You see the problems with French teams is that soon as one team rises and wins the championship, then the next season they are being stolen all their best players as the french teams can't compete with the big Italian, Spanish or English teams as far as salaries are concerned.
That happened to Nantes in 95 they had one of the best teams ever with all being young talented!
I still rememeber that Nantes team of 95 with Karembeu, Pedros, Ouedec, Makelele, N'Doram(a fabulous playemaker!), Loko,...
and still managed to go undefeated for 3/4 of the season and the year after that we're only beaten by the Juve in the CL semi-final in 96(the year when Juve won the CL with Vialli and Ravanelli!).They had a fabulous style all geared toward the attack!with a one-touch play!They stunned everyone in France with some HUGE upsets against OM in 93
at a time when OM where the reigning European Champions!1-0 in Marseille and the year after when they were crowned French Champs they won in Paris 3-0 with a unforgettable displays of one-touch flowing football the year that PSG was beaten only by Milan in the CL 1/2!All that from a bunch of "teenagers"!Very impressive, like Ajax!
Nantes is like the Ajax of France championship!They have a great tradition of forming young talents (like Auxerre!) but as soon they rise, they sell them as they can't compete with first the big guns in france and then in Europe.
Then it was Auxerre in 96 and Lens in 97, then Monaco again in 98 and if Monaco can keep their best players, then they can compete with the best in Europe.
I just hope that now since France's world Cup win, there will be more sponsors willing to invest more money in the french league so these clubs can compete with the big european ones!
Even tough each decade has seen an outstanding team dominate the french league and be among the best in Europe, like Reims in the late 50's and 60's with 2 CL finals lost to the Great Real of Di Steffano, then in the 70's it was "Les Verts", Saint-Etienne, probably the most emblematic team in the history of French football, losing to the Bayern of Kaiser Franz in the CL Final in 76, then the Great Bordeaux of the 80's and the 90's with OM dominating the french league and Europe in the early 90's and then PSG in the mid-90's and now Monaco. But having seen the Bordeaux of the 80's, the OM of the 90's, the PSG of the mid 90's and now the Monaco of the beginning of the new millenium, i would say the most talented team i've seen was the Nantes of 93-96 in terms of pure footballistic talents!They were a perfect team!Young, fabulously skilled, they were getting along magnificiently and the results were showing on the pitches wherever they were playing but they're weak point was their goalie!
Had they had a goalie like Barthez in the 96 CL, they would have won it!That team was like the Ajax of 95!One of the best in the history of the French leauge!
Anyways, there should be a forum for the major french teams.
Is that possible Jan?Please make everything possible for that and i'm willing to help if needed to make that happen!
Forza Magico Milan!
Hala Madrid!
Girondins!
Allez Les Bleus!
Arriba Espana!

 

The French competition is getting more exciting every season, just like the Dutch season, and the teams are getting closer to each other too, you can never really predict who will finish first or second, just look at where OM will be finishing and where Sedan is going to finish is not bad for such a small team.
And who expected RC Lens, a team struggling in the league to reach the Semi-Final of the UEFA Cup, pushing Arsenal to the limit. Remeber 97-98, Monaco knocked out Man Utd in CL, that could well happen again next season in the CL.

 

i think that if monaco can keep all their players from this season, (trezeguet, gallardo, simone, lamouchi) and buy some new players, they will go far in next yr's CL. look at feyenoord, they did not sell any players, and they went through to the second round. monaco, i think, are stronger than feyenoord, and if they get a good group, and are lucky, can go far. Bordeaux made a mistake by selling benarbia, they didnt really replace him with ziani either

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LOOSE MOOSE

 

I presume everone here is knowledgeable about the French league and has been following it for some time. So my question is to all of you in this forum, do you rememeber the Nantes team of 93-96?That fabulous team who won the title in 95 and went on till the 1/2 of the CL only beaten by future winner, Juve?
Besides being a great team, they had a fantastic flowing football!Does anyone here among those that participate in the French forum, especially Bodat, the "moderator" of this forum, do you remember that team?
Anyways,
Forza Magico Milan!
Hala Madrid!
Girondins!
Allez les Bleus!
Arriba Espana!

 

i know that team... i recognize them because of that patrice loko, the striker who appears everywhere with his unique hair, at least in my country... i remember their yellow jersey, what else?!! if you mean their good players, yeaa, you have mention half of them! and i knew them all!!
the problems was i hate that team is that wrong?!
and i don't understand with your said about flowing football...

 

Dear Bodat, always with your sense of humour!

There's nothing wrong with not liking Nantes!
I HATED the Marseille team of the early 90's!

But the main reason "Les Canaris" (Nantes's nickname like Rossoneri for Milan, Bianconeri
for Juve, Nerazzuri for Inter or Merengues for Real) was their fabulously flowing football that made remember the Great Ajax of Cruyff!!!Do you remember that HYMN of joy?
I do and i rarely have seen something comparable except the Milan of Sacchi...the Barca of Cruyff and the Current Real!
Anyways, did you konw that Bernard Tapie is on his way to get back to football-managing???Sacre Nanard!!!
Forza Magico Milan!
Hala Madrid!
Girondins!Canaris!
Allez Les Bleus!
Arriba Espana!

 

gee... San Siro, with only one year experience in the top of the league, you supposed not to equal the great Milan, Barca, Madrid and Ajax with Nantes! they even couldn't get the CL when they showed their best...

and thanks God, i am not a OM fan, i am a big fan of AS Monaco and i read that news on yahoo that Tapie is trying to get back to manage a football team...!!! i am okay with that! at least he has a huge attention in soccer!!