Weekend Recap: Heartbreak and/or Male-Bonding Hugs

It's that nailbiting time of the season in most leagues, especially for those teams that are close to the top and in the title race, or close to the bottom and facing relegation. So how did some of the games from the weekend turn out? Saturday's ...

Weekend Watch: Don't Get Chicken

Big weekend for plenty of teams. Let's hope they keep their heads. Saturday Real Zaragoza vs Recreativo Huelva While the La Liga title race hasn't quite lived up to expectations, the relegation battle still looks mighty excitin ...

The 20 Highest Paid Players in France - Lyon Once Again Dominate

This year, 13 of the 20 highest paid footballers in Ligue 1 are from Lyon. Last year, there were only 11. Which is strange because I could swear Aulas wanted to bring down Lyon's payroll. Of course, only a handful of players appear on the list of the ...

Wendel to Napoli

Not that we want to think too far ahead but it has been reported that come the summer transfer market, Napoli will make Brazilian midfielder, Wendel, currently playing for Bordeaux in the French Premier league, their top priority for signing. Wendel i

Le Choc: Lyon vs. Bordeaux

Is this the match that decides the title? Many people are saying it could be - if Bordeaux win, they would make a very convincing case for being the first team in seven years to destroy Lyon's hegemony in France. Bordeaux also have a bit of a psycholo

Episode 13: Copa Libertadores, France, and Trouble at Chelsea

This week, Anne, Inara, and Christian join me for the lucky 13th episode of the podcast. Christian updates us on the Copa Libertadores, as well as the latest from the Argentinian Clausura. Inara fills us in on the French title race and her beloved Lyon,

Bordeaux/Lille Match Video

For some reason the other video got deleted from dailymotion. Here is another one:

A Draw In The South: Bordeaux vs. LOSC

Lille kicked off their 26th match of the season against the 2nd best club in the league, FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Before coming into the match, Bordeaux was one point behind the unstoppable Olympique Lyonnais side. After the match... les bordelais

UC Memories: 7 December 1993

On this date in 1993, the final legs of the UEFA Cup's third round were played. It was a rough day for France and Spain, but Germany put its stamp on the tournament with two Bundesliga teams advancing into the quarterfinals. The first was Eintracht Fran

The current situation in the UEFA Cup

There is one matchday to go in the group stages of the 2007-08 UEFA Cup. Here are the current standings in each group, and which scenarios mean qualification for which teams. Group A Qualified: Everton (9 pts) Still in the mix: Zenit St. Petersburg

Mea Culpa

Mea maxima culpa. I'll confess I have been a very, very bad blogger. But I'm going to make amends. The strikes in France kept me away from my PC for two weeks, but now, I'm back to blog like my life depends on it. Cyril Jeunechamp has legged it of

Late results: Viola go nuts, Aberdeen get a point

Italy has had a rough UEFA Cup, with three out of their four teams failing to make the group stage. But the single Italian representative, Fiorentina, staked their claim on the knockout rounds today with a classic win over an outmatched Elfsborg team, 6-

UEFA Cup Group H Preview

Okay, it's finally here. We're done with all that Champions League nonsense and now it's time for the real tournament. Just kidding. Even I don't like the UEFA Cup THAT much. Anyway, tomorrow, the group stage of the UEFA Cup gets underway, and this is

Assorted News Bits

~~~~~~~~ I take back what I said about the away kits. The gold kit is fast becoming a favorite, whether paired with red or dark blue shorts (though I prefer the red). As the Setanta broadcaster said this weekend...gold is a color only to be worn by

Lyon End Up Scalping Bordeaux, Benzema Is Irresistible

Karim Benzema scored his tenth league goal of the season in Lyon's 3-0 defeat of title contenders Bordeaux. And guess who provided the assist? Hatem Ben Arfa. It should also be noted that the referee wrongfully disallowed another Benzema goal though it wa

Bordeaux Want Lyon's Scalp

Remember the days when Lyon was invincible and the bête noire of every team in France? Well, as we've seen in the past two seasons, the number of teams able to hit at Lyon's weak spots have increased to include Lille, Toulouse, and Bordeaux. Not that the

Goal video: Tampere United v. Bordeaux

Earlier this week, Bordeaux got a solid start to their UEFA Cup first round with a 3-2 win at Tampere United. But, regardless of the outcome, the goal of the match was definitely Tomi Petrescu of Tampere, with this unbelievable curling volley into the fa

Lille vs. Bordeaux Match Video

LOSC 1-1 Bordeaux

At home Les Dogues played against FC Girondins de Bordeaux on Saturday. Match line-ups: LOSC Sylva Lichsteiner Béria Plestan Tafforeau Obraniak Makoun Dumont Cabaye Bastos Fauvergue Bordeaux Ramé Jemmali Planus Diawara Jurietti Diarra Jussi

Les Dogues Take On Bordeaux

Tommorow Lille will play it's 8th match of this Ligue 1 season at home against FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Bordeaux is currently 3rd place in the table, which is great compared to LOSC (11th). Although the match is at home, it should be a tough encounter.

Anfield Banter: Sebastien Leto to debut, Turns out Smicer's a wino, Berger talks junk, & Some Hyypia-la

* According to Chris Bascombe, probably the most formidable writer of LFC, Sebastian Leto could make his first team debut as early as tomorrow. With his passport issues apparently solved, the Argentinian left winger is ready to go. Also in the article,

News Frenzy: Official Jerseys,Chalmé's departure,And More

The official LOSC jerseys for the 07/08 season have been unveiled. There aren't any major changes to the jerseys. The home jersey uses more white than last year. It looks like the main away jersey won't be blue this year, but instead white. Lille used t

Weekend Transfer Rumors and the Gignac Dispute

A couple transfer rumors have emerged regarding Lille this weekend. Girondins de Bordeaux is planning on transferring Julien Faubert to West Ham. The Bordelais want to replace Faubert with LOSC's Matthieu Chalmé. Supposely, Chalmé has dreamed to play

Oh Alou

Alou Diarra is not willing to let bygones be bygones. Despite the resignation of arch nemesis Gerard Houllier, Diarra refuses to consider staying at Lyon, even though he would get a fresh start under Alain Perrin. So reluctantly, Aulas is allowing him

Transfer Rumors

The LOSC fansite allezlesdogues.com has an interesting article about transfer rumors concerning the club. According to the fansite, Mathieu Chalmé may leave Lille to join Rennes,Bolton, or even Bordeaux. They also say that Daniel Gygax's future may n

Latest Transfer News

On Monaco's RMC radio, Lille's chairman, Michel Seydoux, revealed LOSC's budget for the new season. Lille's budget this season is 47 million euros, which is up from last season's 36 million. A proper replacement? Also, Lille has been negotiati

Viola Continue Bid to Sign More Players Than Everyone Else Combined

Hot on the heels of signing a pile of respected youngsters, Fiorentina are digging around in the transfer market again, this time in pursuit of a trio of internationals. The big-name Italian in the mix is Palermo defender Andrea Barzagli, for whom the Vio

My Coupe runneth over: Lyon, check. A team you've never heard of, check.

In the Coupe de la Ligue action this week, we saw Bordeaux beat Saint-Étienne in extra time and Le Mans eliminate Sochaux on the road, to reach their second consecutive semi-final. Lyon, who drew defending champion Nancy, had work to do (believe it or

Matchday 16 - Lyon roars still

Le Mans hosted Lyon in the inaugral match of the weekend, and wouldn't you know it, Lyon walked away with a yawn-tastic 1-0 win. Le Mans keeper Johan Pelé was the reason why the game didn't end up like the 5-0 variety. But he could do nothing against Syl

Matchday 15 - Whoa, whoa, status quo

Not a terribly exciting and goal-filled week (I'm noticing a pattern here), Matchday 15 provided us with the anticipation of next week (I'll get to that in a bit). Troyes held Marseille to a draw at home, in what was an exciting back-and-forth game be