Darren — Ultimate European Challenge, Bordeaux vs Lyon 2021/22

Hey guys and welcome to another update from my Ultimate European Challenge. Today’s post will start in January and end with the seasons conclusion. I hold a six point lead at the top of Ligue 1 but Lyon have a game in hand. All this despite winning every single league game this year. If I win the league, this challenge will end, if not I’ll be left to question whether Bordeaux can ever win the title. This is how simple it was just a few days ago, but I’ve added a little twist. Due to so many requests for a grand finale in what could be my last year, I’ve scrapped the old plan of only focusing on the league. Now I will do anything to progress in all competitions. This should help me re-establish Bordeaux’s finances as that is another goal of mine. At the end of the season I must correct the debt I have put them in. I will try to do this without majorly damaging the squad, this means selling players I signed cheap and the older stars with only a few years left. A tall order but a bit of fun all the same.

Ligue 1 results — January to March

January was a short month, due to other commitments we only had two fixtures. The first was a magical 4-0 victory over Evian, the second a scrappy 1-0 win at home to Strasbourg. The first two games of February were excellent. We beat Sochaux 2-0 and Valenciennes 5-1. Then Le Havre gave me a scare before Novillo’s injury time winner. The last match in winter was a comfortable 2-0 victory over Saint-Etienne. March coughed up an extremely difficult fixture list, but my boys showed title winning composure. We beat Toulouse 2-0, Lille 3-0, Stade Rennais 5-1 and Monaco 1-0. An amazing three months and my title dreams etching closer.

Ligue 1 results — April to May

Two months to decide the title, and we had a really clustered fixture list because of other competitions. Bordeaux suffered from April fools early on. A weakened line up lost to PSG, then also failed to score against GF38. However, it was the big games that counted and we really turned up the heat. May saw us beat three of the top six, Lens, Lyon and Marseille. Did these results decide where the title went? Anyone with a keen eye and reasonable mathematics skills will know the answer.

Ligue 1 table

That’s right, we won the league!! During pre-season I jokingly said more than 100 points would be required. Well I wasn’t far off, Lyon notched up an impressive 96 points, just two less than myself last season. This year however I made doubly sure, going on an incredible run with just one defeat and 109 points. The Ultimate European Challenge is complete, but this story doesn’t end there. We still have the Champions League and French Cup to look at.

French Cup results

With this competition back in the forefront of my mind, fate was with me. The draw was very kind and offered me the chance to field a weakened side. We glided through the opening rounds beating easy opposition. The first a 3-0 win against Frejus, the second saw my strongest XI thrash Lorient 7-0. Then back to my weaker XI for a 2-0 victory over Evian and the same against Stade Brestois. Then in the semi-final, we finally met my arch rivals. Lyon used a full strength starting XI and so did I. However it wasn’t Bordeaux who started best as Lyon took a 2-0 lead into half time. I was gutted and planning for the next Ligue 1 game already. Then something miraculous happened…Bergkamp scored with 20 minutes remaining,  I perked up and changed to ‘overload’ strategy. With momentum in our favour Asin scored from Cavallo’s corner, 2-2! Only a few minutes left…then super sub, Simeoni puts the ball away with seconds remaining. 3-2 and we’re through to the final! Our opponents are PSG who were the only team to beat us in the league.

French Cup final vs PSG

This match promised to be a cracker. It was held at an awful time though, right in the middle of Champions League and Ligue 1 matches. I still fielded my best XI despite some fatigue and hoped the trusty 4-5-1 would work. The match started with some promise, both sides attacked the game well. But it was Bordeaux who were rewarded, Novillo scoring the opener on 6 minutes. The match was still even though and Lucas made sure of this by scoring a blinder for PSG, 1-1. With half-time approaching either side could win, but Simeoni who was in for Vidal proved his worth. The Italian scored a well placed shot and sent the crowd into raptures. The second half was very drab and Bordeaux held out. 2-1 winners and a double under my belt. :)

Champions League results

After qualifying from my group ahead of Barcelona, I started to field a stronger squad. This paid off against Liverpool as we won 3-1 on aggregate. We dominated possession so well, their manager praised Bordeaux’s passing game despite just losing. The quarter-final provided the most heated draw, a tie against close rivals Lyon. Could I extend my revenge beyond the league and French Cup. Well the first leg ended with an amazing 2-0 victory…more than we deserved but Bergkamp was sensational yet again. Then the second leg started with a Lyon goal before half-time, time to panic? Of course not, we calmly saw the game out and won 2-1 on aggregate. Wow, a semi-final place, must admit I wasn’t expecting that. The draw wasn’t kind though, Man Utd were the best team around and our opponents. Despite drawing at home, we lost the away leg and went out 4-2 on aggregate. A really good effort and incredible season!

Squad stats

After a fantastic season, its time to analyse my squad and see if the new boys made an impact. The best new signing was Asin, my centre back scored 15 goals from corners this season. The next best is Cavallo, my CM managed 17 assists mainly from corners also. Then there my influential full backs, Marques and Aguirre added stability to the back four which was missing last season. From the older players, Vidal was incredible with 37 goals and 17 assists from 38 starts. Bergkamp came close with 17 goals and 16 assists, while San Roman scored 15 goals and assisted 7.

So I mentioned a side goal at the start of this post. I wanted to leave Bordeaux out of debt and with some sort of a future for the next manager. My progress in all competitions helped, but didn’t quite do enough. Therefore I selected some of the fringe players and one important striker who had just a few years left at his best. Below is the screenshot of who was sold. Vidal is was 29 when leaving the club, so getting £14 million for the Argentine was sensible anyway. Then I received an offer of £10.5 million for Le Gac, considering I signed him for £1 million this had to be accepted. Then my most disappointing signing, Reinaldo, was sold for £5 million. A good deal seen as I only paid £1.8 million for the midfielder. All these transfers amounted to £29.5 million, plus a few veterans left and we saved £200K on the wage budget as well. Excellent business in my opinion.

Now is the big moment, did I finally put right my wrongs and leave Bordeaux in a healthy financial state. Of course I did!! The club has almost £6 million in the bank and wages of £612K per week. Very stable and great wages for a Champions League club. Considering the club was in more than £40 million debt just 6 months ago, I think we can call it mission complete. Also note the club only need to sign a good CM and the team are strong enough to challenge for honours again. I’d also expect their finances to keep improving with the low wages.

My Ultimate European Challenge has finally finished. After 12 years, I have finally completed the challenge I created so long ago. :) Just for fun lets see where I ended in the world rankings table…joint top, damn you Sir Alex!! Let’s say I finished top because I managed less years. ; ) ; )

Its a sad farewell, but I hope you have enjoyed this journey across Europe as much as myself. With every end there is a new beginning, well not brand new. :) I will be resuming my Newcastle save next, but with a very different approach. The story will be evolved around finances and building for the future. I am currently in 2014, but you can catch with my Newcastle story by clicking the link. The first post will be a special one, analysing my finances and how I plan on improving them as well as all the pre-season action. Until then thanks for reading and please feel free to comment.