Football in France

Football: Montanier to swap La Real for Rennes

Agence France-Presse — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:01:04 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Philippe Montanier will leave Spanish side Real Sociedad at the end of this season to take over at French Ligue 1 club Rennes, it was confirmed on Tuesday.

Real Sociedad revealed earlier on Tuesday that Montanier, 48, would leave the Basque club at the end of the current season after rejecting their offer of a new contract.

And a short while later Rennes confirmed that the Frenchman would take over at the Stade de la Route de Lorient as of July 1, accompanied by his assistant Michel Troin.

Football: French Ligue 1 results

Agence France-Presse — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:15:30 +0000

Agence France-Presse

French Ligue 1 results on Sunday:

Nice 1 (Cvitanich 47-pen) Lyon 1 (Grenier 76)

Saturday

Montpellier 0 Lille 0

Sochaux 1 (Sio 42) Toulouse 2 (Sylla 14, Akpa Akpro 21)

Reims 1 (Krychowiak 33-pen) Lorient 0

Evian/Thonon 2 (Khelifa 2, Ehret 12) Valenciennes 0

Nancy 1 (Puygrenier 60) Bastia 2 (Ilan 47, Modeste 71)

Troyes 1 (Bahebeck 56) Bordeaux 0

Rennes 1 (Erding 45+2) Ajaccio 1 (F. Diawara 5)

Saint-Etienne 2 (L. Perrin 25, Brandao 42) Marseille 0

Football:Drogba suffers new Ivory Coast World Cup snub

Agence France-Presse — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:00:19 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Veteran striker Didier Drogba was again left out of the Ivory Coast squad when coach Sabri Lamouchi unveiled his 26 players for next month's World Cup qualifiers against Gambia and Tanzania.

The 35-year-old Drogba led his country at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa this year but the team exited at the quarter-finals stage.

As a result, the former Chelsea star was axed from the squad for March's World Cup qualifier against Gambia.

Despite Drogba's 96 caps and 60 international goals, Lamouchi has resisted the urge to recall the Galatasaray veteran.

Football: France squad for Uruguay, Brazil friendlies

Agence France-Presse — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:46:27 +0000

Agence France-Presse

France coach Didier Deschamps on Thursday announced a 23-strong squad for friendly away matches against Uruguay on June 5 and Brazil four days later:

Goalkeepers: Mickael Landreau (Bastia), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham/ENG), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

Defenders: Gael Clichy (Manchester City/ENG), Jeremy Mathieu (Valencia/ESP), Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle/ENG), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal/ENG), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal/ENG), Mamadou Sakho (Paris Saint-Germain), Eliaquim Mangala (Porto/POR), Adil Rami (Valencia/ESP)

Football: Abidal to discuss Barca future with president

Agence France-Presse — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:01:06 +0000

Agence France-Presse

French full-back Eric Abidal is due to have a meeting with Barcelona president Sandro Rosell to discuss his future with the Catalans, club spokesman Toni Freixa said Wednesday.

The 33-year-old has missed most of the last year after contracting liver cancer and his current playing deal comes to an end in June.

Barca have not revealed whether Abidal's offer is to continue playing or for some other role -- although a month ago they suggested it was an ambassadorial role -- but the Spanish champions are keen to keep him on.

Football: Drogba hits out at racist fans

Agence France-Presse — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:02:32 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Galatasaray striker Didier Drogba has hit out at racist Fenerbahce fans who bombarded him and fellow Ivorian Emmanuel Eboue with monkey chants during the two sides meeting last weekend.

The former Chelsea star posted a message on the Turkish champions' Facebook page and also published a photograph depicting Charles Darwin's theory of evolution on the social media site Instagram.

"You call me a monkey but you cried when Chelsea beat Fenerbahce in 2008, you called me monkey but you jumped in front of your screen when I won the Champions League," Drogba wrote.

Football: French Cup result

Agence France-Presse — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:31:42 +0000

Agence France-Presse

French Cup semi-final result on Wednesday:

Evian 4 Ninkovic (10), Sagbo (20), Berigaud (33), Baouia (80) Lorient 0

Playing Tuesday, May 14

Troyes v Bordeaux

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Football: Evian banish league woes to reach Cup final

Agence France-Presse — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:30:56 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Relegation-threatened Evian put aside their Ligue 1 woes to reach the final of the French Cup for the first time as they swept past Lorient 4-0 on Wednesday.

Milos Ninkovic, Yannick Sagbo and Kevin Berigaud struck first-half goals at the Parc des Sports, while Nadjib Baouia added a late fourth in Annecy to set up a May 31 date in Paris with either Troyes or Bordeaux, whose match was put back a week after Tuesday's scheduled clash was postponed due to the risk of flooding.

Football: Marseille win to extend PSG title wait

Agence France-Presse — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:16:29 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Marseille ensured Paris Saint-Germain will have to wait another 24 hours before securing the Ligue 1 crown after keeping their remote title hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Toulouse on Saturday.

Andre Ayew returned from suspension to score twice at the Stade Velodrome, while Eden Ben Basat struck a late consolation as Marseille cut PSG's lead at the summit to four points with the league leaders in action at Lyon on Sunday.

"It wasn't an easy victory against a very good opponent this evening," said Marseille boss Elie Baup.

Football: PSG end 19-year wait for French Ligue 1 title

Agence France-Presse — Sun, 12 May 2013 22:09:23 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Paris Saint-Germain sealed their first Ligue 1 title since 1994 with a 1-0 win at Lyon on Sunday.

Marseille's 2-1 win over Toulouse on Saturday, their fourth success in a row, had ensured PSG would have to keep the champagne on ice until after their own game.

But former AC Milan winger Jeremy Menez scored the only goal of the game against a limp Lyon side and that proved enough to deliver the silverware.

PSG were by far the better side on a night where third-placed Lyon also had much to play for as they look to seal a place in next season's Champions League.

Football: French Ligue 1 results

Agence France-Presse — Sun, 12 May 2013 15:46:33 +0000

Agence France-Presse

French Ligue 1 results on Sunday:

Lorient 3 (Monnet-Paquet 51, F. Robert 67, Jouffre 90+3) Saint-Etienne 1 (Zouma 80)

Playing later

Evian v Nice (1500GMT)

Lyon Paris SG (1900GMT)

Friday

Lille 3 (Kalou 20, 77, Payet 49) Reims 0

Saturday

Marseille 2 (A. Ayew 45, 62) Toulouse 1 (Eden Ben Basat 82)

Valenciennes 4 (Melikson 39, Rose 68, Lala 83, J. Saez 90+1) Rennes 1 (Pitroipa 30)

Ajaccio 0 Troyes 1 (Jarjat 17)

Bordeaux 3 (Biyogo Poko 41, Saivet 45, Diabate 86) Nancy 2 (Karaboue 65, Sane 80)

Football: Cabaye committed to Newcastle cause

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 11 May 2013 22:18:39 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye says he is committed to struggling Newcastle's cause despite speculation a move may be in the offing this summer.

The France international has endured a tough second season in English football. Last season, Newcastle over-achieved in coming fifth but this season they remain in danger of the drop.

Even so, the former Lille star says he is happy to be where he is and is focused on the fight for English Premier League survival.

Football: French Ligue 1 results - 1st update

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 11 May 2013 20:15:04 +0000

Agence France-Presse

French Ligue 1 results on Saturday:

Marseille 2 (A. Ayew 45, 62) Toulouse 1 (Eden Ben Basat 82)

Valenciennes 4 (Melikson 39, Rose 68, Lala 83, J. Saez 90+1) Rennes 1 (Pitroipa 30)

Ajaccio 0 Troyes 1 (Jarjat 17)

Bordeaux 3 (Biyogo Poko 41, Saivet 45, Diabate 86) Nancy 2 (Karaboue 65, Sane 80)

Brest 0 Sochaux 2 (Privat 48, 81)

Bastia 3 (Beauvue 16, Modeste 32, 87) Montpellier 1 (Utaka 31)

Sunday

Lorient v Saint-Etienne (1200GMT)

Evian v Nice (1500GMT)

Lyon v Paris SG (1900GMT)

Friday

Football: Marseille win to extend PSG title wait

Agence France-Presse — Sat, 11 May 2013 17:30:43 +0000

Agence France-Presse

Marseille ensured Paris Saint-Germain will have to wait another 24 hours before securing the Ligue 1 crown after keeping their remote title hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Toulouse on Saturday.

Football: Troyes-Bordeaux cup match hit by rain

Agence France-Presse — Tue, 07 May 2013 10:16:11 +0000

Agence France-Presse

The French Cup semi-final match between Troyes and Bordeaux on Tuesday has been postponed due to the risk of flooding, town officials announced.

Located on the Seine river about 150 kilometres (93 miles) southeast of Paris, the town and surrounding region has been badly hit by heavy rain over the last few days.

The French football Federation later said that the game would be re-scheduled for March 14.

The other semi-final opposing Evian-Thonon and Lorient will go ahead as scheduled on Wednesday.

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