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The French Union of Professional Footballers, as every year, announced the best players and coach of the season in "Ligue 1".
The best player of the French championship this year was Brazilian Juninho Pernambucano, leader of "Lyon" who won his fifth consecutive championship title. The 31-year-old midfielder demonstrated excellent form throughout the season and helped his team win the French championship gold and reach the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, where they were narrowly defeated by the Milan players.
For the fourth consecutive season, the best goalkeeper was another "Lyon" player, Gregory Coupet. The 33-year-old goalkeeper of the French national team once again proved this season that he is one of the best not only in his home country but also in Europe. Coupet is considered one of the main candidates to occupy the goalkeeper position in the French national team at the World Cup in Germany.
"I am very happy to receive this award and I hope it will help me become the main goalkeeper of the French national team," said Coupet. "If it doesn't happen, I think I would need some time to recover and rethink everything."
"Lyon" also competed for the title of best coach of the year, but this year it was awarded to the excellent "Lille" coach Claude Puelis, who led his team throughout the season. Teams led by Puelio's "Lille" players this season secured 16 victories and are currently in third place in the league table.
It is worth mentioning that in the last "Ligue 1" round, "Lille" defeated Gerardo Houllier's "Lyon" players 4-0.
