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Les Dogues Have Their Day
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Written by Christopher Morley
Across the Channel, Les Dogues, that is to say Lille, seem to be having their day in spectacular fashion, a title win this season following flirtation with relegation just the previous campaign- we might wonder what & who has sparked the turnaround. The club, now owned by a Luxembourg based investment group Merlyn Partners SCSP, was managed until just two days after the triumph by Christophe Galtier, who hinted that the change in ownership was at least in part a factor in his decision to depart.
Before San Marino took the crown as worst national team in the world, according to FIFA rankings, there was Bhutan- & it would seem a common thread of tardiness in assembling an infrastructure is at least part of the problem…
In 2001 Filippo Inzaghi played his last game for Juventus, after what had been a pretty productive 4 seasons where he had scored 89 goals for the Bianconeri in a mere 165 games. Unfortunately, the relationship only resulted in one major honour, the 1997-8 Serie A title, although they did also lose the 1998 Champions League final by the thinnest of margins to Real Madrid.
Inzaghi moved to AC Milan in July of 2001 and the rest, as they say, is history. 'Super Pippo' spent the rest of his career with the Rossoneri and got his hands on the Champions league trophy twice (in 2003 and 2007). And now, 20 years after leaving Juventus, Inzaghi has handed out some managerial retribution to his former club.
As England gear up for a World Cup qualifier against San Marino on Thursday evening, it might be worth considering just why La Serinissima- as they're called back home- often top “ worst of the worst” lists! The first point to draw attention to this is probably the most important- they've won just one match, a 2004 friendly with Liechtenstein, & while they've participated in every World Cup & European Championship qualifying campaign since their début as a competitive nation, they still await a competitive win.
As the COVID pandemic loosens its grip on football ever so slightly, a case study in its knock on effects- Matt Byard, Ipswich Town's physio, was open in his support for the suspension of the Football League season as the virus took hold. Ahead of a raft of Boxing Day postponements over the 2020 festive season- including the Tractor Boys' own post-Christmas game, he told the club website-
