The sky fell on them, even though it had been a while since it was supposed to happen. By dint of falling from season to season in the standings, the Girondins ended up landing in Ligue 2. Well, almost, since it would take a miracle on the last day to see Josuha Guilavogui and his family save themselves. Last season had already been a harbinger of many ills, but the expected questioning never really happened. After many internal problems and a disastrous exercise, marked by 89 goals conceded in 37 days, the worst European defense is in its rightful place. However, it is heartbreaking for many followers of the Bordeaux club, between supporters and former players. It seems a long time ago when the Girondins marched on Ligue 1 with Gourcuff, Chamakh
The arrival of Gérard Lopez last July did not change anything, bad choices followed one another and the atmosphere at Haillan deteriorated. Frédéric Roux, former goalkeeper of the Girondins from 2000 to 2006, does not hide his disappointment when discussing the relegation of his heart club for Le Point. “The feeling today is mostly sadness, even pain. We are all responsible, the players, the managers and even the elders, for having accepted such a situation. From beginning to end, we witnessed a general catastrophe. It must be said that the takeover of the Girondins by the Luxembourg businessman, after the threat of receivership, was very ambitious: a first part of the table this season, before planning for European qualifications.
???? Finally, this is the lesson of the season: the @girondins will have needed absolutely no one to go to L2. Of immense technical mediocrity, they never had the level to maintain themselves. Everything is to be rebuilt and especially the sportsman.
Same story with Ludovic Obraniak, who wore the Girondine colors from 2012 to 2014. “I am more than annoyed, I feel great pain. There is the sportsman but next to it, there are the people around, those who work at the Château. They have the club under their skin, they have not been spoiled in recent years. Apart from Jaroslav (Plasil) and the youngsters, there is no longer a worthy representative of the scapular in this team. Lacoux and Mara, even if they are not always on top, at least they are tearing themselves apart. I don’t understand why they weren’t trusted more than those mercenaries. Sporting director Admar Lopes got the vast majority of reinforcements wrong last summer.
The fiasco was tied up quickly. The choice of Vladimir Petkovic to lead this new project quickly turned sour. After having led the Swiss selection from 2014 to 2021, the coach from the Balkans has never been able to impose his paw. As with Marcelo Bielsa in 2017, when he took over Losc, Gérard Lopez bet on a big name. But after leaving the Blues during the last Euro, Petkovic showed his limits and his speech never took Haillan. And called as a firefighter on duty in February, David Guion never managed to straighten the helm of a sinking ship. “These coaches were unable to federate around a project, analyzes Frédéric Roux. But the fault is also on the side of the players. They never knew how to revolt. I never felt in them the desire to save the club. You can be bad on the pitch, but on the mindset…it’s unacceptable! »
This general abandonment is illustrated by the bitter routs that followed: 5-2 in Strasbourg, 6-0 in Rennes, 5-0 in Reims, 3-0 in Paris, 6-1 in Lyon or 4-1 in Angers . At no time were the Navy and Whites able to show consistency, solidarity and quite simply, the level of Ligue 1. “They even managed to put out a guy like Hwang Ui-Jo, laments Ludovic Obraniak. He had such energy. It saddens me when I hear the stories that follow: the Girondins have become the doormat of Ligue 1. I am disillusioned, because Bordeaux is anything but that. Today, this club is synonymous with defeat, failure, and even a lack of humility. »
Frédéric Roux, he does not hide his pessimism in the face of the descent experienced by his former club. With a workforce in total reconstruction and very few certainties on the ground, the site promises to be gigantic. “Ligue 2 is not a vacation, challenges the former goalkeeper. It’s a constant fight. I fear that this club will disappear over time. Toulouse was able to recover fairly quickly, but Sochaux, Auxerre and Caen take a lot longer… We’re going to have to clean up a lot. You need a mix between young people, like Sékou Mara and four, five Ligue 2 captains to frame it all. »
Our President @gerard_lopez_ is therefore not here (again) tonight. We could not imagine that in this descent (into hell), on this day so terrible for the history of our club of
While the club is falling into an increasingly pronounced anonymity, it is also the question of the DNA of the Girondins which is coming back to the fore. In a modern football which distorts more and more certain clubs, like the American companies King Street and GACP which laid the foundations for the fall of the Girondins, a return to the sources is desired by several figures of the club.
Frédéric Roux hopes in any case that the former players will have their say in the uncertain era which opens in Bordeaux. “We would like to have a helping hand. I would like to get involved in a role, give back to this club what it has given me. I remember being challenged by the arrival of Montpellier, all the members of the delegation and the staff were old! Today, there is no value in this club, no one identifies with it. “It remains to be seen whether the move to the lower floor will allow the Girondins to put their heads back in place. And given the current situation in Haillan, optimism is not in order.
