allow me to introduce you to...
paris saint-germain.
so i talked a bit about them in my last post.
they are my french team, my darlings, the team i saw live more times than i can count...they are my Ligue 1 loves, they are france to me, i love them from when i lived there, and (long story short) nobody knows who they are outside of france.
that's about to change (for everyone on my f-list. or who looks at this journal, because i'm keeping this post public.)
(yes, i realize our crest isn't as pretty as Real Madrid's. but that's because they are Real Madrid and they are my blood and i love them.)
PSG started back in 1970. we're not ancient, or anything, but we're just about 40. it's exciting. we were actually the product of a merger between two teams, Paris FC and Stade Saint Germain. we were the first major club Paris had for...well, a long time. i don't know exact dates.
we used to win things! let's see...we have 2 Ligue 1 titles, seven Coupes de France, three Coupes de la Ligue, and the UEFA Cup in 1996. that was very exciting, but it was before i moved to france, so. whatever, it's still awesome.
since every great club has a great rivalry, it's traditional that PSG supporters hate the Marseilles. think Real Madrid and Barca. it's actually exactly like that, we even call our derby game Le Classique, after El Clasico.
right now we're 9th in the Ligue 1 table, i believe. but don't quote me on that. don't let that disillusion you, either, this club is wonderful. placement in the table doesn't matter. i mean, it does to an extent, but let's face it, when you love a club, you love them regardless of position in the table. you love them unconditionally and you keep coming back season after season. so. it doesn't matter that we're 9th.
we haven't won anything in recent years. in fact, we've been on the line to drop out of Ligue 1 a few times. but that's okay- we always get it together enough for a winning streak to stay in the table. so really, we just need to light a fire under the manager's ass and we'll be all set. we'll come back, though, i have unshakeable faith in that. we did win le Coupe de la Ligue last year, i think. and in 06 for sure.
so now that i've bored you a little, let's look at some pretty pictures.
so i'm not doing everyone, here, because that would take forever. and i don't like to play favorites, but i do anyway, so here are some of my favorite players.
this is gregory coupet. he's our lovely goalkeeper, who also plays for the french national team.
he used to play at lyon and atletico madrid
now we have claude makelele, defensive midfielder for the france nt and of course, PSG.
he used to play for marseille, but we can forgive him for that (and his stint at chelsea) because he was at Real Madrid for a while.
there was this whole thing at RM where he played under del Bosque and was fantastic.
except then Perez came in and sacked del Bosque and brought in Becks (whom i love, dont' get me wrong) and dear old Claude was feeling undervalued, so asked for an improved contract. long story short, Perez said no and made some nasty remarks about him in the press. Claude left for Chelsea, where he stayed until last year.
then we got him.
we love him.
did i forget to mention he's our captain? he is.
this is gregory bourillion. he's a million different kinds of adorable and he's my french celebrity crush (apart from gaspard.)
he played for the french u-21s, but he hasn't been called up for the senior team yet.
i'm thinking we should work on that. he's a wonderful defender.
this is sylvain armand, who is our vice captain and likes to make funny faces.
also a fantastic defender.
this is loris arnaud, an amazing striker.
he's not fernando torres yet, but he'll get there. he's young.
here we have jeremy clement, my other french footballer crush.
he's a defensive midfielder who has Guti-esque passing skills.
he used to play for OL, as well as Rangers. two summers ago, OL tried to buy him back but we got him.
that made me happy.
he's another kid who played for the u-21s and hasn't been called up for the senior team yet.
again, we need to work on that. he's a great player.
and finally, i leave you with a picture of our stadium.
it's not as impressive or large as the Bernabeu.
but i've been there, so it gets points in my book.
it's in the 16th, and about half the size of the Bernabeu.
you can see the river and the eiffel tower in this picture.
also i can't find a good one of the inside, so whatever.
.
that was fun.
i hope you enjoyed that. i certainly did. maybe we'll get some more Ligue 1 fans around here? i'll cross my fingers.