The French national team is the 'creme de la creme,' if you will, of international football. They have just won the World Cup, are coming off a runner-up medal at Euro 2016, and are already the favorites for Euro 2020. And yet, of the 'big five' leagues, their domestic Ligue One gets the most criticism and is looked down upon the most. How much of that is fair criticism? How much is misplaced? Can Ligue One's stigma change? That is what I'll attempt to look at.
The French Nationals and the Player Problem:
The blame certainly cannot lie with the players, and I think criticisms, even over-exaggerated ones like "farmer's league," are very harsh to the players in Ligue One. The vast majority of all players on the national team that won the World Cup, with the exception of Lucas Hernandez, all spent the majority of their youth careers in France. For any criticism anyone may have, one that is not generally levied is that the country itself does not produce great players. The problem is retaining them domestically. PSG has the finances and ambition to serve as a big world player, but aside from them, sides like Lyon and Monaco, who have both been to European semi-finals within the past two years, see their top players go off to bigger clubs around the world.
Of the 23 players in the World Cup squad, just nine were on a French team at the time of the World Cup. This is a stark contrast from any other national side with a big five league, who of the three in the World Cup (Germany, Spain, England) averaged 18 domestic players in their 23-man squad. Furthermore, let's take a look at the nine Ligue One players in the French side.
First are the three PSG men: Presnel Kimpembe, Kylian Mbappe, and Areola. Mbappe was snagged away from Monaco's league-winning side, Kimpembe is a young talent for PSG, and Areola was named to the World Cup side as a third keeper having never had a French cap and losing his starting spot to Gigi Buffon this season on the club level. So of the three PSG men, the two more 'home grown' of the players did not play a key role for the World Cup side, and the third was poached from another French club like other leagues' sides do to the sides like Monaco, who were Mbappe's original senior club.
Speaking of Monaco, let's look at the rest of the French domestic players, starting with their star man Thomas Lemar. He was sent to Atletico Madrid shortly after the World Cup's conclusion. Likewise, Lyon's Nabil Fekir was a medical concern away from moving to Liverpool before the World Cup even started. Steve Mandanda and Florin Thauvin, both of Marseille, both moved to English sides from Marseille (Crystal Palace and Newcastle, respectively) before moving back following a lack of success for varying reasons: for Mandanda it was a combination of injuries and reported homesickness, for Thauvin it was general struggles on the pitch as well as criticism off the pitch. Regardless, Thauvin was also linked to Roma this summer as well. Marseille's Adil Rami achieved notoriety at Lille before ventured into Spain and Italy for another challenge. He is back in France now at the age of 33. Finally, we have Djibril Sidibe, Monaco's 26-year-old right back who has spent his whole career in France, but is currently in Monaco's revolving right back door.
Of the 23 men on the World Cup squad, just four have spent their entire careers in France, two of them are under 23, and one literally had a transfer announcement video filmed for him with a club in another country. Compared to the English side where players will generally play their entire careers in the country, or at least the best years of their career before moving to another side, ala Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and Wayne Rooney, this is a massive difference. It only makes sense that a league that has a tough time keeping its top national players will struggle in terms of credibility. Still, that does not answer the question of how sides like the aforementioned Lyon and Monaco get these quality players in the first place.
Poaching Talent and Production -- A Focus on Lyon and Monaco:
The key to this is two things, an eye for talent, and a fantastic youth set-up. These two things play right into each other, and perhaps no teams do this better than Lyon and Monaco. Monaco's title-winning side was littered with talented players. Vital players from the side that are no longer with the club include Mbappe and Lemar, but also Benjamin Mendy and Bernando Silva (both to Manchester City), Fabinho (Liverpool), Tiemoue Bakayoko (Chelsea), Joao Moutinho (Wolves), and Guido Carrillo (Southampton). But even with all these movers and shakers, Monaco does brilliantly to replace them. Finishing second the next year, they acquired Stevan Jovetic (Inter Milan), Youri Tielemans (Anderlecht), Rachid Ghezzal (Lyon), Adama Diakhaby (Stade Rennes), Keita Balde (Lazio) and future prospect Pietro Pellegri (Genoa) that summer.
Even before this season, despite losing Ghezzal and Diakhaby after just one year, and losing Fabinho, Lemar, and Moutinho from the title-winning side, they have recovered. This summer they've signed Russian World Cup starlet Aleksandar Golovin (CSKA Moscow) and Benjamin Henrichs (Bayer Leverkusen), both who figure into immediate-future plans for the club, but have also signed seasonal regulars Jean-Eudes Aholou (Strasbourg), Antonio Barreca (Torino), Samuel Grandsir (Troyes), and another youth star in Willem Geubbels (Lyon). It's an eye for talent that has kept Monaco at the foreground of Ligue One so heavily and they've done very well in that aspect of the game. But with this shows another separate note for the French league.
Players like Aholou start with lesser-known French sides, in his case, Lille, another club with plenty of of young talent having gone through their ranks, then, because Monaco have the money and talent evaluating skills, they join a club like Monaco who are known for giving players a stage to perform. Those who do well with a side like them often see themselves moving onward and upwards. It's a vicious cycle that can be regularly seen with Benfica too in Liga NOS, and can be seen with players on clubs not even from France. There is also something to be said of Lyon's ability to do something quite similar as Monaco.
Lyon has more historical success than any other club in Ligue One history, including PSG, with their run of seven straight Ligue One titles from 2001-02 to 2007-08. They have taken a step back with the rise of PSG and Monaco's more recent success, but their player development remains perhaps the strongest in all of Ligue One. Historical successes through the youth ranks include some of the world's best players: Alexandre Lacazette, Karim Benzema, Maxime Gonalons, Anthony Martial, Samuel Umtiti, Nabil Fekir, and Corentin Tolisso. They also were absolutely essential in the development of Hugo Lloris, Dejan Lovren, and Miralem Pjanic, and also were key in developing some lesser stars like Mouctar Diakhaby and Clinton N'Jie. None of these players (of course, excluding Fekir) are still with the club.
Looking at this list perhaps no club, with the exception of Schalke 04 in Germany, have produced this many quality players. Again, just as with Monaco, if you perform at the stage that Lyon is on, you will be discovered by other clubs. Recently, Lyon have done brilliantly to bring in some young players cast off from top European clubs and allowed them to shine. Bertrand Traore has moved from Chelsea and become vital on the right wing with 15 league goals already in just 32 Ligue One matches. Memphis Depay flopped at Manchester United, but with Lyon has rehabbed his career image and could see himself move away from Lyon next summer. Mariano never did anything of note at Madrid, spent a season with Lyon, and has made the move back to Madrid this summer in a great bit of business for Lyon.
Still, the homegrown talent and French players brought in from other clubs are still just as prevalent in the current side. Lucas Tousart and Martin Terrier were brought in from Lille and have been mainstays in the Lyon line-up; Tousart for a full season in midfield, Terrier being brought in this year to play on the left wing. Ferland Mendy has been a top class left back having been brought in from Le Havre. Youth players featuring heavily for Lyon also include Houssem Aouar in midfield, starting keeper Anthony Lopes, veteran midfielder Jordan Ferri, and young striker Amine Gouiri. But even as shown with Ghezzal and Geubbels moving to Monaco, they are not immune to players leaving their club for sides like Monaco who are just a couple steps ahead of them in France. The overarching point of this as a whole is that even clubs who make the Champions League or European competition, and compete in them, on a regular basis out of Ligue One are still in danger of losing players.
This is not just a problem for Lyon and Monaco. A club like Nice has lost Jean Michael Seri (Fulham), Alassane Plea (Borussia Monchengladbach), and Nampalys Mendy (Leicester) to other leagues. They are a prime target as well to lose more players with the brilliant young defender Malang Sarr and top attacking players Allan Saint-Maxim (an ex-Monaco player) and Wylan Cyprien. Malcom moved from Bordeaux to Barcelona in a move that surprised some given that he was expected to move to Roma. Lille sent four players out each to a different top four league. Andre Zambo Anguissa moved from Marseille to Fulham while the French club brought in a capable replacement in Kevin Strootman. This is really just scraping the top of the barrel in terms of player transfers for Ligue One clubs, many have been given very sizable fees for their top players.
The Other Clubs and Players:
As you've noticed by my references to Monaco and Lyon transfers and in discussing other moves, plenty of players have made moves to these larger French clubs from relatively smaller clubs. This is not even clubs like Lille who seemingly mass produce players fit for higher reputation teams, the best example being Eden Hazard, but even Ligue Two teams. Everyone knows about Riyad Mahrez's move from Le Havre in Ligue Two to becoming one of the Premier League's best players. Likewise, N'Golo Kante moved from quiet French side Caen (2014-15 final position: 13th) over to Leicester, and then Chelsea, to become arguably a top three-to-five midfielder in the world. This is not just a case of the best French clubs having talent, but there being talent top to bottom in the league.
Let's take a look at Lille, though, for a bit. Lille were a consistent European place finisher just five years ago. Last season they finished 17th. Regardless, every single season since 2011-12 they have had at least one player sold for ten million euros or more. The list of players to fellow top five leagues, including bigger French clubs, is a who's who of players: Gervinho (Arsenal), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Lucas Digne (PSG), Florian Thauvin (Marseille), Divock Origi (Liverpool), Adama Traore (the midfielder, to Monaco), Sofine Boufal (Southampton), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Martin Terrier (Lyon), and just this past season was Yves Bissouma (Brighton and Hove), Ibrahim Amadou (Sevilla), and Kevin Malcuit (Napoli).
This is incredible in itself, and does not even include players sold for less. That includes Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Debuchy (both youth projects, both to Newcastle), Pape Souare (Crystal Palace), Dimitri Payet (Marseille), Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa), and Benjamin Pavard (youth project, to Stuttgart).
What you likely noticed is that for some of these players, this is not the transfer to the side you know them for. Gueye has been brilliant for Everton, Payet for West Ham, Cabaye and Debuchy for Palace and Arsenal, respectively. The point being that for some, their transfer from Lille or any other to Club X is the destination, but for others it is a stopping point. Even clubs like Monaco can be this sort of stopping point as we've seen Ghezzal. The overarching point of this is that the slander or critiques of Ligue One is not even generally about the player quality, but rather the circumstances around the league. Clubs are treated more so as a business and there is less of a "football culture" around the clubs in the country. Soccernomics has a great portion of their book about the development of Lyon as a club and their structure as a whole. The point is that as long as players are being produced and better opportunities are offered, players will move to bigger clubs than those offered in France, barring PSG. And as long as this continues, the Ligue One will continue to be seen as a feeder league and see a systematic lack of respect.
What's Next/Generation Next:
One of the things about French football is that here in the United States, it is nearly impossible to watch, and impossible to watch easily. Still, even given that, it is tough to predict who are the 'next players up.' Even article like this very good one about trying to avoid more well known players still doesn't delve incredibly deep into Ligue One. Ismaila Sarr's big money move as a 19-year-old drew attention to him, Yves Bissouma was a moderately known quality as a result of occasional links, ditto to Jonathan Bamba, Nordi Mukiele is now in Germany with RB Leipzig, and Cyprien has been a key piece on Nice for several years. The point is, though, that young talent in France is so bountiful. Even those that are "lesser known" to a vast, vast majority of fans are still somewhat known quantities in terms of following the French game.
For me, I have Enzo Loiodice of Dijon FCO marked out as a future star. I have a feeling he will become a more well-known commodity in the near future, ala Malang Sarr. Just 17-years-old, Loiodice is a defensive midfield starter for the side who are currently second in the Ligue One table right now. The Frenchman is passing at a clip of 85% with 2.5 tackles per match and 1.3 interception per game and has been fouled 2.5 times per game, not bad at all for a holding midfielder. He's just 5'7", but in his role, height does not matter. His vision in attacking and defense is outstanding for a 17-year-old holding mid and I think he is a player that could be playing at a very high level in just a few years.
But what of the league? Could Ligue One ever become a top-three or top-two league soon? It's plausible to think so, but I am not holding my breath. With so much money in the English game and, as you've seen in the Monaco section of players, their ability to pay the money these French sides are looking for for their best players is important to the French clubs and as long as the money continues rolling in, whether it's from English clubs or elsewhere, it will be taken. For that reason primarily, it may take a few years before the discussion of Ligue One playing themselves into top league in Europe territory.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty of Liverpool FC and other related football coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
The French Nationals and the Player Problem:
The blame certainly cannot lie with the players, and I think criticisms, even over-exaggerated ones like "farmer's league," are very harsh to the players in Ligue One. The vast majority of all players on the national team that won the World Cup, with the exception of Lucas Hernandez, all spent the majority of their youth careers in France. For any criticism anyone may have, one that is not generally levied is that the country itself does not produce great players. The problem is retaining them domestically. PSG has the finances and ambition to serve as a big world player, but aside from them, sides like Lyon and Monaco, who have both been to European semi-finals within the past two years, see their top players go off to bigger clubs around the world.
Of the 23 players in the World Cup squad, just nine were on a French team at the time of the World Cup. This is a stark contrast from any other national side with a big five league, who of the three in the World Cup (Germany, Spain, England) averaged 18 domestic players in their 23-man squad. Furthermore, let's take a look at the nine Ligue One players in the French side.
First are the three PSG men: Presnel Kimpembe, Kylian Mbappe, and Areola. Mbappe was snagged away from Monaco's league-winning side, Kimpembe is a young talent for PSG, and Areola was named to the World Cup side as a third keeper having never had a French cap and losing his starting spot to Gigi Buffon this season on the club level. So of the three PSG men, the two more 'home grown' of the players did not play a key role for the World Cup side, and the third was poached from another French club like other leagues' sides do to the sides like Monaco, who were Mbappe's original senior club.
Speaking of Monaco, let's look at the rest of the French domestic players, starting with their star man Thomas Lemar. He was sent to Atletico Madrid shortly after the World Cup's conclusion. Likewise, Lyon's Nabil Fekir was a medical concern away from moving to Liverpool before the World Cup even started. Steve Mandanda and Florin Thauvin, both of Marseille, both moved to English sides from Marseille (Crystal Palace and Newcastle, respectively) before moving back following a lack of success for varying reasons: for Mandanda it was a combination of injuries and reported homesickness, for Thauvin it was general struggles on the pitch as well as criticism off the pitch. Regardless, Thauvin was also linked to Roma this summer as well. Marseille's Adil Rami achieved notoriety at Lille before ventured into Spain and Italy for another challenge. He is back in France now at the age of 33. Finally, we have Djibril Sidibe, Monaco's 26-year-old right back who has spent his whole career in France, but is currently in Monaco's revolving right back door.
Of the 23 men on the World Cup squad, just four have spent their entire careers in France, two of them are under 23, and one literally had a transfer announcement video filmed for him with a club in another country. Compared to the English side where players will generally play their entire careers in the country, or at least the best years of their career before moving to another side, ala Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and Wayne Rooney, this is a massive difference. It only makes sense that a league that has a tough time keeping its top national players will struggle in terms of credibility. Still, that does not answer the question of how sides like the aforementioned Lyon and Monaco get these quality players in the first place.
Poaching Talent and Production -- A Focus on Lyon and Monaco:
The key to this is two things, an eye for talent, and a fantastic youth set-up. These two things play right into each other, and perhaps no teams do this better than Lyon and Monaco. Monaco's title-winning side was littered with talented players. Vital players from the side that are no longer with the club include Mbappe and Lemar, but also Benjamin Mendy and Bernando Silva (both to Manchester City), Fabinho (Liverpool), Tiemoue Bakayoko (Chelsea), Joao Moutinho (Wolves), and Guido Carrillo (Southampton). But even with all these movers and shakers, Monaco does brilliantly to replace them. Finishing second the next year, they acquired Stevan Jovetic (Inter Milan), Youri Tielemans (Anderlecht), Rachid Ghezzal (Lyon), Adama Diakhaby (Stade Rennes), Keita Balde (Lazio) and future prospect Pietro Pellegri (Genoa) that summer.
Even before this season, despite losing Ghezzal and Diakhaby after just one year, and losing Fabinho, Lemar, and Moutinho from the title-winning side, they have recovered. This summer they've signed Russian World Cup starlet Aleksandar Golovin (CSKA Moscow) and Benjamin Henrichs (Bayer Leverkusen), both who figure into immediate-future plans for the club, but have also signed seasonal regulars Jean-Eudes Aholou (Strasbourg), Antonio Barreca (Torino), Samuel Grandsir (Troyes), and another youth star in Willem Geubbels (Lyon). It's an eye for talent that has kept Monaco at the foreground of Ligue One so heavily and they've done very well in that aspect of the game. But with this shows another separate note for the French league.
Players like Aholou start with lesser-known French sides, in his case, Lille, another club with plenty of of young talent having gone through their ranks, then, because Monaco have the money and talent evaluating skills, they join a club like Monaco who are known for giving players a stage to perform. Those who do well with a side like them often see themselves moving onward and upwards. It's a vicious cycle that can be regularly seen with Benfica too in Liga NOS, and can be seen with players on clubs not even from France. There is also something to be said of Lyon's ability to do something quite similar as Monaco.
Lyon has more historical success than any other club in Ligue One history, including PSG, with their run of seven straight Ligue One titles from 2001-02 to 2007-08. They have taken a step back with the rise of PSG and Monaco's more recent success, but their player development remains perhaps the strongest in all of Ligue One. Historical successes through the youth ranks include some of the world's best players: Alexandre Lacazette, Karim Benzema, Maxime Gonalons, Anthony Martial, Samuel Umtiti, Nabil Fekir, and Corentin Tolisso. They also were absolutely essential in the development of Hugo Lloris, Dejan Lovren, and Miralem Pjanic, and also were key in developing some lesser stars like Mouctar Diakhaby and Clinton N'Jie. None of these players (of course, excluding Fekir) are still with the club.
Looking at this list perhaps no club, with the exception of Schalke 04 in Germany, have produced this many quality players. Again, just as with Monaco, if you perform at the stage that Lyon is on, you will be discovered by other clubs. Recently, Lyon have done brilliantly to bring in some young players cast off from top European clubs and allowed them to shine. Bertrand Traore has moved from Chelsea and become vital on the right wing with 15 league goals already in just 32 Ligue One matches. Memphis Depay flopped at Manchester United, but with Lyon has rehabbed his career image and could see himself move away from Lyon next summer. Mariano never did anything of note at Madrid, spent a season with Lyon, and has made the move back to Madrid this summer in a great bit of business for Lyon.
Still, the homegrown talent and French players brought in from other clubs are still just as prevalent in the current side. Lucas Tousart and Martin Terrier were brought in from Lille and have been mainstays in the Lyon line-up; Tousart for a full season in midfield, Terrier being brought in this year to play on the left wing. Ferland Mendy has been a top class left back having been brought in from Le Havre. Youth players featuring heavily for Lyon also include Houssem Aouar in midfield, starting keeper Anthony Lopes, veteran midfielder Jordan Ferri, and young striker Amine Gouiri. But even as shown with Ghezzal and Geubbels moving to Monaco, they are not immune to players leaving their club for sides like Monaco who are just a couple steps ahead of them in France. The overarching point of this as a whole is that even clubs who make the Champions League or European competition, and compete in them, on a regular basis out of Ligue One are still in danger of losing players.
This is not just a problem for Lyon and Monaco. A club like Nice has lost Jean Michael Seri (Fulham), Alassane Plea (Borussia Monchengladbach), and Nampalys Mendy (Leicester) to other leagues. They are a prime target as well to lose more players with the brilliant young defender Malang Sarr and top attacking players Allan Saint-Maxim (an ex-Monaco player) and Wylan Cyprien. Malcom moved from Bordeaux to Barcelona in a move that surprised some given that he was expected to move to Roma. Lille sent four players out each to a different top four league. Andre Zambo Anguissa moved from Marseille to Fulham while the French club brought in a capable replacement in Kevin Strootman. This is really just scraping the top of the barrel in terms of player transfers for Ligue One clubs, many have been given very sizable fees for their top players.
The Other Clubs and Players:
As you've noticed by my references to Monaco and Lyon transfers and in discussing other moves, plenty of players have made moves to these larger French clubs from relatively smaller clubs. This is not even clubs like Lille who seemingly mass produce players fit for higher reputation teams, the best example being Eden Hazard, but even Ligue Two teams. Everyone knows about Riyad Mahrez's move from Le Havre in Ligue Two to becoming one of the Premier League's best players. Likewise, N'Golo Kante moved from quiet French side Caen (2014-15 final position: 13th) over to Leicester, and then Chelsea, to become arguably a top three-to-five midfielder in the world. This is not just a case of the best French clubs having talent, but there being talent top to bottom in the league.
Let's take a look at Lille, though, for a bit. Lille were a consistent European place finisher just five years ago. Last season they finished 17th. Regardless, every single season since 2011-12 they have had at least one player sold for ten million euros or more. The list of players to fellow top five leagues, including bigger French clubs, is a who's who of players: Gervinho (Arsenal), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Lucas Digne (PSG), Florian Thauvin (Marseille), Divock Origi (Liverpool), Adama Traore (the midfielder, to Monaco), Sofine Boufal (Southampton), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Martin Terrier (Lyon), and just this past season was Yves Bissouma (Brighton and Hove), Ibrahim Amadou (Sevilla), and Kevin Malcuit (Napoli).
This is incredible in itself, and does not even include players sold for less. That includes Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Debuchy (both youth projects, both to Newcastle), Pape Souare (Crystal Palace), Dimitri Payet (Marseille), Idrissa Gueye (Aston Villa), and Benjamin Pavard (youth project, to Stuttgart).
What you likely noticed is that for some of these players, this is not the transfer to the side you know them for. Gueye has been brilliant for Everton, Payet for West Ham, Cabaye and Debuchy for Palace and Arsenal, respectively. The point being that for some, their transfer from Lille or any other to Club X is the destination, but for others it is a stopping point. Even clubs like Monaco can be this sort of stopping point as we've seen Ghezzal. The overarching point of this is that the slander or critiques of Ligue One is not even generally about the player quality, but rather the circumstances around the league. Clubs are treated more so as a business and there is less of a "football culture" around the clubs in the country. Soccernomics has a great portion of their book about the development of Lyon as a club and their structure as a whole. The point is that as long as players are being produced and better opportunities are offered, players will move to bigger clubs than those offered in France, barring PSG. And as long as this continues, the Ligue One will continue to be seen as a feeder league and see a systematic lack of respect.
What's Next/Generation Next:
One of the things about French football is that here in the United States, it is nearly impossible to watch, and impossible to watch easily. Still, even given that, it is tough to predict who are the 'next players up.' Even article like this very good one about trying to avoid more well known players still doesn't delve incredibly deep into Ligue One. Ismaila Sarr's big money move as a 19-year-old drew attention to him, Yves Bissouma was a moderately known quality as a result of occasional links, ditto to Jonathan Bamba, Nordi Mukiele is now in Germany with RB Leipzig, and Cyprien has been a key piece on Nice for several years. The point is, though, that young talent in France is so bountiful. Even those that are "lesser known" to a vast, vast majority of fans are still somewhat known quantities in terms of following the French game.
For me, I have Enzo Loiodice of Dijon FCO marked out as a future star. I have a feeling he will become a more well-known commodity in the near future, ala Malang Sarr. Just 17-years-old, Loiodice is a defensive midfield starter for the side who are currently second in the Ligue One table right now. The Frenchman is passing at a clip of 85% with 2.5 tackles per match and 1.3 interception per game and has been fouled 2.5 times per game, not bad at all for a holding midfielder. He's just 5'7", but in his role, height does not matter. His vision in attacking and defense is outstanding for a 17-year-old holding mid and I think he is a player that could be playing at a very high level in just a few years.
But what of the league? Could Ligue One ever become a top-three or top-two league soon? It's plausible to think so, but I am not holding my breath. With so much money in the English game and, as you've seen in the Monaco section of players, their ability to pay the money these French sides are looking for for their best players is important to the French clubs and as long as the money continues rolling in, whether it's from English clubs or elsewhere, it will be taken. For that reason primarily, it may take a few years before the discussion of Ligue One playing themselves into top league in Europe territory.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty of Liverpool FC and other related football coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
Comments
Post a Comment