Big-spending Paris Saint-Germain is under huge pressure to bring the French league title back to the capital for the first time since 1994.
With massive Qatari backing and players joining in droves, PSG has no excuse to fail this time.
Ravaged by football violence over the past few years, PSG's problems off the field frequently overshadowed its title frustrations and systematic failure to even reach the Champions League, let alone perform well in it.
But a new chapter is there to be written, starting with Saturday's home match against Lorient at Parc des Princes.
''I think this team is ready for the league with the squad we have in place, given the number of players we have and their experience,'' PSG sporting director Leonardo said.
Prince Sheik Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, whose Qatar Sports Investments owns 70 percent of the club, has used his funds to make PSG an attractive destination. Leonardo took the bait, leaving his job as Inter Milan coach to oversee PSG's long-term plan for domestic and European success.
Several players have already joined, and Palermo playmaker Javier Pastore said he is arriving for a reported fee of ?43 million ($61.1 million), surpassing the ?33.5 million ($47.6 million) PSG paid for Real Madrid for striker Nicolas Anelka in 2000.
Pastore's transfer, set to be made official this week, would place PSG alongside Manchester City - which paid slightly more for Argentina striker Sergio Aguero.
Yet, former star David Ginola said ambitions count for little if team spirit is lacking among PSG's highly-paid stars.
''No matter how much you earn per week, doesn't make any difference,'' Ginola told The Associated Press in a recent interview. ''I've been in this situation in the past, in clubs where there is a lot of money. It doesn't bring you the dressing room. The dressing room is something special.''
PSG has signed goalkeepers Nicolas Douchez and Salvatore Sirigu, defender Milan Bisevac, midfielders Blaise Matuidi and Mohamed Sissoko, winger Jeremy Menez and striker Kevin Gameiro.
''Everyone is expecting something from us after we invested a lot of money,'' PSG coach Antoine Kombouare said. ''They (the players) haven't won anything yet. They have to make their own history.''
Matuidi, Menez and Gameiro are in France's squad, while Sirigu has broken into Italy's team and been compared to a young Gianluigi Buffon. All are 24 years old, and should form PSG's spine for many years - if they stay.
''We all talk about how much money you have got in the club to buy players, but it doesn't mean that the player will settle in the club, like the club, like his teammates and do everything to bring success,'' Ginola said. ''The pressure goes with the money, more money you've got, more pressure you've got. You have to be successful.''
Ginola was part of the PSG team that won the title in 1994. Overall, he scored 35 goals in 127 games for PSG and played alongside striker George Weah in the team that reached the Champions League semifinals a year later.
''It was not the same money involved. It was not a question of money,'' Ginola said, reflecting on PSG's best era. ''It was a question of spirit, a question of passion, the way we handled situations because we loved our club.''
Glory nights against Barcelona and Real Madrid are long gone, and PSG last played in the Champions League seven years ago. Although PSG has won several domestic cups since 2004, fans want the league title and Champions League.
While Leonardo has been parading the recruits he hopes will turn the club's fortunes around, things have been tense behind the scenes with doubts over whether Kombouare will stay.
Robin Leproux was fired as club president shortly after QSI's takeover. Leproux went to significant lengths to eradicate the club's hooligan problem - two PSG supporters died in the last five years because of hooligan incidents outside Parc des Princes.
Boardroom instability was exacerbated by the hooligan problem.
Players had their cars vandalized at training, and former winger Jerome Rothen suspected thugs had tampered with the brakes of his Ferrari after a crash. A steady succession of managers and presidents cracked under such strain.
''The way they managed the club for so long, they changed chairman five times in 10 years, they changed managers,'' Ginola said. ''You need to have the same people in charge to bring stability to the club. This is what they want to do and hope to do in the next 10 years.''
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Jerome Pugmire can be reached at http://twitter.com/jeromepugmire
