Debt-laden Bordeaux succeeds and starts the season in Ligue 2

When the traditional club from the south of France was relegated from Ligue 1 in June after 31 years, along with Saint-Étienne, a piece of history was left out of the top French competition. Just like when Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 bid farewell to the Bundesliga in Germany at the same time in the 2020/21 season. But Bordeaux were threatened with an even bigger fall.

Girondins de Bordeaux is one of France’s historic clubs, however, it has also won the league six times. The last time was in 2009, when it was led by the legendary Laurent Blanc. But the successful years are gone, and since the 2018/19 season, the club has been in the lower reaches of the table, until finally falling down a tier this year. But it could have been worse.

History repeats itself

Bordeaux climbed to the top in the 1980s, becoming French runners-up in 1989. But it had a financial problem, namely a deficit of 45 million euros. So the National Directorate for the Control of the Management of Professional Clubs (DNCG), which mainly oversees the financial management of clubs, had him administratively relegated to the second league in 1991.

And now to the situation of this year. However, the DNCG reveals a deficit of around €40 million and proposes relegation straight to the third league, the National. Sound familiar?

This time, however, the debts have not brought the six-time French champions to their knees. The club’s owner Gérard Lopez has agreed a deal with his creditors and the French Football Federation (FFF) has relegated Bordeaux back to Ligue 2.

The assistant coach Jaroslav Plašil will be able to sit on the bench this Saturday, 30 July, as Bordeaux will play a home match against Valenciennes. The enthusiastic owner Lopez is even offering tickets for the fans.

Due to the uncertainty of Bordeaux’s participation in Ligue 2, Valenciennes asked for a postponement of Saturday’s game before the FFF decision. But Girondins fans will not mind. After all, their beloved club has been saved from a steep fall by the French football pyramid.

After their first administrative relegation in 1991, Bordeaux celebrated their return to the elite a year later. Then in 1995, with Zinedine Zidane and Bixent Lizarazu in the line-up, they won the Intertoto Cup, which acted as an additional qualifier for the UEFA Cup.

In that tournament, they lost to Bayern Munich in the final and incidentally knocked out Slavia Prague in the semi-final. If they could make a similar comeback, it would be a nice reward for the fans of the traditional club for the turbulent years.

Sources:: L’Èquipe, Sport.cz