The Rise and Fall of Girondins de Bordeaux
It was the 30th of March, 2010. Girondins de Bordeaux had a date with destiny, a chance to make their second ever Champions League semi final and their first in 25 years. Juventus had been the team to deny them a final appearance on that occasion in 1985, beating them 3-0 in the first leg in Turin. Despite staging a spirited attempt at a comeback at home, they fell one goal short and bowed out 2-3 on aggregate.
In their bracket this time were Bayern and Manchester United, but they first had to battle the team they had dethroned in Ligue 1 the year before, Lyon. Their opponents had knocked out the most expensive squad in history at the time, Real Madrid, to advance to the quarter finals. But Bordeaux themselves didn’t have to feel lucky for getting the easier draw on paper. After all, they had finished top of a group with Juventus and Bayern, winning 5 of their 6 games and drawing one.
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Like Lyon, they didn’t get there by accident. They had beaten Bayern home and away and taken 4 points off Juventus. They, too, deserved to be here. After losing that first leg 3-1 at Stade de Gerland, they would show up at their Stade Chaban-Delmas home a week later to fight back. Because of Marouane Chamakh’s away goal, they just needed two unreplied goals.
Bordeaux lined up with Cedric Carrasso in goal, a defence of Lamine Sane, Marc Planus, Michael Ciani and Benoit Tremoulinas, a pivot of Jaroslav Plasil and captain Alou Diarra, and an attack with Wendel, Jussie, Yoann Gourcuff and Chamakh. Despite a quick start, it wasn’t until the stroke of halftime that their man for big occasions, Chamakh, popped up again to cut the deficit.
Now, with 45 minutes to go, they needed just one goal to advance and set up a semi final clash against a Bayern team they had beaten twice in the group stage. But that goal would never come, as Lyon locked them out. They could only muster one shot on target, eventually bowing out. It was ultimately a valiant effort, an unforgettable campaign.
Many were certain they would be back, on the evidence of what they had shown. Perhaps, they would eventually make a final. That night happened 14 years ago, and it was the last time we ever saw them in the Champions League. It may well be the last time we see them there for decades, maybe even forever.
Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux are one of the greatest French clubs, a historic club not only in their country but in Europe as a whole, having played over 200 European games and contested a UEFA Cup final in 1996. The 80s saw the club become the top team in France, after significant investment by club president, Claude Bez, parading a team of stars including Bernard Lacombe, Alain Giresse, Jean Tigana, Marius Trésor, Dieter Müller, Thierry Tusseau and Patrick Battiston.
Some of these players would form the core of the French National team that won Euro 1984 and finished 3rd at the 1986 World Cup. Coached the entire decade by Aime Jacquet, who would go on to deliver France’s first ever World Cup in 1998, they won the league more times than any other team (three times), finishing in Ligue 1’s top three on eight occasions. But their problems with the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG), who are the French financial watchdogs, didn’t just start recently.
In 1991, due to a significant budget deficit, the DNCG pounced on them and relegated them to the second division. They got their house in order, with president Bez forced to resign, and returned swiftly to Ligue 1, a club reborn. Parading a new generation of stars such as Zinedine Zidane, Bixente Lizarazu, Christophe Dugarry, they would rise again to produce a few good UEFA Cup seasons culminating in a scintillating run to the UEFA Cup final in 1996, which they lost to Bayern Munich.
In 1998/1999, 12 years after their last domestic league triumph from the glory years, they took their title back. It was a breathtaking title race contested with Marseille which went down to the wire, with the duo of Golden Boot winner, Sylvain Wiltord, and Lilian Laslandes driving them forward, supported by Johan Micoud, Lassina Diabate, Ali Bernabia and captain Michel Pavon. They won the title in the 89th minute of the final day away at PSG, thanks to a goal by Pascal Feindouno.
It wouldn’t be as dramatic a decade later when they became the team to dethrone Lyon after their 7-year monopoly of the league though. It would go to the final day once again, with Marseille breathing down their necks like in 1999, but a fairly comfortable 1-0 win at Caen, while needing just a draw, closed it out. Their 6th title was in the bag. They would never even finish in the top 4 again after that, until this day. But what really happened to Bordeaux? Here is a brief summary.
In 2018, General American Capital Partners (GACP), backed by Fortress Investment Group (FIG) and Kings Street Capital (KCP), acquired the club from French media firm, Métropole Télévision (M6), who had been in charge of the club since 1999.
Due to the size of their investment, KCP got 86% of the stake while GACP held the other 14% but with their chief executive, Joseph DaGrosa, having major veto power. The Bordeaux fans were not enthused and expressed their dismay at having their club in the hands of a hedge fund. They already foresaw trouble. They didn’t have to wait long for their prophecy to come to pass.
The hedge fund marriage barely lasted a year before divorce followed. A sharp decline in on-pitch results was followed by KCP concluding that GACP had tricked them with an exaggerated valuation and potential profitability. They decided to buy out GACP’s 14% stake and end the marriage. Things didn’t get better before the COVID-19 pandemic happened and debts rose to astronomical levels.
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Eventually, in 2021, KCP decided they were done and withdrew all financial support for the club, leading to the club being placed in the hands of a local commercial court and on the verge of bankruptcy. DCNG swiftly took action and relegated them. Along came former Lille owner, Gerard Lopez, acquiring the club armed with promises to arrest the slide, restructure their debt and bring back the glory days.
Following his presentation to the DNCG, the club’s relegation was reversed and they were given top-flight status again. But just a year later, they were relegated due to on-pitch reasons for once, after a woeful season in which they finished last, winning just 6 games and conceding 91 goals. Rather than the club getting a European spot that would have helped them financially, they found themselves in the second division as debts mounted.
Manager David Guion was given the mandate to bring them back immediately, but he fell just short, finishing 3rd and missing out on promotion by 3 points. In 2023/2024, the club finished 13th. Following the disastrous season, they filed for bankruptcy and decided not to risk heavy sanctions from the DNCG by not fighting to retain its professional status.
There was pessimism that they could present a viable recovery plan to the financial watchdog. With that, they lost their professional status and were relegated to the third tier of French football. But the storm wasn’t over yet. Less than a week later, they were further relegated to the fourth tier and put in financial administration by the DNCG.
Football misses having a great and thriving Bordeaux, and it looks like it could be a really long time before we see them competing in the top flight again. The club of Giresse, Tigana, Lacombe, Zidane, Ramé and Lizarazu will now be playing in the fourth tier of French football.
The story is not entirely a sad one though, there is something to savour. 40-year-old, Rio Mavuba, who came through the club’s academy and played for them between 2003 and 2007, came out of retirement to play for the club again and help them through these dark times. 36-year-old Paul Baysse, who also came through their academy, also came out of retirement to play for them again. Maybe there are still many more beautiful chapters yet to be written in the Bordeaux story. Time will tell.
By: Astorre S. Cerebróne / @Cerebrone
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Scoop Dyga / Icon Sport