Football Journey: November 2015

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

French football was rising, but in its peculiar way – no trully dominant super-clubs emerged. Thus, doubles were rarely possible and no matter how strong particular club was at any given year, they were not overwhelming. A bit shaky St. Etienne and strong, but somewhat lacking depth Nantes were good in the championship, but the cup was too much. Other clubs reached the final. One was absolute surprise, for they played a minor role in the second division. AS Monaco vs US Orleans. For a second consecutive year one of the finalists was second division club. But if Auxerre was climbing up, Orleans was not. It took overtime to overcome Auxerre the previous year – now Orleans was not a problem. Monaco won 3-1.

Albaladejo - Bodji - Plissonneau - Germain - Lemée - Viot
Berthouloux - Drouet - Loukaka - Hamerschmitt – Marette

Naturally, Orleans deserves praise – it was fantastic run for a lowly club. Unfortunately, heroics were not enough – as a smallish second-division team, Orleans lacked strong enough players. Albaladejo and Loukaka were the only faintly recognizable names. But playing at the final was great and memorable event. Too bad they had no chance of winning.

Monaco won the Cup easily, thus finishing the season on more than bright note. Onnis, Dalger, Petit, Ettori, Emon... good players, but the their number was a bit small for staying among the favourites without a boost. The Cup was the needed boost, yet, the team needed re-enforcement. Dalger, Emon, and Onnis were getting old – the whole attacking line. Beating Orleans was one thing, but for the next year at least one, may be two new strikers were a must. But never mind the next season – this one finished wonderfully.