Team Focus: Gritty Girard Begins to Persuade Lille Doubters

As he returned to the Stade de la Mosson for the first time since he left Montpellier this summer, Lille coach René Girard was welcomed as you would expect the man who guided the locals to a first-ever Ligue 1 title to be. Fans brandished scarves bearing his name, the club’s administrative staff queued up for a hug and Girard himself was in hair-ruffling, baby-kissing form with the local youth. 

The 59-year-old doesn’t often show his softer side, partly because he knows that you don’t always get what you deserve in football. Girard smarts over only getting seven international caps, thanks to France’s famous Carré Magique (‘Magic Square’) midfield – and despite his achievements on modest budgets down south, Girard was hardly greeted with open arms in Lille. As soon as rumours spread that he would replace Rudi Garcia, a Facebook group was set up by fans to protest against his appointment.  

The arrival of Girard seemed to confirm a stark new era of austerity. Far from being received as the miracle worker who could sprinkle some of his magic dust in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, he was seen as a miserable symptom of the reduction in circumstance, and an opposite to the generally joyous football under Garcia.

Lille missed out on Europe on the final day of last season, and it was clear money was tight. The exits of Aurélien Chedjou and highly-rated young left-back Lucas Digne followed the winter departures of Mathieu Debuchy and Mickaël Landreau, with Eden Hazard and others already gone. The party, it appeared, was over.

So it’s a surprise to see Lille in third spot after ten games. A single-goal win at Montpellier put them there, and another victory at (equally in-form) Nantes on Friday night would take Les Dogues into second place, pending Monaco’s game with Lyon on Sunday.

It’s pretty clear how they’ve got there. In keeping with Girard’s image as a dour scrapper, Lille have been miserly at the back, conceding just 4 goals so far – the best record in Ligue 1. A consistent pairing at centre-back has helped. Marko Basa and Simon Kjaer have played regularly, Basa missing two games, Kjaer only one. David Rozenhal, widely assumed to be a busted flush at 33, has done a solid job when he has needed to step in. The Czech international won 100% of his aerial duels at Montpellier and had a 94% pass accuracy.

The base of Montpellier’s shock 2011/12 Ligue 1 triumph had been a solid defence. They let in just 34 goals, equal lowest in the division with ultra-negative Toulouse, and Girard’s fingerprints are all over the backline. Vincent Enyeama has kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in Europe’s top five leagues this season, with his 8th shutout of the season keeping him ahead of Roma’s Morgan De Sanctis (7) and Rémy Riou of Nantes (6). 

Enyeama was surprisingly installed as first-choice ahead of Steeve Elana at the start of the season, having spent last term on loan at Maccabi Tel Aviv. He has not conceded a goal since Dario Cvitanich’s strike for Nice in their 2-0 win in the north on September 15th, and his late penalty save from Rémy Cabella at Montpellier crowned a man-of-the-match display, with a WhoScored rating of 8.65.

Interviewed by BeIn Sport after Saturday’s game, Enyeama modestly – and characteristically – deflected the praise onto the group. He did, however, hit on a useful theme by singling out captain Rio Mavuba. “You can always hear him talking, organising,” said the goalkeeper. 

Mavuba’s importance is not just as a shouter. His role is a useful remnant from the Garcia era, when the now-Roma coach made his ‘mini-Barcelona’ in the north. Mavuba’s willingness to drop in between the centre-backs, almost creating a back three, has long been Lille’s shape when their full-backs bomb forward – similar to Sergio Busquets’ positioning when Dani Alves and Adriano push on.

At a relatively modest 172cm tall, the 29-year-old is a long way from the archetypal French defensive midfielder; a leggy destroyer in the Patrick Vieira mould. Instead, Mavuba uses his low centre of gravity to pick pockets, as his average 2.9 interceptions per game shows. His 87% pass accuracy over this season is testament to his commitment to keeping it simple. 

Again, getting the full-backs involved was a key tenet of Girard’s Montpellier reign. Garry Bocaly and Hénri Bedimo delivered 6 assists between them in that 11/12 season, though Mavuba’s ability probably negates the need for the double pivot generally provided by Jamel Saihi and Marco Estrada in that side.

Lille are unlikely to be threatening Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, though. Even given the big two’s colossal resources, there is simply not the quality in Girard’s final third that he had at Montpellier. Olivier Giroud and Younes Belhanda were the standout contributors, with Giroud scoring 21 times and providing 9 assists. Lille, on the other hand, are adjusting to life without last season’s top performer Dimitri Payet, whose 12 goals and 13 assists gave him an average WhoScored rating of 7.39, before he left from Marseille in the summer. 

For Les Dogues to stay on their lofty perch, a few more goals will be needed. Last season’s efforts were undermined by too many draws at their new Stade Pierre Mauroy (7 out of 19, giving them just the 8th best home record in the division). Despite a strong end to the last campaign, Salomon Kalou has only scored 3 times this season, while Nolan Roux needs a hefty 9.5 shots per goal, so Ryan Mendes and Belgian teenager Divock Origi will be required to ease the burden. Midfielder Marvin Martin has yet to open his Lille account, 16 months after arriving, so left-back Pape Saouré – who headed the winner at Montpellier - is currently second top scorer, with 2.

Still, Lille have something to build on, with their rivals at Marseille and Lyon floundering – and like any tiger, Girard is not disposed to let something go once he has it between his teeth.

How long can Lille hold on to third place in Ligue 1? Can they go any better and upset Monaco or PSG? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below