Bordeaux or Gironde de Bordeaux is one of the leading French football clubs from the city of Bordeaux, founded in 1881.
Dossier
The Bordeaux Club is a six-time champion of France (1950, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1999, 2009), a three-time Cup winner (1941, 1986, 1987) and a two-time winner of the country's Super Cup (2008, 2009). The team won the French Cup three times (2002, 2007, 2009), was a finalist of the UEFA Cup (1996).
Spends home football matches at the Stad Bordeaux Atlantic stadium, opened May 18, 2015. Capacity - 43,000 spectators.
The President is Jean-Louis Trio. Trainer - Willy Sagnol. Famous players: Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse, Didier Deschamps, Zinedine Zidane, Pedro Pauletta, Eric Cantona, Sylvain Wiltor, Jean-Pierre Papin. Famous trainers: Eli Bop, Aimee Jacques, Laurent Blanc.
The history of the club
At the end of the IXX century, various sports societies, including many sports, began to form in many cities in France. Bordeaux was no exception, having organized the SGTG association in 1881. And although football did not work out in the city, 38 years later, several football teams of the city reunited in the form of a club. It became known as Girondis de Bordeaux. Then the main color scheme of football ammunition was determined: purple t-shirts + white underpants. It remained to wait for the first official match of the team. It took place in 1920 and was lost with an indecent score 0:12 to Section Burdigalienne.
In the future, numerous attempts were made to merge the club with different teams, subsequently not justified by competitive results. In 1936, the historic association of the Bordeaux Football Club and Girondis Guyenne Sport teams took place. In the process of reunion, a club called Bordeaux came out. The following year, the team wins the French Championship of amateur teams and applies for the status of a professional club. After satisfying the petition, Bordeaux took part in the championship in the second French league.
First trophy
The team won its first trophy (Cup of France) in 1941. The prize draw took place in a multi-stage system. First, a regional winner was determined in three territorial zones. After the butt games were played. Decisive games were held in Nazi-occupied Bordeaux. A club from the city of the same name, having successively won against Toulouse and Thebes, became the first owner of the Cup played during the war.
First championship
A huge impetus to the development of French clubs was the holding of the 1938 World Cup in France. In many cities, new stadiums were built. This also affected Bordeaux. The club received the Stade du Pars Lescure arena. Before the war, the first legionnaires came to the team. The Gironde were full of ambition, but war spoke its word. Some football players were mobilized to the front, others left the country. Three more post-war years, the club appears in the second French division. And only in 1949 the team was able to break into the first. And next year, Bordeaux, a rookie club, becomes the champion of France. The next success will come only after 35 years.
Time for victories and defeats
The French football club "Bordeaux" in the mid-80s was not only the strongest team in the country, but also one of the best in Europe. During this period, the conquest of three championships and two Cups of France. These victories were made possible thanks to two key figures of the club: team president Claude Bezier and head coach Aime Jacques. These two charismatic personalities made a kind of football revolution in Bordeaux. The club has changed its financial policy, infrastructure, attitude to the football business. The president spared no funds to acquire the best French and foreign players. During this period, the team played: Marius Trezor, Bernard Lacombe, Patrick Battiston, Jean Tigan, Alain Giresse. Among the foreign stars who performed at the club at that time were: German Dieter Muller, Yugoslav Zlatko Vujovic, Portuguese Fernando Chalana. That “Bordeaux” is a club that reached the semifinals of the Champions Cup (1985) and the semifinals of the Cup of Cups (1987). Another European success will have to wait a long 10 years.
All great clubs experienced periods of ups and downs. In the 70s they were Ajax, Bayern and Liverpool, in the 80s - Juventus, in the 90s - Milan. This fate did not pass and “Bordeaux”. The club began to slowly lose ground. In 1989, Aimee Jacquet left the team, the next year the club was left without Claude Meringue. The former president was accused of financial fraud and falsification of documentation. He received a prison term and a large fine. Soon, Claude Meringue died, and with it ended the golden era of Bordeaux. The football club began to fall. The result of the fall is the humiliating 10th place of the 1991 championship. Later, by decision of the National Council, which controls the expenses of football teams, the club was transferred to the second division because of huge debts.
Help came from businessman Alain Afflelu and coach Rolland Courbis. The first contributed to the restoration of financial stability, the second ensured the appearance of new football stars in the team. The most striking were: Bixant Lizarazu, Christophe Dugarri, Zinedine Zidane.
In 1996, Bordeaux was a football club with great ambitions. He wants to conquer the first European Cup top. The team reaches the final of the UEFA Cup, where it will face a crushing defeat from Munich Bayern. Nevertheless, the club managed to survive the bitterness of defeat. Three years later, the team for the fifth time wins gold medals in the French championship. The next success in the champion race will come in 10 years.
In the early 2000s, the club again began to rapidly lose height. Fourth place was replaced by twelfth, then was fifteenth. The new savior came in the person of the Brazilian specialist Ricardo Gomez. The team went up sharply, took second place and got the right to play among the strongest teams in the Champions League.
Currently, Bordeaux is a football club, which is the middle peasant of the French League 1. Last season, the team finished sixth, in the 2015/2016 season the club is still in twelfth place, six points from the relegation zone.