Once upon a time there were Giresse and Zidane. Bordeaux tries to relaunch itself from the fourth series

It is one of the oldest and most prestigious teams in France winner of six league titles, 10 national trophies (including three League) and two international ones (including an Intertoto Cup): since August, however, Bordeaux has found itself facing a very long recovery after having sunk into the fourth series, the National 2, where his championship started with one win, three draws and one defeat. The first success arrived only on 5 October 2-1 in Saumur, a town on the banks of the Loire: a provincial dimension far removed from the glories of the end of the last century, when those wearing the blue shirt of the ‘Marine et Blanc’ were Girondins champions like Alain Giresse and Jean Tigana in the 80s or Zinedine Zidane in the 90s.

The comeback victory was signed by the 35-year-old former Liverpool and England striker, Andy Carroll, a ‘heavyweight’ for this level of a double in the second half. The Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux, this is the name of the club founded in 1920 on the banks of the Garonne from a sports club founded forty years earlier, was relegated to the second division two years ago and for two seasons came close to promotion to Ligue 1 while the finances became increasingly precarious. Since July 30, the company has been in receivership due to a debt of 90 million euros accumulated by unscrupulous owners over the last decade. The return of the professional license and the closure of the youth sector, from which players of the current national team such as Aurelien Tchouameni and Jules Kounde emerged, served to avoid bankruptcy.

The “Girondins Socios” association founded by a group of fans to preserve the club’s football heritage has entered the share capital. Inspired by the South American model and some Spanish clubs, where the fans own a part of the club and have the right to vote to elect the president, “Socios” aims to financially support the club to help it in its recovery by indicating the shareholders with whom it wishes to collaborate. A sort of popular shareholding that can be accessed with a fee starting from 99 euros per year.

Members have reached almost 3 thousand with 250 thousand euros already raised. In the summer there was talk of an interest from Liverpool’s owner group, Fenway Sports, but nothing was done also due to the exorbitant costs linked to the use of the Matmut Atlantique stadium, built for the 2016 European Championships and owned by the municipality. The new coach, Bruno Irles, had to race against time to put together a team for the opening match on 31 August against Poitiers and managed to recruit only 14 players.

Some are glorious exes, such as defender Cedric Yambere and midfielder Younes Kaabouni. In order to replenish the ranks, even retired players such as former international Rio Mavuba, a former canterano of the club now on the coaching staff, and former defender Paul Baysse were brought in. The debut was epic: the match behind closed doors in an anonymous 3,000 seat stadium on the outskirts of the city saw the Girondins draw 1-1 with a header in the 90th minute by goalkeeper Lassana Diabate.

Now Bordeaux has to make ends meet: between sponsorships and box office, it is estimated that the annual revenue will be around two million euros, largely aimed at repaying debts and around a hundred employees have already been made redundant. The controversial 52-year-old Spanish-Luxembourg owner Gerard Lopez, who arrived in 2021 and has just returned from negative financial experiences at Lille and Lotus in Formula 1, will therefore have to reach into his wallet to reach the eight million needed for the club’s budget.

To complicate matters, there is also the clash between the two main organized groups of fans which has made it necessary to play several matches behind closed doors for security reasons. ‘Curva Nord’ accuses the ‘Ultramarines’ of having sided with Lopez and of having withdrawn from protests against the company, the last one in September in the presence of the mayor, Pierre Hurmic. Also giving hope is the return to the club’s historic stadium after a dispute with the municipality: in the first match against Voltigeurs de Chateaubriant there were more than 10 thousand spectators in the standsalso to witness the debut of the striker Carroll. Bordeaux is the sixth most populous metropolitan area in France with one million and 200 thousand inhabitants and now a square is impatiently awaiting a prompt rise towards Ligue 1.