Les Girondins stock is incredibly high because Laurent Blanc whose footballing IQ must make him the Albert Einstein of the sport has fashioned a team in which “eleven players think the same thing at the same time.”
The French Ligue threw up so many surprises last season. Lyon’s uninterrupted reign was finally ended and Guingamp won the Coupe De France. It was only the second time a Ligue 2 team achieved this distinction. Even Bordeaux’s Ligue title chase had the dizzying look and feel of the Bourne Ultimatum. Surely, all these events count for the surge in optimism.
So does the club that comprises players with a total valuation of about 30m euros have what it takes to win the big dance? Well, the CL threw up Porto as 2004 champions. They beat AS Monaco. France can look to L’OM in 1993. PSG won the C2 version in 1996. Valencia entered the finals in 2000 and 2001 (pre David Villa distortion in player valuation). There are plenty of small clubs which have managed to enter the quarterfinal stage. Bordeaux can dare to dream and with Yoann Gourcuff and Jaroslav Plaisil they have the players to pull it off too.