In 2012, the unglamorous French
side Montpellier did to Ligue 1 what Leicester City are doing to the
Premier League this season. And they managed to finish the job.
Their
entire playing budget - 33m euros (£25m) - was less than what rivals
Paris St-Germain paid for Javier Pastore, but somehow they managed to
shock French football by finishing above Lille, Lyon, Marseille and
Carlo Ancelotti's PSG to win the first league title in their history.
So
with 10 games to go, can table-topping Leicester City manager Claudio
Ranieri learn from Montpellier's success story four years ago?
The club's then head coach Rene Girard told BBC World Service how the Foxes can continue to upset the big boys.
Play mind games with the managers
"I
tried to put Carlo Ancelotti and PSG under pressure. I made sure I was
prepared before every press conference. You have to take the passion out
of it and take the pressure off of your players.
"When we were
trailing by one or two points we always said 'they are favourites, they
are favourites'. And to be fair it was true. If there was a team built
to win the title it was PSG, not us. But that was my job. With the
players, I used the press to my advantage.
"In every pre-match
press conference in the last 10 games I was asked, 'can you win it? can
you win it?' I'd say 'no we can't win it'. We tried to put the pressure
on the other teams, particularly PSG."
Don't overthink things and enjoy it
"We
were a decent side but we never had any ambitions of going for the
title or trying to upset the Parisians, Marseille, Lyon or Lille. PSG,
in particular, had already started building a great squad and they were
streets ahead of us. But then, little by little we started to believe.
"What's
being said in the media about Leicester is exactly what was said about
us - 'they've done really well, they've had a great journey but they're
going to crack, physically they haven't got what it takes to be
champions'. But in the second half of the season we could rely on a
great team spirit with young players who realised they could achieve
something special.
"We didn't ask ourselves too many questions, we
never left the mentality that served us so well, which was to enjoy our
football, take pleasure in it and leave everything out on the pitch.
Everyone was waiting for the moment we would crumble but - like
Leicester are at the moment - we held on."
Keep your star players fresh
The
exploits of Leicester's top scorer Jamie Vardy mirror those of
Montpellier's Olivier Giroud, a late developer who is now at Arsenal.
Behind him they had French-born Morocco playmaker Younes Belhanda.
Before winning the title, they finished the previous season down in 14th
place, just like the Foxes.
"Like Leicester we had a striker
who had come through the leagues and was in the form of his life -
Olivier Giroud. He scored more than 20 goals that year.
"At the start of the season he was almost surprising teams. But as it
went on, he scored more goals, and opponents took notice. So you have
to look after that type of player, but he was physically strong.
"I
also had players like Remy Cabella and Younes Belhanda, good dribblers,
skilful players that you had to really look after. You couldn't work
them too hard, you had to give them a breather every now and then.
"The
players can be their own worst enemies. Cabella, for example, was
desperate to play all the time. He was 20 and didn't want to stop. You
had to look after him to make sure he could last the pace until the end
of the season."
Ignore the transfer gossip
With
Leicester's success has come transfer speculation surrounding their top
players, like goalscoring midfielder Riyad Mahrez, who has been linked
with both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
"That was another
challenge. When you get to two months before the end of the season, the
agents start circling. Who's wanted there? Who's wanted there?
"Giroud,
Belhanda and defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa were all attracting interest
from English clubs. You have to explain to them that going to the end of
this adventure will make them better.
"If you're a champion, it
will be a massive plus for you on your CV. But that sort of thing can
effect players, it can get in their heads. I saw it when I was manager
of Lille and Divock Origi signed for Liverpool.
"It's very hard to
keep some players grounded. Every day I was saying: 'Watch out, don't
do this, don't do that, be careful'. I was looking after them. At some
points I banned all interviews and said 'I don't want you talking to any
press, today we say nothing'. Because some say more than the others."
Manage the pressure - tunnel vision
Montpellier
were three points clear of PSG going into the final day and sealed the
title when coming from behind to beat Auxerre 2-1.
"It's true
that the pressure is an extra challenge. At first everyone is saying
that it's great what you're doing, then they say you'll crack, you won't
last the pace, you'll start losing games.
"We tried to put it to
one side and use the pressure. At the end of the day we had nothing to
lose. In a manner of speaking we became the pain in the neck for all the
top teams in Ligue 1. We were up there when nobody expected it so we
used that to our advantage. We said to ourselves why not go as far as
possible? Why not enjoy it?
"The last day was crazy. The pressure
was there, but we managed it really well. Like a top cyclist going up a
mountain, we put our head down towards the handlebars and we didn't look
at what other cyclists were doing."
Montpellier - Ligue 1 | Leicester City - Premier League |
---|---|
2010-11: Finishing position 14th, 47 points - three points above relegation zone | 2014-15: Finishing position 14th, 41 points - six points above relegation zone |
2011-12: After 28 games - 2nd, 57 points - two points behind leaders PSG | 2015-16: After 28 games - 1st, 57 points - three points clear of Tottenham |
Top scorer: Olivier Giroud - 17 (finished with 21) | Top scorer: Jamie Vardy (19) |
Position after 38 games - Won the title | Position after 38 games -???? |
Talking about the title
"So we avoided talking about it too much because
we didn't have the experience like a PSG to be bullish about winning the
title, it was all new for us, so we didn't shout it from the rooftops.
"Having
said that, with about five games to go we did allow ourselves to talk
about it. That's because if we had finished second or third it would
still have been a great season so we said to ourselves, 'why not?' Let's
take the bull by the horns and show everyone that we're capable of
finishing the job.
"We beat Lille in the penultimate game 1-0 with
a goal in the 89th minute. That knocked them out of it. PSG drew 0-0
and that put us in a great position for the final day. We said to
ourselves let's show what we can do and finish the job, credit to the
players, they did it."
Final advice for Claudio Ranieri
"I would say don't change a thing, keep going as you are now. Stay yourselves.
"You
can see that desire, you can see that they are not asking too many
questions, you can see that they are playing with freedom. I know
Ranieri from his time at Monaco.
"He is someone I really respect.
He knows better than anyone how to manage this. It looks like a group
who know they can achieve something special. Don't let any players leave
the mould that you created at the start of the season."
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