26/04 - 20:00
The summer of 2011 was a pivotal one for French football. It was the year that Paris Saint-Germain, the perennial underachievers from the capital, were taken over by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and were thus injected with funds that gave them financial clout of a scale never seen before in French football.
PSG used their newfound wealth to embark on a spending spree of over €100m, bringing in the likes of Thiago Motta, Jérémy Ménez and, most dramatically, the highly-rated Argentinian midfielder Javier Pastore for €40m. Pastore’s transfer sent a clear message to the rest of the league, and indeed Europe, that PSG meant business. And, after Lyon’s monopoly of Ligue 1 throughout much of the noughties had come to an end, there was no clear contender standing in PSG’s road to a sustained period of domestic dominance.
Meanwhile, while PSG were splashing the cash, Montpellier made just two key signings in the shape of left-back Henri Bedimo from Lens and centre-back Hilton from Marseille on a free transfer. The total outlay of Bedimo’s transfer (€2m) was entirely recouped from a lengthy list of outgoings and there was little to suggest that the team that had finished in 14th position, just three points above the drop zone in the previous campaign, were set to have anything other than another modest season.
Defence
Either side of the centre-backs were the newly-arrived Bedimo and the less eye catching but similarly effective Garry Bocaly at right-back. The pair were encouraged to play high up the pitch by Girard and between them notched up six assists as Montpellier’s regular tactic of playing inverted wingers and defensively-minded centre-midfielders gave them both licence to maraud forward and plenty of space to run into.
Bocaly would lose his place in the side to new signing Daniel Congré the following season while Bedimo joined Lyon in 2013 where he spent three years before moving on to Marseille.
Midfield
Montpellier set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and Girard more or less totally eschewed any potential creativity from the two players at the base of midfield in that system, choosing instead to play protectors who would keep things tight, allowing the full backs to bomb forward and the three players behind the striker to have the freedom to create and score goals. Indeed, after Joris Marveaux’s goal against St Etienne in November, no player outside the front four positions scored for Montpellier in a league game.
Marveaux was one of three main defensive midfielders used by Girard and it says a lot that he was arguably the most attacking of the three. The tenacious Chilean Marco Estrada and the uncompromising Jamel Saihi were rotated with Marveaux as the main options in that position, while veteran Romain Pitau chipped in with ten appearances as cover. Youngster Benjamin Stambouli, one of several academy graduates in Montpellier’s squad, was another option at both centre-back and centre-midfield.
Between them, Marveaux, Estrada and Saihi scored just two goals all season, but maintained an effective shield to the back four and all were sufficiently good ball-players to recycle possession to the more creative members of the team. Estrada would head to the Middle East in 2013 to join UAE side Al-Wahda, while Saihi and Marveaux remained at Montpellier until 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Ahead of the double pivot was Montpellier’s jewel, the bewitching Younès Belhanda. The Moroccan playmaker was known for his short fuse, but there was no doubting his talent. Belhanda was just 21 at the start of the 2011-12 season but had already played two full seasons for Montpellier after coming through their youth teams and was about to play the defining season of his career.
Girard built his team around the talents of Belhanda and the gifted number 10 repaid the faith with 12 goals and five assists from 28 matches. Belhanda provided the perfect foil behind striker Olivier Giroud and knitted together Montpellier’s entire attacking strategy. He scored early goals in three crucial games in April, setting up wins over Marseille, Sochaux and Toulouse and a career of super stardom seemed inevitable.
As it turned out, Belhanda would not reach the heights of 2011-12 again, staying at Montpellier for another season after which he left to Dynamo Kiev before spells at Schalke, Nice and Galatasaray. Not quite the glittering career that looked possible for him at one stage but, for one season at least, the ‘Moroccan Messi’ lit up Ligue 1.
Attack
Montpellier primarily used the workmanlike wingers Souleymane Camara and John Utaka to flank Giroud, with the maverick young talents of Rémy Cabella and Karim Aït-Fana playing a key role in supplementing the more experienced duo. Giroud led the attack with aplomb, scoring 21 goals, including dramatic late winners against St Etienne and Lille in the run-in that helped secure the title for Montpellier and a big money move to Arsenal for himself.
Camara, a club legend, is one of only two of the title-winners remaining at Montpellier while Utaka will be best remembered for scoring the two goals against Auxerre on the final day of the season that clinched the title for Montpellier.
Unlike some of the other surprise title-winners in recent seasons such as Borussia Dortmund or Atlético Madrid, Montpellier were not defined by a particularly innovative or distinctive playing style. Nor did the squad, with the exception of Giroud, go on to achieve great things elsewhere, unlike many of the title-winners of Monaco in 2016-17 and Leicester City in 2015-16.
There was a surreal feeling even to the way the title was won. Auxerre’s fans took the opportunity in the final game of the season to show their displeasure at their club’s relegation, throwing tennis balls and toilet rolls onto the pitch, forcing the game to be delayed on several occasions before Montpellier ultimately ran out 2-1 winners.
But while there might not be a great legacy to emerge from Montpellier’s 2011-12 campaign, they will be remembered for playing with a scarcely believable spirit that led to a series of late winners, while an effective blend of youth and experience came together for a perfect storm of a season, catching PSG cold before they were able to fully flex their financial muscles.
The Parisiennes responded to Montpellier’s shock win by signing Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer of 2012 before adding Edinson Cavani a year later, forming the basis of the side that would win six of the next seven Ligue 1 titles. Meanwhile, Montpellier lost Giroud and slid back into the mid table obscurity from whence they had come. Their time at the top was brief, but it was a hell of a ride for anyone who lived through it.
