let me know. Match Report here.

Final Stade Nungesser Valenciennes 1 - 0 St Etienne
27′ Gaël Danic (pen) 1 - 0

Match Report here. Not sure if the St. Etienne Offside will have something up for it.

Final Municipal De Gerland Lyon 3 - 0 Toulouse
12′ Jean Makoun 1 - 0
58′ Karim Benzema 2 - 0
66′ Karim Benzema 3 - 0

Match Report on the Lyon Offside.

As we did last year when Sam and I were a team (ohh how I miss the days you willy Canadian), we will have a goal of the week competition, but since at work I cant access Daily Motion to get clips, it will have to wait til I get home tonight. Enjoy!

(Note, I am a little behind because Ligue 2 and National have already begun)

Saturday 08/09/08

Auxerre v Nantes

15:00 ET Chaban-Delmas Bordeaux v Caen

15:00 ET Jules-Dechasseaux Le Havre AC v Nice

15:00 ET Leon Bollee Le Mans v Lorient

15:00 ET Stade Louis II Monaco v PSG

15:00 ET Marcel-Picot AS Nancy Lorraine v Lille

15:00 ET Route de Lorient Rennes v Marseille

15:00 ET Auguste-Bonal Sochaux v Grenoble

15:00 ET Stade Nungesser Valenciennes v St Etienne

Sunday 08/10/08

15:00 ET Stade de Gerland Lyon v Toulouse

I would say its always fun to watch the promoted teams play their first game in the top flight. So Le Harve and Nantes, even though having played in the top flight before, will be good games, as Auxerre and Nice, their opponents respectively, will give them a good test. But personally, the pick of the new boys is the Grenoble vs. Sochaux match at the Auguste Bonal. Grenoble is one of those teams you just hate to cheer against, so lets hope they get off on the right foot.

Bordeaux, Marseille and PSG all have hefty expectations for this year as usual, as someone has to stop Lyon from an 8th consecutive title. I think the PSG vs. Monaco game at the Louis II will be the highlight match of the round. PSG has signed a number of good players, while Monaco has basically guarenteed another midtable year, so its all on PSG to come out of the starting gate flying.

Of course the closest resemblance of a match between two top teams is Rennes vs. Marseille at the Stade de Route de Lorient. Rennes have not made to much noise in the transfer market, but the group they have returning was dangerous, if sometime lathargic last year. Marseille will have a debut for new boy Hatem Ben Arfa, which is worth a gander as well, to see if he does any tricks, or punches a team mate.

And of course the Trophee Champion is Bordeaux this year, beating Lyon on PKs. They open up against Caen at home, and they will look to start well in anticipation of their Champions League campaign as well as hot favorites to give Lyon a run for their money. The problem with all of these games? They all are being played at the same time, so decisions decisions. My pick, Grenoble Sochaux, hey you can see PSG or Bordeaux play any day, but Grenobles first match in Ligue 1 in what seems like forever should not be missed.

And on Sunday we have Lyon vs. Tolouse at the Gerland. Since its the only match on Sunday, its a must see! But it will be interesting to see how Les Gones respond to the Trophee loss in what has been a rather disjointed preseason for them. Tolouse on the other hand will have to plow along without Elmander who moved to Bolton, and who will be hosting Arribage’s final season as a footballer, after a very long carrer with only Tolouse and Rennes. Have a good one Dominique!

Of course we all remember PSG were banned from the 2008/2009 edition of the tournament after a section of their fans held up a banner during the Coupe final against Lens which said ‘Paedophiles, unemployed, inbreeding, welcome to the North’. (Distasteful to say the least).

Yesterday the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) asked the FFF to reconsider the ban and called for PSG to be reinstated to the competition. The FFF dont like to be undermined, and have upheld the decision after an emergency meeting on this morning, rejecting outright CNOSF’s suggestion that PSG play a Ligue 1 match behind closed doors as an alternative punishment.

‘The Board have refused the proposal of replacing the ban on PSG from the Coupe de la Ligue 2008/09 with the obligation on the Parisian club to play behind closed doors a league match at the beginning of this season’, read a statement posted on the FFF website.

‘It considered that the punishment of a ban from the next Coupe de la Ligue, taking by the Disciplinary Commission of the LFP and confirmed by the Appeals Commission, constitutes an appropriate sanction to the specific nature and seriousness of the facts.

‘It equally considered that since these happened in the Coupe de la Ligue, it was logical and fitting that the punishment involved the Coupe de la Ligue and not French championship Ligue 1.’

So PSG will not play in the Coupe this year, unable to defend their title. I think its fair punishment, PSG must be held responsible for their radical fans, especially at a cup final like that. Up next, is the rather exhausting transfer saga that is Jimmy Briand. These words are from his own mouth:

‘I extended last summer so as not to stay with only one year on my contract and so it would allow the club to get some money from my departure,’ Briand told Le Parisien. ‘We had a deal.

‘By nature I’m an optimist. I hope everything will be sorted as soon as possible, even if the transfer market is open until August 31.’

‘I’m in the same frame of mind as I have been since I came back from holiday,’ he added. ‘And even if I am back in training with Rennes, I have already thought of myself as Parisian for many weeks now.

‘I’m a pro therefore I’ll do pre-season properly but I won’t play for Rennes anymore. That’s categorical. I’ve repeated that to the coach, the president and the sporting director.’

‘Because of the way in which all this has happened and the remarks made, I feel betrayed. From that point, I can’t give myself any more to a club that lied to me.

‘My words are strong because I’m not in the frame of mind to play here anymore.

‘I was disappointed when the directors told me they didn’t want to let me go anymore.

‘They knew last season that I would leave this summer, so it was up to them to anticipate it.’

‘Everyone needs to do some effort,’ he added. ‘In relation to their first offer, PSG have progressed.

‘Today, Rennes have dug their heels in a bit over the price. But I have good faith that everyone will revise their position.

‘If Rennes decide not to let me leave, I won’t leave. But I will fight until August 31 to go.

‘While waiting, I don’t want to play [for Rennes] or appear on a team-sheet.’

PSG is said to have increased their offer to 8.5 million euros, which Rennes is flatly refused. After the somewhat idiotic bargaining position of Maurice Cohen, president of Nice, over the Baky Kone transfer to Marseille, it looks like Rennes is following suit. They are asking for an amount that does not represent the price of the player, even with the agreed upon release of the player by Rennes management. Is Ligue fastly becoming the EPL, where small clubs hold bigger clubs randsom for players, only drive up the price when they look to buy players as well? Or is this the best way for the big clubs to compensate the smaller clubs, so that they stay economically viable and competitive on the field? A difficult question indeed…

Also in the offing for PSG is Ludovic Giuly. At 32, he is a youngster to Thuram and Makelele, and should provide some width on the right that the club has lacked for awhile. He could also play as the second striker with Luyindula or Hoarau(or Pauleta if he returns). He will also hope that old friend Jerome Rothen will return to some sort of form he showed at Monaco with him, and that PSG can be a contender for the title this year.

With the signings of Hoarau and Sessegnon to add to these three veterans, PSG has put together a decent squad for the upcoming campaign. I still doubt their strength at right back, while a more creative central player wouldnt be a bad addition. Jimmy Brian’s protracted move keeps swaying back in forth between Rennes and PSG, so we will have to see about that, but for once, will PSG live up to the hype it gets? Or will it be battling relegation for yet another season? Cant wait for the season to get under way!

Also, I would like to announce that despite my partner in crime Sam taking copious amounts of time off (I am guilty here too, I was gone for like 3 months) to work on his band, his thriving life in Canada etc. I will be looking for a co-blogger as well. As my main priorities are of course with the Real Madrid page, I cant provide the content I would like to see on the main France page. If your interested, again, you know where to find me.

Now for the good stuff, I am going to begin a player profile once a week (hopefully) of interesting, and more importantly, lesser known players in Ligue 1. The posts will commence next week, with Mathieu Coutaduer starting us off. If you have a particular player you would like to know more about, let me know and I will see what I can do. Until then, have a good weekend.

So here is a lowdown of all the transfer activity that is going on in France right now as the country celebrates its birthday.

First, there is the hilarious, yet resounding move that Marseille fans have made by starting an online collection to raise the funds needed to buy Didier Drogba from Chelsea. Having raised only 1.5 million euros so far, that doesnt seem like happening. But the point has been raised, that Marseille fans dont agree with Pape Diouf and his small minded transfer moves (small because he wants to recruit tiny Baky Kone and the somewhat short Ben Arfa has already been added).

Next up, is the strange sequence of events that is Oscar Ewolo’s contract dispute/transfer plea with Lorient. He has said he was promised a new contract, but that has yet to materialize from the Lorient management, so he wants a transfer. But that has also been held up by some strange circumstances, most notable Lille’s ability to get Rio Mavuba from Vilarreal and Rennes ability to hold on to Stephane M’Bia. He look set to stay with Lorient this year and probably get a contract, but not in the time frame he wanted.

People are still linking Claude Makelele with PSG. I dont see how, its obvious Big Phil will use Mak often this upcoming year, but since Thuram signed, and Giuly looks a good bet to as well, then why not Claude. I give it a 1-100 chance, but you never know.

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Nice is being linked with RC Lens Aruna Dindane as a replacement for Baky Kone. If Dindane could stay healthy, this would be a very astute signing, but considering Lens relegation, the bargain bin clear out will have to happen eventually.

Sticking with Lens, Olivier Monterubbio is being eyed by Lorient, in what would be another great addition to an already improved side. I expect Lorient to finish just outside of a European spot, but Christian Gourcuff is doing some excellent work, especially the signing of Gameiro.

With Hilton having moved to Marseille, and Nadir Belhadj looking like he ill leave for the EPL, Verdan Runje is being conveted by Lille, who are in need of a goal keeper. They are also heavily linked with Anti Niemi of Fulham, who curriosly is being linked to Juventus of all places.

Stephen Lichsteiner’s proposed transfer to PSG may be hijacked by Lazio, as the interest in the Swiss defender slowly increases.

Yoann Demont is being pursued by Valenciennes, who is also putting together a solid, if unspectaular team.

Stepeh Sessegnon has been unveiled by PSG, but Marko Basa has yet to sign for the Parisiens.

Monaco is being linked with former Lyon and current Juventus bust Tiago. No word on whether Monaco will firm up their interest in Freddy Adu.

Nicolas Marin is interesting Martin O’Neil of Aston Villa, while Good Ole’ arry likes Jeremy Menez and may submit a bid this week.

Achille Emana may finally move to Real Betis this week, while Salim Arrache will be disguarded by Marseille to Grenoble.

Seb Squillaci should complete his move to Sevilla today, who also are interest in Stephane M’Bia, which means a move for Oscar Ewolo may take place, but also leaves the door open to Lyon moving for John Mensah, with Rennes expecting to look outside France for a new center back. Chain of events or numerous random occurences?

And finally, Jimmy Briand, much like Baky Kone, is in dispute with his club over a proposed move to PSG, with Rennes wanting more money then offered or a move outside of France. This one will probably go down to the wire, but the talented hitman will hope to move somewhere he can further cement a place with Les Blues.

Phewww, I am out of breath. Let me know what you think of all these moves.

First, we have a couple of new blogs.

It was only a matter of time before Martha was drawn into a French club blog, and we are happy to have her. Welcome the Nice Offside:

The same is true for Jennifer, who will keep us updated on Bordeaux, as they put together a very strong team to challenge Lyon for the title this year (and she will keep us up to date on the life of Henri Saivet!). Welcome the Bordeuax Offside:

Next up is some great coverage of the offseason in Ligue 1.

Julien is celebrating France’s birthday with a post:

Magnusson has a look at the ‘Drogbathon’ that Marseille fans have cooked up in order to get Pape Diouf to listen to them, as well as the pain of loosing Samir Nasri (but gaining a Hatem Ben Arfa):

Inara and John have been dutefully putting up training picks and pre-season match recaps, while also exploring the empty void that is the lose of Hatem Ben Arfa:

It seems Richard of St. Etienne and Shazback of Rennes have taken a summer vacation to be with their WAGs, but they should be back soon enough. We need a PSG and Monaco blogger first and foremost, if you are interested, email me, or skip the middle man and email Daryl@theoffside.com and tell him your interested. Enjoy the week!