Marseille coach Didier Deschamps is hoping to revive his side's
title hopes with a victory at defending champion Bordeaux on
Sunday.
Defeat would leave Deschamps' team languishing 14 points
behind his former France teammate Laurent Blanc's side.
Bordeaux's relentless march toward a second straight title is
quickly gathering momentum. At the halfway stage of the season,
Blanc's team already leads second-place Lille by nine points after
19 games. Marseille, which has played a game less, is 11 points
behind in fourth place.
"We are going (to Bordeaux) with a lot ambition," Deschamps
said.
But there is more than points at stake, there is also pride.
Deschamps failed to make an impression in the Champions
League this season in a competitive group that also included AC
Milan and Real Madrid. But Blanc had no trouble guiding Bordeaux to
the knockout round by finishing unbeaten ahead of former European
Cup winners Juventus and Bayern Munich.
Deschamps did enjoy a thrilling 3-2 League Cup win against
Saint-Etienne on Wednesday night, which saw his team twice came
back from a goal down to win in the final seconds. Brazilian
striker Brandao, derided for his wasteful finishing against Real
Madrid last month, scored twice.
Marseille also won its French Cup match last weekend, beating
the amateur side Trelissac 2-0.
"Our objective was (winning) these first two games,"
Deschamps said on Marseille's Web site. "The championship is our
priority from now on. We will have to get right back into it and do
everything we can to come away from Bordeaux with a good result."
As France internationals, Blanc and Deschamps were
inseparable allies, making a total of 200 international appearances
(97 caps for Blanc in defense, 103 for Deschamps in midfield) and
winning the 1998 World Cup and the European Championship two years
later.
Both are ambitious and highly rated coaches, and are among
several contenders tipped to take over from unloved France coach
Raymond Domenech after the World Cup later this year.
The 44-year-old Blanc added the League Cup to the French
title last season, while the 40-year-old Deschamps took rank
outsider Monaco all the way to the Champions League final six years
ago.
Deschamps also led troubled Juventus, one of his former clubs
as a player, back into Italy's top flight at the first attempt in
the 2006-07 after Juve was relegated following a match-fixing
scandal.
But this season, it has been Blanc grabbing the spotlight and
the plaudits, getting his team to play with style and efficiency in
the Champions League and opening up a big lead in France.
"This Bordeaux team has a lot of quality," Deschamps said.
"So do we, I hope that we can show that as fully as possible. But I
wouldn't like to play this Bordeaux team every Sunday."
Blanc managed to hold onto his two best players, France
playmaker Yoann Gourcuff and striker Marouane Chamakh, and both
have again been impressive this term.
"If we win (on Sunday), we will strike a big blow," the
Morocco striker Chamakh said. "If we win, we will shove our main
rivals down even more."
Chamakh is expected to join one of Arsenal, Tottenham or
Liverpool next season, and wants to go out in style with a League
and Cup double and more goals in the Champions League.
"We will play every competition to the full. The French Cup
is dear to our hearts. On the domestic front, we've won everything
except the French Cup," Chamakh told France Football magazine this
week. "Marseille is also coming to win, but they will be under more
pressure than us. Because even if we draw, we still have the same
lead over them. Whatever happens, it will be a great match."
In Saturday's games, it is: Auxerre vs. Boulogne; Grenoble
vs. Saint-Etienne; Le Mans vs. Lorient; Lille vs. Paris
Saint-Germain; Monaco vs. Sochaux; Montpellier vs. Nice; Nancy vs.
Lyon; Rennes vs. Lens and Valenciennes vs. Toulouse.
PSG coach Antoine Kombouare wants an immediate response from
his inconsistent players after a 1-0 loss to second division
Guingamp in the League Cup on Wednesday.
"Of course I'm angry. But what's done is done, there's no
going back," Kombouare said.
