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This weekend, the match between "Nantes" and "Lyon" teams marks the beginning of the 2006/2007 French Championship - the battle in stadiums will involve the 20 most powerful "Ligue 1" teams. EuroFootball.com will try to briefly introduce you to the goals of each team before the start of the new season.
Last season: 14th place Coach: Serge Le Dizet "Nantes" is the last club to have won the "Ligue 1" championship before five consecutive "Lyon" titles. However, last season was not very successful for the team, and this year, losing two key players, goalkeeper Mickael Landreau and midfielder Jeremy Toulalan, the club will have to fight even harder to maintain its position in the middle of the standings.
Compared to the previous season, the team has been joined by two new players - Serbian youth national team goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovič and former "Ajax" midfielder Moroccan Nourdine Boukhari.
Last season: 8th place Coach: Frederic Antonetti Despite a modest budget, Nice club exceeded expectations last season, finishing in 8th place in the standings and reaching the League Cup final, where they lost to "Nancy". This season, a relatively young team led by coach Frederic Antonetti hopes to compete just as successfully and finish in the top half of the standings.
Last season: 9th place Coach: Guy Lacombe After performing poorly for the second consecutive year, the Paris club managed to survive last season by winning the French Cup and thus earning the right to play in the UEFA Cup tournament. Despite not significantly strengthening in the offseason, PSG's owners made a significant move by keeping their attacking leader, Portuguese Pedro Pauleta, who was the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season and was actively sought after by "Lyon".
Last season: 7th place Coach: Pierre Dreossi In the past two seasons, "Rennes" surprised many football experts with successful performances, but this year it will be very difficult for the team to repeat the success of the previous seasons. The club not only lost talented coach Laszlo Boloni who moved to Monaco, but also three key players - midfielders Kim Kallstrom and Yohann Gourcuff, and forward Alexander Frejus.
Last season: 13th place Coach: Ivan Hašek After winning in 1981, a title-winning club of France starts the new season with a new coach - Czech Ivan Hašek. In the offseason, the team lost one of its main players, midfielder Didier Zokora, who moved to Tottenham, so many football experts believe that fans will have to wait until the team starts showing the form it showed in the past decade.
Last season: Promoted from "Ligue 2" Coach: Serge Romano After a three-year hiatus, the team returned to "Ligue 1" with a limited budget and humble composition this season, hoping to be able to resist more strongly in the fight for survival in the highest division of French football.
Last season: 15th place Coach: Alain Perrin The winners of the 2004 League Cup and participants of the 2004 and 2005 UEFA Cup, the Sochaux players have failed to seriously resist the strongest teams in the league in the past two seasons, so before this season they made the necessary conclusions and are ready to fight again only for victories. Led by former Marseille and Portsmouth coach Alain Perrin, the team is showing good form in preseason matches and should be a tough opponent for any Ligue 1 club.
Last season: 16th place Coach: Elie Boup One of the most famous French rugby clubs look completely different on the football field. For several seasons in a row, Toulouse has been fighting only for survival in Ligue 1, and it wouldn't be surprising if it is the same this season. In the offseason, the team was reinforced by two players - Brazilian defender Fabinho and Swedish striker Johan Elmander, who is expected to become the team's attacking leader.
Last season: 17th place Coach: Jean-Marc Furlan Escaping relegation to Ligue 2 by a hair last season, Troyes almost did not strengthen in the offseason, so the club is facing another particularly difficult season and fight to avoid relegation. The only player who joined the club in the summer is former Auxerre player Yann Lachuer.
Last season: Promoted from "Ligue 2" Coach: Antoine Kambouare After a 13-year break, the northern French club finally returned to Ligue 1, after in 1993 they were embroiled in one of the biggest football scandals along with Marseille. Moreover, in 1997 Valenciennes was relegated to the third division of France due to financial reasons and lost its professional club status. However, now the team is back among the strongest French clubs and promises not to surrender easily, but to seriously fight in every match.
