AS Monaco Re-Emergence After Financial Crisis
AS Monaco is one of the most successful clubs in French football. Though PSG is considered the most successful ever, Monaco is not far behind having won seven league titles and five Coupe De France trophies. The club’s fortunes declined remarkably after finishing runners-up in the 2003-04 season of the UEFA Champions League which was a major shock for the supporters and analysts alike. After such a brilliant performance onlookers expected Monaco to dominate French football and challenge for major trophies.
Although the players had performed remarkably on the field, pouring in blood and sweat, the administrators had been extremely inefficient in handling the finances. Pierre Svara, the head administrator was replaced by Michael Pastor who was considered the perfect man for the job. Francesco Guidolin was appointed the manager in October of 2005 succeeding Didier Deschamps, who is currently leading the French national team. Sadly this appointment failed miserably. Guidolin got the pink slip after just one season and his successors were unable to work any miracles themselves. No manager was willing to get scalded in this burning ship.
Monaco finished the 2010-11 season on the 18th spot and were relegated to Ligue 2. It is said that fortune smiles at you only when you are at your weakest.
Emergence
In 2011, AS Monaco was purchased by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev when the club was at the bottom of the Ligue-2 which was a sign that their luck was finally going to change for the better. Rybolovlev made an instant impact on the fortunes of the club pumping in millions of dollars.
Claudio Ranieri, who was appointed as the new manager replacing Italian Marco Simeone, earned Monaco a promotion back to Ligue 1 scoring 64 goals in the 2012-13 season. Monaco was surprisingly one of the biggest spenders in 2013 splurging 130 million on players like James Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao and Joao Moutinho from Portugal.
Radamel Falcao who was considered one of the best strikers in the world made a move from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros which was a sign of intent that Monaco could challenge the biggest clubs while pursuing transfers.
James Rodriguez was considered one of the biggest talents in world football and his signing indicated that the club wanted to encourage talented youngsters, who could improve the club’s overall game-play. Moutinho was considered one of Portugal’s top players which made his transfer a no-brainer.
Decline
Sadly the good times did not last long. The same supporters who were delighted on watching their glorious club prosper had to face another shock which struck the club like a thunderbolt. Rybolovlev who was considered the messiah suddenly earned a status equal to Judas among the club supporters after his expensive divorce shook the same financial stability that he had brought along with his arrival.
His ex-wife Natalia sued him for half his assets. After a long drawn out battle both the parties decided to settle at $4.5 billion. Though the owner was the one responsible, the worst impact was felt by Monaco in spite of no mistake on their part. Ranieri who had earned Monaco a promotion to Ligue 1 was soon replaced by Leonardo Jardim in spite of a second place finish which helped them qualify for the Champions League.
Jardim had previously managed clubs like Olympiakos and Sporting. He was considered the perfect candidate for the job with his dynamic and attacking game-play suiting the requirements of the club perfectly. The club needed a miracle to emerge out of this crisis. Jardim was famous for his ability to extract the best out of young talented players. In such a scenario where the odds were badly against him, Jardim decided to take up the challenge.
Overcoming crisis
The 2014-15 season marked Jardim’s first season at the club and he decided to send Falcao out on loan to English giants Manchester United. The Colombian’s effectiveness had declined after an injury and his huge wage demands were crippling the club’s financial reserves. In such a situation it was deemed best to let him leave on a loan deal which could be made permanent at the end of the season.
James Rodriguez earned an 80 million euros transfer move to Real Madrid which the club was forced to accept as a result of the fragile financial scenario.
25 players were shipped out during the summer while players like Bernardo Silva, Fabinho who suited the club’s philosophy were brought in on loan deals.
The gaffer’s emphasis on youth paid off as young talented players like Anthony Martial snapped up this opportunity to express themselves on the big stage. The club finally finished 3rd on the league table that season with youngster Anthony Martial emerging as the top scorer with 12 goals .
His style of play was considered extremely boring by certain sections of the media while critics were also extremely critical of the decision to replace immensely popular manager Claudio Ranieri. Monaco’s 3-1 victory over English giants Arsenal was an indication that Jardim’s plans were indeed working out extremely well.
Revitalized AS Monaco
The 2015-16 season started off on a difficult note as players like Carrasco, Abdennour, Martial, Kurzawa moved to big clubs like Valencia and Atletico Madrid in search of greener pastures. In spite of this the club managed to finish 3rd again which was possible mainly because of shrewd signings like Fabio Coentrao on loan from Madrid and midfielder Thomas Lemar.
The current season has been a superb one for the club so far having scored the most number of goals in the league.
Falcao has been in superb form for them this season after going through a lack-lustre phase while on loan at Chelsea and Manchester United. Valere Germain has been delivering excellent performances after a fruitful loan spell at Nice. Polish Center Back Kamil Glik has done a wonderful job in the heart of defense after moving in from Torino which has helped ensure clean sheets. Djibril Sidibe’s arrival has allowed Brazilian Fabinho the option of playing in the midfield which has no doubt improved the overall game-play. Thomas Lemar, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Bernardo Silva and Guido Carillo have improved remarkably under Jardim’s guidance.
The team functions together as a unit and there is no dependence on a single player for goals and assists. Even if Falcao gets injured, there are players that can take his place and replicate the same contributions. The players are full of confidence and are willing to challenge the toughest and biggest of teams for glory. The style of play is entertaining and productive. Regular squad rotation helps avoid fatigue which has ensured higher productivity.
The age-old dominance of PSG over French football looks all set to end considering the havoc Jardim’s warriors are capable of inflicting with their arrival.
Picture Courtesy: Ligue1, AsMonaco.com