After 31 years in the elite, the Girondins de Bordeaux, the last of the championship at the end of this season, are relegated to Ligue 2.
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“I am very bad. We know that football remains of football, but it takes us at the guts.” As Franck, longtime supporter, who does not wish to give his name – but known and influential under The pseudonym Diabate33 on the social network Twitter -, the relegation of the Girondins Football Club of Bordeaux (FCGB) constitutes a shock.
Saturday, May 21, victory against Brest (2-4), during the 38 e and last day of the championship, was not enough. The Bordeaux, the last of Ligue 1, will evolve in Ligue 2 next season.
In Bordeaux, the shock is all the more harsh since the Girondins, emblematic figures of French football, are an integral part of the city, its history, its DNA “, as Nicolas Caillé, leader of south underlines -Tre Footgolf, club financial partner this season. “It’s a sad moment for our club, our city, our metropolis, the supporters and all those who are attached to it,” had anticipated the mayor of Bordeaux, Pierre Hurmic, during the Council of the Metropolis, Friday.
The descent comes after thirty -one consecutive years in the elite. It refers to the dark years of the club: the previous relegation in the second division, in 1991, had been administrative, after the financial gendarme of football, the National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG), had found a deficit of 45 million euros.
The measure had come close to glorious years at the sporting plan (three champion titles, two French cups, two European Cup semi-finals in the 1980s), but which had also been dubious management years Under the chairmanship of Claude Bez.
“The shame of our hundred and forty years of history!”
The Girondins had found a little of their glory in the 2000s (Champions of France in 2009, winners of the League Cup in 2002, 2007 and 2009 and the Coupe de France in 2013). But shareholder changes in recent years have weakened the club: M6, which has been the owner since 1999, sold it at the end of 2018 to the American funds General American Partners (GACP) and King Street, the latter remaining alone in control 2019.
Just a year ago, the club had already come close to relegation: placed under the protection of the Commercial Court of Bordeaux, it had been bought by the Hispano-Luxembourg businessman Gérard Lopez. His promises of tomorrow’s victories did not materialize.
Tensions have emerged within the team. The fracture opened between supporters and players. During the penultimate day of the championship, on May 14, the Ultrasmarine deployed several banners expressing their anger – on one of them was written “You are the shame of our hundred and forty years of history!” – Interrupting the meeting with toilet paper jets. At the end of this match, two players were seen in a nightclub. The drop of too much for disgust supporters of the group’s attitude.
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