Seven matches, two wins (hard-fought victories at Nancy and Strasbourg), one draw, and four losses—that is the dismal record of AS Monaco in the league this season. Adding to that, an elimination in the preliminary round of the Champions League at the hands of Betis Seville, and a narrow victory against the seventeenth place Dutch league team in the UEFA Cup, the picture is downright mediocre.
Sunday night, Gaël Givet’s teammates hit rock bottom at the Stade Louis II. Defeated 2-0 by Rennes, who are hardly formidable, and reduced to nine men after the expulsions of Zikos and Squilaci, the evening was more than painful for the red and whites. To the extent that the fans loudly booed Didier Deschamps and his players, even demanding the resignation of the Monegasque coach, after having taken over the side stands located behind the benches—a rare phenomenon in an ordinarily quieter Stade Louis II, clearly reflecting the malaise at the club at this early stage of the season.
And now?
Monday morning at La Turbie, Didier Deschamps presented his resignation to president Michel Pastor. “It was the best-suited solution,” the coach himself deemed. While the news caught all observers off guard, it really surprised no one. In fact, it was met with relief by a large part of the supporters and staff members.
Because AS Monaco today is light-years away from the Champions League final lost to Porto just over a year ago. Since May 26, 2004, the club has been on a slow but certain descent into hell. Departures of players like Morientes or Giuly who wanted to stay, late and incoherent recruitment, and eliminations in the semi-finals of national cups against markedly weaker teams—the ASM owes its salvation last season only to an unexpected third place in the league, synonymous with qualification for the preliminary round of the Champions League.
But since the break, the grace period in which the Principality’s club had been basking has vanished. Didier Deschamps and the team’s key players have come down from their cloud, as evidenced. The recruitment has been well below expectations, if one goes by the ambitious statements of the leaders and the coach (“an international-class striker will come,” and “each departure will be compensated by an arrival,” which the supporters are still waiting for).
In this context, the elimination from the Champions League was enough to bring the house down. Players criticized the club’s lack of ambition, Deschamps followed suit and distanced himself from the management (notably declaring rather awkwardly “Monaco is not a big club,” to which the Ultras Monaco responded with a banner “DD, Monaco is a big club, respect our colors”), and the executives themselves responded, asserting that all actions of the club were made in collaboration with the coach.
A colossal waste
Deschamps is gone, Jeannot Petit is holding the fort, waiting perhaps for the arrival of a renowned successor. This person will have their work cut out for them: with seven points in seven games, ASM is experiencing one of its worst starts to the league. This providential man must restore confidence to a battered group and instill a spirit of rebellion in yet talented players. There will also be a need to avoid repeating past mistakes, and not let key players leave the team. At this point, that might seem almost utopian…
On the supporter’s side, the news was met with relief, but also with frustration and nostalgia. Didier Deschamps, that’s just a measly League Cup in ASM’s record, but it’s also, and above all, a remarkable run in the Champions League in 2003-2004, and three consecutive podium finishes in the league. For three years, Monaco has been Lyon’s only serious rival, quite simply.
The Monegasques don’t really have time to contemplate, because this evening, a tough match in Troyes awaits them. On Saturday, it’s the neighboring Nice team visiting the Louis II, accompanied by several thousand red and black supporters. And last year’s scenario (a 3-4 victory for the Eagles, after being down 3-0, a match that began a long black streak for the Monegasques), does not really encourage optimism on the Rock. A victory could reignite the season. A defeat, and the crisis might persistently settle in La Turbie…