 |
This article is a rough translation of an article in French. It may have been generated by a computer or by a translator with limited proficiency in English or the original language. Feel free to enhance the translation. For reference, the original article may appear under "French" in the "other languages" list. |
| Paris Saint-Germain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Paris Saint-Germain Football Club |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | PSG | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Parc des Princes, Paris (Capacity 46,480) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager |  Paul Le Guen |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Ligue 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006-2007 | Ligue 1, 15th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, or PSG, is a French football club based in Paris. The club's stadium is the Parc des Princes.
Contents |
Colours and logo
|
|||||||||||||||
The Stade Saint-Germain club played mainly in white until 1970, [1] when they merged with Paris FC and adopted the red and blue colors of Paris combined with the white of Saint-Germain. The first strip design of the fledgling PSG in 1970 was red with white shorts and blue socks,[2] with white and blue trim. The logo of the equipment supplier (Le Coq Sportif) was generally not displayed (dependent on the shirt) whereas the following season, the supplier logo was displayed. This has continued since. Another change compared to the shirt of the previous season saw a solid blue trim with no white. The white shorts and blue socks remained.
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
||
| From 1973 to 1981, 1994 to 2000 and 2005 to 2006 | ||
Fashion designer Daniel Hechter collaborated with the club in May 1973 to design an iconic shirt which would become a strong symbol of the club. It was composed of a blue shirt with a red central vertical bar framed by white edgings. This shirt was originally in use in 1973-1974 in Division 2. [3] The tone and shade of the red and blue has changed over time, as has the dimension and alignment of the red central band. This shirt is in use to the present day, despite proposed implementations of new designs. The reason for this is these were all rejected by the supporters in favour of the now-traditional design. A reversed version (red with a blue central vertical bar) was in use as the away shirt design in the late 70s.
|
 |
|
|
||
|
||
| From 1981 to 1990 | ||
Francis Borelli succeeded Daniel Hechter and was the first to try to replace the shirt design of Hechter with a predominantly white shirt decorated with two fine red and blue vertical bands.[4] Initially the away shirt, the white design became the home shirt in 1981; the blue shirt design of Hechter becoming the away design. In 1990 a stylized Eiffel Tower design replaced the vertical bars; this shirt remained in use for two seasons and represented the change between the Borelli and Canal+ eras. In 1992-1993, the club adopted a white shirt with blue shoulders.
|
 |
|
|
||
|
||
| From 2002 to 2005 | ||
The white design was abandoned in 1993 in favour of a red and blue shirt which was quickly replaced in 1994 with a return to the shirt design of Hechter. The collar design varied, but the colours remained identical up until 2000. From then, the blue was replaced in favour of navy blue and the white edgings disappeared, causing the anger of the supporters.[5] Risking backlash from supporters, the club once again modified the shirt in 2001 by reducing the width of the vertical red bar and moving the alignment from the centre to the left side. In 2002, the white edgings made their reappearance around the red band which was still thinner and aligned to the left. This shirt design was kept for three seasons. In 2005, the club returned to the 'historical' shirt, to the great joy of the supporters. In 2006, the red band was reduced in width again, but remained central. The current home design harks back to the more traditional wide central red band, although the strip now incorporates red shorts and socks. The away shirt was mainly white before 1981, then again from 1993. Between these two dates, the blue/red home design was used. A grey and white shirt (1999-2000) and a crimson shirt (2006-2007) have also been used as away shirts. Currently the away strip consists of a white shirt, shorts and socks. The red band mirrors that of the home design. Le Coq Sportif were the original equipment supplier from 1970 to 1975. Adidas took over for the 1975-76 season, before a return to Le Coq Sportif for 1976-1977. Pony was the supplier in 1977-78, with another return to Le Coq Sportif from 1978 to 1986. Adidas was then the equipment supplier of the club until 1989, at which point Nike took over supply duties, and they remain the equipment supplier to the present day. [6]
History
The club was founded in August 1970 by the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain. Gathering funds from nearly 20,000 subscribers, the creation of Paris FC marked the reappearance of a major club in Paris after the demise of R.C. Paris, Red Star and Stade Français (among others). The union of F.C. Paris and Stade Saint-Germain was motivated by the need to find players, structures, and a place in a higher division, and it resulted in the creation of Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. The new club played in the Nationale (second) division for the 1970–71 season. The club won the division and was promoted to the top division in their first season. After finishing 16th in the 1971–72 season and under pressure from the Paris City Council to remove the reference to Saint-Germain, the club split in May. The professional part of the club joined C.A. Montreuil and remained in the top division as Paris FC, the amateur part of the club continued in the third division as amateur side Paris Saint-Germain. PSG was promoted to D2 in 1972–73, as champions following the disqualification of US Le Petit-Quevilly. The following season the club returned to professional status and finished second in the league, winning promotion to the top division in a play-off with Valenciennes. In a ironic twist for PSG supporters, Paris FC was relegated in that season and PSG would henceforth always play at the newly rebuilt Parc des Princes, once the ground of Paris FC.
Daniel Hechter era (1973-1978)
The club has remained in the top division since 1974), after going professional 2 years earlier. Jean-Pierre Dogliani, Mustapha Dahleb and François M'Pelé were notable players at this time. Staff-wise, Velibor Vasović and Jean-Michel Larqué are seen as notable. Daniel Hechter was responsible for the design of the “historical” club shirt. On November 4th 1975, the current training center, the Camp des Loges was inaugurated. Pierre Alonzo took the direction of it. The Tournoi de Paris also finds life again in 1975, until its dissapereance in 1993. The presidency of Daniel Hechter ended following the scandal of double ticketing of the Parc des Princes in January 1978.
Francis Borelli era (1978-1991)
Francis Borelli takes over for 13 seasons. Under his control, the PSG gains its first major trophies: two Coupe de France (1982, 1983) and the championship of France 1985–86.
The most notable players of this period are Carlos Bianchi, Dominique Baratelli, Luis Fernandez, Ivica Surjak, Dominique Bathenay and Dominique Rocheteau then Safet Susic, Joël Bats, and Gabriel Calderon. George Peyroche, Gérard Houllier, Lucien Leduc and Tomislav Ivic were the principal trainers of the Borelli era.
Canal + era (1991-2006)
In 1991, Borelli is forced to pass the relay to Canal+ which invests in the PSG in order to compete with Olympique de Marseille, starting the intense rivalry. After three years, the club started some wonderful years winning the French Championship in 1994 - after Marseille's title was revoked for match-fixing. The club's fortunes in Europe were impressive, winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996, also reaching the following year’s final only to lose to Barcelona FC. During the Canal + period, PSG was very effective in local cups as well, winning the Coupe de France in 1993, 1995, 1998, 2004, and 2006. In addition, PSG won two Coupe de la Ligue (1995 and 1998). Several players were the foundations of the PSG success, such as Bernard Lama, Alain Roche, Ricardo Gomes, Valdo, David Ginola, George Weah, Raí, Youri Djorkaeff, and coaches such as Artur Jorge and Luis Fernandez.
This prize list could have been expanded by the title of champion of France in 1993 following the OM’s descend to second division. The League allotted the title to PSG but Canal + refused it. The TV chain feared the reactions of its subscribers in Province, and Canal+ even threatened to withdraw from football completely if the title was allocated to PSG. The “higher interests of Canal+” were before those of the PSG. The League and the Federation accepted and the title of 1993 remained “not allotted”. Canal + even refused PSG to dispute the UEFA Champions League after the exclusion of OM by the UEFA.[7] The takeover of the club by Canal+ is gradually carried out. Starting in 1991, Canal+ started gaining shares of the club, but it wasn’t until 1997 that the TV channel started to own the majority of the shares. After June 2001, Canal+ obtained another 34% of the shares, and in August 2005 they obtained the other 2% held by Alain Cayzac, making the TV Channel PSG’s only shareholder.
In 1998, after seven years with Michel Denisot, Charles Biétry takes over but resigns after six months leaving the club heavily involved in debt, while losing important deals such as the sale of Nicolas Anelka to Arsenal FC, which proceeded to sell the player a year later to Real Madrid for 33.2M€. Since then, PSG is trying to find balance and stability. In 2000, the PSG was one of the 14 founder members of G14. During this period, the return of Luis Fernandez did not improve the sporting situation in spite of the talent of players such as Ronaldinho, however the debt of the club had been multiplied by two.
The combinaton of Francis Graille-Vahid Halilhodzic is called with to rescue of the club, who is going through a 40% expenditure reduction. In spite of this problem, the PSG had a beautiful 2003-2004 season, winning the Coupe de France and reaching a second place on Ligue 1 which opens the doors of UEFA Champions League 2004-05. The season 2004-2005 is more difficult. The club was quickly eliminated from the UEFA Champions League 2004-05 and was having a sluggish performance in the championship creating a crisis with the supporters, who were against the policy followed by Canal+. Vahid Halilhodzic is fired on February 8 2005 and replaced by Laurent Fournier, former player of the club. President Francis Graille is also fired by Canal+ on May 2 2005. Pierre Blayau succeeds to him. The project of Francis Graille which consisted in repurchasing shares of the club did not impress Canal+, which reaffirm its desire to remain in charged of PSG, contrary to all the rumors announcing progressive disengagement of the majority shareholder. In the December 27th, 2005 Laurent Fournier is fired by Pierre Blayau, even though PSG is only one point of the second place of Ligue 1. Guy Lacombe is named to replace it after Paul Le Guen refused the post. April 11, 2006 Canal + announces the sale of the club to the American investment company (Colony Capital), the French investment company (Butler Capital Partners) and the American investment bank (Morgan Stanley). Canal + yields the club for an amount which is not communicated while taking responsibility for its important debt contracted by the club under its direction. This sale becomes effective June 20 2006. After that, Alain Cayzac replace Pierre Blayau.
Ownership
In 1991 PSG was purchased by the French media company Canal Plus. In April 2006 it was sold to a consortium of investment companies consisting of U.S. firms Morgan Stanley and Colony Capital and Butler Capital Partners of France for a reported sum of 41 million euros [8].
Classic Matches
1. The 1974 playoff victory for promotion to Ligue 1 against Valenciennes FC was one of the most dramatic victories in team history. After losing away 2-1, PSG rebounded at the Parc des Princes with an emphatic 4-2 win. 2. PSG faced off against French champions A.S. Saint-Étienne in the 1982 Coupe de France final. Les Verts had already won the league and featured the French legend Michel Platini. A 2-2 draw and no goals in extra time led to penalties, in which former St. Etienne star Dominique Rocheteau gave PSG the winning kick and 6-5 triumph. This was the club's first trophy. 3.The 1983 Coupe de France featured defending champions PSG against FC Nantes. With the match tied 2-2 in the 82nd minute, Nambatingue Toko scored the dramatic winner for Paris, giving the club its second Coupe de France victory. 4. The 1992-93 UEFA Cup run produced two of PSG's most dramatic wins ever. In the Round of 16, PSG tied their first leg match against Anderlecht of Belgium. With PSG losing away 1-0 with only sixteen minutes left, Antoine Kombouaré equalised and advanced the club on goal difference. In the next round, Paris faced off against Spanish giants Real Madrid as heavy underdogs. Madrid crushed the young PSG side 3-1 in Spain, setting up an almost impossible scenario for PSG at the Parc des Princes. George Weah scored in the 33rd minute making it 1-0, and giving Paris some hope. However in the 81st minute, facing elimination and down 3-2 on aggregate, Ginola miraculously scored to tie the aggregate. With the Parc overflowing in excitement, Valdo scored for PSG to make it 3-4. However, Real Madrid rallied back and scored in the 91st minute to stun the Parisians. With the aggregate at 4-4, the match seemed destined for extra time but stoppage time continued well into the 96th minute, setting up one last opportunity for Paris to score. It was Antoine Kombouaré who would once again be the hero, scoring the most unthinkable goal in team history, giving PSG a 4-1 victory and 5-4 aggregate upset. 5. In the UEFA Champions League 1994-95, PSG advanced all the way to the quarterfinals, setting up a pivotal showdown with FC Barcelona. After tieing at the Nou Camp 1-1, Paris shocked the footballing world with a dramatic 2-1 victory (goals by Raí and Guerin). This was the farthest Champions League run in team history. 6. The 1995-96 Cup Winners Cup final will forever be remembered in the hearts of PSG supporters. The match was played on May 8, 1996 in Brussels against Rapid Vienna. Bruno N'Gotty scored the only goal in the 35th minute as PSG won their first major European crown. 7. In the 1996-97 Cup Winners Cup PSG sought to defend their crown, but faced a tough semifinal opponent in Liverpool FC. The opening match in the two-legged tie featured a 3-0 drilling of the English side at the Parc en route to an aggregate victory. 8. The 2006 Coupe de France final was the most recent major victory for PSG. At the Stade de France outside of the capital, PSG faced off against arch rivals Olympique de Marseille in what was billed as the match of the century for French football. Behind the mostly pro-Paris crowd, PSG rallied to a 2-1 victory, including a tremendous and ultimately winning goal by Vikash Dhorasoo (his first goal of the year).
See also
2006-07 Season
PSG began the 06-07 season poorly, dropping their first match 3-2 to FC Lorient at home. In the 5th week, they lost 3-1 to rivals Olympique de Marseille at the Parc des Princes, putting the team into 15th position in Ligue 1. After a strong rebound including a win in the Coupe de la Ligue and a win against Derry City FC in the UEFA Cup to advance to the group stage, PSG once again began to slide. One of the most disappointing and memorable matches during this run included a loss to Olympique Lyonnais in the Coupe de la Ligue, in which PSG had held a 1-0 lead into the very last moments when Sylvain Wiltord netted two dramatic goals to give the home side the victory. PSG subsequently dropped two matches at home versus RC Lens and FC Girondins de Bordeaux. After another crushing away loss to rivals Olympique Lyonnais, the Parisians faced Greek side Panathinaikos at home in the most important match of the year. Needing a win to qualify for the Round of 32 in the UEFA Cup, the club cruised to a 4-0 victory. This victory eased some pressure off Guy Lacombe, but after struggling versus Troyes and OGC Nice, PSG headed into the winter break in 16th position, needing a good result to save his job. PSG began the new year with a home match in the 1/32 Coupe de France against Nîmes. The club was able to win 3-0 in front of a half-empty Parc des Princes. On January 15th, Guy Lacombe was sacked as PSG manager and replaced by former Rangers manager, Paul Le Guen, the once midfielder at the club. This followed on from PSG's 2-1 defeat to Valenciennes at the Parc des Princes. Sitting in 17th place in Ligue 1 (1 spot above relegation), PSG was desperate for a league victory. In the Coupe de France, the club from the capital defeated Valenciennes 1-0 on a Cristian Rodriguez goal stemming from a goalkeeping mistake. On February 4, Paris faced off against their rivals Olympique de Marseille at the Stade Velodrome as heavy underdogs. After allowing a goal by Djibril Cissé, Pauleta equalized the score and gave PSG a very important tie. Following the tie in Marseille, PSG defeated AS Monaco 4-2, earning their first Ligue 1 victory since October. Later that week, Paris upset AEK Athens in the first leg, winning 2-0 away. To finish the memorable turn around, PSG glided by Nancy 3-0 (another away victory) to move into 15th place. However, PSG followed these wins up with three consecutive defeats to St. Etienne, Sedan and Auxerre. Paris was also eliminated from the Coupe de France with a 2-1 away loss to Sochaux. After falling into the relegation zone, the Parisians hoped to advance to the UEFA Cup quarterfinals against Portuguese side Benfica. Paris won the first leg at home 2-1, but fell 3-1 away on a penalty to Simão Sabrosa. PSG defeated second placed RC Lens at the Stade Félix-Bollaert 2-1. The Parisians then came back to defeat Le Mans Union Club 72 at the Parc des Princes with a heroic goal by Amara Diané. In Week 33, Paris tied Bordeaux 0-0 at the Chaban-Delmas before destroying FC Nantes by a score of 4-0 in front of the Parisian fans. PSG then defeated Toulouse F.C. away in an improbable upset, which included a brilliant goal by the reborn Jerome Rothen. With "maintien" in Ligue 1 for 2007/08 essentially assured, Paris took seven points from their last four games to finish 15th. Despite his shaky season in which he was dropped from the starting eleven, Portuguese striker Pedro Pauleta scored the most goals in Ligue 1 once again. Since sacking former French player Vikash Dhorasoo, the club has greatly diminished.
Hapoel Tel Aviv Incident
After their second UEFA Cup group match against Hapoel Tel Aviv in Paris on November 24, which they lost 4-2, angry fans (in particular members of the non-recognized independent groups in Boulogne, associated with far-right political ideals which include racism and anti-semitism) used violence as a means of showing their discontent with their team's poor performance. Incensed by the shock defeat, in conjunction with the club's poor domestic league form, and the fact PSG were beaten by an Israeli team, a group of supporters chased and threatened a French fan of Hapoel Tel Aviv. In response, a lone black policeman came to the defense of this threatened Hapoel Tel Aviv fan. The large crowd reportedly shouted many derogatory phrases towards both the policeman and the fan. After firing warning tear gas shells, the policeman fired his gun twice, killing a Paris fan and wounding another. Following this incident, lower stand of Boulogne was closed for two months.
2007-08 Season
Paris Saint Germain opened the 2007-08 season at home against Coupe de France holders FC Sochaux-Montbéliard on August 4 with a 0-0 tie. PSG did not allow a goal for the first 249 minutes of the season, a streak broken when Marama Vahirua equalised for Lorient in the 69th minute of the Third Week en route to a surprise 3-1 win in Paris. The following Wednesday, PSG missed a golden opportunity to pick up points at newly promoted side FC Metz, tieing 0-0. After another lackluster performance at home, a 1-1 tie against Lille, the Parisians found themselves in 15th position. However, after picking up 7 points in three matches, including away wins to Le Mans and AS Monaco and an exciting draw at the Parc des Princes to rivals Olympique de Marseille, PSG improved to 11th place. After a disappointing loss to Bordeaux at home, Paul Le Guen modified the starting eleven, inserting homegrown talent such as Mamadou Sakho, Loris Arnaud, Younousse Sankharé and David N'Gog. N'Gog scored twice in PSG's Coupe de la Ligue victory in Lorient. However, Paris continued to struggle in Ligue 1, losing to Rennes, tieing Valenciennes (in a match which featured Sakho as captain), and coming up short to Lyon 3-2 at home. The team rebounded with another impressive Coupe de la Ligue victory against Montpellier, Pauleta scoring both goals, including his monumental 100th goal with Paris. PSG then continued their good stretch with a strong showing in Strasbourg, a match which included Loris Arnaud's first professional goal. Paris then tied Nancy 0-0 in an unimpressive performance from both squads. Following the international break, PSG stood in 14th. When the team returned, they suffered a heartwrenching defeat at the Stade du Ray, losing the match on a phantom offside call 2-1, and plunging into the relegation zone. For the December 1st match at home against Caen, both major Parisian supporters groups went "on strike" for the first fifteen minutes, making a delayed entrance before encouraging their team. Paris ultimately lost 1-0, effectively placing the club in "crisis mode". Before their match at Auxerre on Sunday, Paris stands in 18th place and in dire need of a victory.PSG then went on to defeat St. Eitenne 1-0 on a goal by Peguy Luyindula in the 50th minute, they currently stand in 16th as of 12/27/07.
Team honours
|
|
See also
Current squad
As of 1 September 2007.
|
|
Transfers 2007-2008
Out on loan:
|
In:
|
Out:
|
Notable former players
For a complete list of former Paris Saint-Germain FC players with a Wikipedia article, see here.
|
|
|
|
Former Managers
References
External links
|
