SC Bastia are a French club based in
Bastia, situated on the island of Corsica, which is located southeast of the
French mainland. Despite the club playing in Ligue 1 in 2017, they now find
themselves plying their trade in the Championnat National 3 (French 5th
division). This was enforced by the French Football federation, following the
club’s financial difficulties. The club’s current plight is an antithesis to
the success of the Corsican club’s golden period in the late 70s, when they
reached the UEFA Cup final, eventually losing out to Dutch side, PSV.
Current Bastia badge
Unsurprisingly, most of Bastia’s
fans are Corsicans- they often display their independence. For some in overly
adverse ways. Many Bastia fans booed La Marseillaise (French national anthem)
before the 2002 Coupe de France final. There seems to be a divide between the Corsicans
and mainland France.
This divide, and a history of struggle can be seen through the club’s badge. The current version depicts a moor’s head with a white bandage (or necklace) wrapped tightly around the forehead, tied together by a knot below the temple. Behind the moor’s head is an outline of a castle, which is surrounded by blue. The castle represents the Castello di Bastia, but what is of more significance is the iconic moor’s head. This same head can be found on the badge of Bastia’s neighbouring clubs, also found in Corsica- Gazélec Ajaccio and AC Ajaccio (as well as that of Cagilari FC, found in Sardinia, displaying the close links Corsica has to Italy). Whilst there may be a competitive rivalry amongst the three French teams to be able to claim that the each is the dominant football team of Corsica, it seems as if they are more united with each other more than with mainland France. The answer for this lies in the history of Corsica. In 1729 the Corsican Revolution began, in an attempt to break free from the rule of Genoa, Italy. Directed by Luiggi Giafferi and Giacinto Paoli, and then by Paoli’s son, Pasquale Paoli. In 1755 the Corsican republic finally claimed it independence, and it remained such until 1769, when the island was once more conquered, this time by France. In 1760, General Pasquale Paoli ordered the necklace to be removed from the head and the blindfold raised above the eyes- the position of the necklace now. His reason, reported by his biographers, was that: ‘The Corsicans want to see clearly. Freedom must walk by the torch of philosophy. Won’t they say that we fear the light?’. Paoli was issuing a call for Corsican defiance and freedom, something that still rings true to this day. There is even a militant group- the National Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC), which pushes violent action for Corsican nationalism.
Flag of Corsica pre-1755
Post-1755-69, 1980- Corsican flag
The moor then is
clearly important for Bastia in the way it represents freedom and independence
for the island- it has featured on the SC Bastia badge since the 1980s, and one
would think it is not going anywhere soon.
Recently, the club
has found itself in trouble with the French Football Federation. In 2017 ultras
invaded the pitch during a home game against Lyon, where several of the
visiting team’s players were attacked. As a result the team were handed an
automatic loss, the club’s supporters were banned from travelling for
Bastia’s next three away games and Bastia’s director Anthony Agostini was
suspended for six months. Significantly, this happened in the home game
following Bastia playing behind closed doors, as Nice’s Mario Balotelli was
subject to racist abuse. Whether this is an ill-mannered and barbaric call for
Bastia and Corsica’s independence, or just the mindless act of a minority of
ultras, there seems to be a deep divide between Bastia and France, one that can
be traced back to the rebellious image of the moor’s head fixed on Bastia’s
badge.
Watford FC are a Premier League football club founded in
Watford, Hertfordshire. The club secured promotion to the Premier League in
2014-15 and have been competing in England’s top division since, they even
reached the FA Cup final last season, eventually losing out to Manchester City.
The club was founded in 1881 and fused with Watford Rovers to eventually
establish Watford Football club as we know it, in 1898. Before then though there
were internal disputes over whether to change them name to Watford Herts (for
Hertfordshire). In the years following its formation, Watford FC often played
in a blue kit. This changed in the late 1950s when they chose to sport gold kit
and black shorts- the colours that are found on Watford’s badge today.
Following the switch to gold and black the nickname of ‘The Hornets’ quickly
stuck, following a popular vote by the supporters’ club. This remains in place
today, epitomised by Watford’s mascot- ‘Harry the Hornet’.
Watford’s last blue kit (1959)
It may seem puzzling then, that whilst Watford are nicknamed
‘The Hornets’, that their current badge displays no hornets. The most recent
Watford badge depicts a red stag’s head at the centre of a pentagon, which is split
into black on the left side and yellow on the right side. This badge has not
always been present, however. From 1968 through to 1974 Watford adopted three
different badges and whilst they all contained the yellow and black colours
seen today, the stag was discarded for a hornet. However, since 1978 the club
has chosen to stick with what looks like a moose, but what is actually a stag.
The reason for this is based upon Watford’s location in Hertfordshire, a county
in England that is known for its vast stag population. This harks back to
Watford’s earlier days where the stag was placed on the 1950 and 1958 badge. Even
Hertfordshire County Cricket Club shares an image of a stag, or a fallow deer- it
is an image that has become synonymous with Hertfordshire.
History of Watford’s badge
Current badge
Last year the club raised the question to the fans to design
their own badge, calling it: ‘Designs on the Future’, the new badge will be
introduced for the 2020/21 season. It may not be too long before we see the
hornet once again taking its place on Watford’s crest. It seems once more than
Watford’s image will continue to change and evolve.
The 1999/2000 season in the Primeira Liga finished in a similar fashion to all the previous campaigns. Sporting Lisbon won the league, four points ahead of Porto, and eight points clear of Benfica. It seemed evident that for the next season the top of the league would paint a similar picture- only differing if the top three were to juggle positions. This had been the case for so long in Portugal- the last a team outside of the ‘Big Three’ won the league was back in 1946 when CF Belenenses were champions. This was soon to change, however.
The famous chequered Boavista badge
Boavista FC were founded in 1903 by British entrepreneurs and Portuguese textile workers (hence the chequered pattern). They have yo-yoed through Portugal football division, but they remained firmly in the Primeira Liga in the decades leading up to the turn of the millennia. Boavista’s success in the league did not come to fruition overnight. Their fortunes gradually improved thanks to chairman Valentim Loureiro, who was at the club between 1972 and 1995. Eventually his son, João succeeded him- it was here when the club’s golden hour had begun. João Loureiro appointed former FC Porto and Portugal midfielder, Jaime Pacheco as their manager in 1997, and soon the club’s league position ascended. They were the team that occupied the place below the ‘Big Three’ in 1999/2000. Despite their position in the league granting them entry into the UEFA Cup Qualifying Round, there was a mild sense of disappointment surrounding the club. The previous season Boavista had finished second to Porto, accumulating 71 points in the process- 16 more than they managed in the preceding campaign. Still, Boavista’s back-to-back finishes in the top four showed that they were a club on the up and ready to challenge for titles, although, it still seemed unlikely that they would ever get their hands on the coveted Primeira Liga title.
Pacheco’s team certainly had talent. Boavista’s goalkeeper,
Ricardo, went on to make 79 appearances for Portugal. At the heart of their
defence was Pedro Emmanuel and Litos, with the former going on to win the UEFA
Cup and the Champions League. Boavista’s midfield was equally talented- the
diamond jewel of it was Bolivian midfielder, Erwin Sanchez, dubbed as ‘Platini’
for most of his career- indicating the South American’s skilful and graceful
style of play. At the base of the midfield was the Portuguese pair of Rui Bento
and Petit- who provided an added industry to the team. The latter would go on
to play 148 times for Benfica and 57 times for Portugal. The more eccentric
players came in the forward positions, Duda, Silva and Martelinho, who offered pace
and creativity going forward. Pacheco had created a wonderfully balanced team,
filled with dynamism, ingenuity, and a resilience that made them incredibly
difficult to beat, and clinical going forward.
Boavista 2000/2001 team. Notable players include: Ricardo (top left), Duda (one from top right), Sanchez (top right), Petit (one from bottom right)
Despite this, the club at the time were still in the shadow
of the ‘Big Three’ in Portugal. Midfield starlet Nuno Gomes was sold to
Benfica, as was the proficient forward João Vieira Pinto. Meanwhile, young
forward Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was sold further ashore- to Leeds. It did not
seem that the club was soon to break the power-fold that had been present for
over 50 years in Portugal. The fact that many of their players were poached by
other clubs was unsurpirisng given how well the Boavista team had been
performing, and the lack of financial might that the club had to keep their star
assets when bigger clubs came calling. In Portugal, Boavista were dwarfed by
the ‘Top Three’ in terms of finances. These clubs could offer players greater
salaries, as well as higher quality training facilities. The record transfer
fee of Boavista by 2000 contextualises the lack of funds available. They spent €700,000
on Elpídio Silva. Benfica’s record transfer fee by 2000 was in excess of €6.7
million spent on Brazilian midifielder Roger. The gap between Boavista and the
top teams in Portugal was profound- making their achievement even greater.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink playing for Boavista
So how did they do it? It started with a win, a convincing
one, beating Beira-Mar 4-2. This was immediately followed up by an emphatic 4-0
drubbing of União de Leiria. A draw and defeat followed, but the club responded
like champions beating Benfica 1-0. In what proved to be their crucial part of
their season- Boavista went on a 15-match unbeaten run, crucially during this
period they were able to beat the city neighbours, and closest challengers FC
Porto, once more the scoreline read 1-0, thanks to a 31st minute
goal from Martelinho. Following a defeat to Braga at the beginning of the year,
the club once more responded by not losing in 12 and winning 10 of those games-
accumulating 32 points from a possible 36. They had wrapped up the title with a
game to spare, which no doubt allowed everyone associated with Boavista to
breathe easy, as they faced second placed FC Porto on the final day of the
season. Despite FC Porto thrashing Boavista 4-0, the league title was already
secured and the shackles were off- the club had made history.
Boavista fans celebrating the 2001 Primeira Liga
There were several key parts that made the Boavista machine
tick. The defence was solid and robust, and they conceded five goals fewer than
any other side, and four of those goal came after the title was already
secured. Going forward the team was also clinical, scoring 63 goals. The vast
array of goalscorers that Boavista had typified the collective spirit and
attitude of the team. No player scored more than 11 (Silva, Duda), but the whole
was greater than the sum of its parts. The quality of hardwork and defiance definitely
was not lost on Pacheco and the Boavista team. Capello later remarked that, ‘no
other club in Europe runs as much.’
Boavista’s famous Primeira Liga win was the pinnacle of their
success. Although, they did not immediately fall off the pace, the club started
to regress in the following seasons. A respectable second place finish in the
2001/2002 season may have suggested that the club would become a staple at the
top of the Portuguese league, as the club amassed 70 points, and conceded a
mere 20 goals. Furthermore, their Champions League campaign put them in the
limelight on the biggest European stage. Two draws against Liverpool, as well
as victories over Dynamo Kiev and Borussia Dortmund enabled Boavista to progress
from the Champions League first group stage. Despite failing to qualify from
their second group stage, the Portuguese club put in a respectable performance,
but fell short to Manchester United and Bayern Munich. Boavista did progress further
in European competition in 2002/2003- this time in the UEFA Cup, but the club
were knocked out of the semi-finals by a late Henrik Larsson goal, which
prevent an all-Oporto final. This success was not shared on the domestic front,
as Boavista slumped to 10th place.
Boavista’s Duda battles for the ball with Liverpool’s Sami Hyypia
Whilst the club enjoyed some success on the pitch, they were
struggling off it. Winning the Primeira Liga and competing in both the
Champions League and the UEFA Cup meant that the club had to give out improved
contracts and big bonuses. The poor financial situation was compounded by the
need to construct the new club stadium (Estádio do Bessa XXI) in time for Euro
2004 which was to be held in Portugal. The Portuguese government failed to live
up to the financial support that it had promised for the stadium, and the club
plunged into debt.
In 2004 Pachecho was let go by the club, as they once more
lurked in the mid-table of the Primeira Liga. But worse was yet to come. In
2008, via the ‘Golden Whistle Enquiry’, it had emerged that both FC Porto and
Boavista FC were involved in the alleged bribery of referees in the 2003/04
season. In 2008 Boavista were relegated to the Liga de Honra (Second Division),
due to the verdict that the club had ‘coerced’ match officials in three Liga
games, versus Belnenses, Benfica and Académica. Former president João Loureiro
was suspended for four years, and the club was fined €180,000.
A long five year spell, battling in both the Liga de Honra
and the Segunda Divisão (Third Division) finally came to an end in 2014, when
the Portuguese Professional Football League made the decision to promote
Boavista back to the Primeira Liga following several judicial reviews, as the
club leapt forward two divisions. Around the same time João Loureiro rejoined
the club, and he helped to cut the debt from the ‘Golden Whistle Enquiry’ in
half.
Boavista still sporting their balck and white cheques.
Under the guidance of former midfielder, Petit, Boavista
finished a respectable 13th in the 2014/15 season, as the club looked
to consolidate their Primeira Liga status. Since then performances have
gradually improved as the club has gone on to finish 14th, 9th,
8th and 8th once more last season. And whilst the club
are miles away from winning the Primeira Liga, fans will be grateful to experience
the top Portuguese division once again. Meanwhile, it seems that the ‘Big Three’
are set for another spell of dominance- no club other than Sporting, Benfica
and Porto have lifted the trophy since Boavista’s triumph at the start of the millennium.
The 2018/19 football season ended for PSG with a sense of
underachievement once again. Despite comfortably winning Ligue 1 with 91
points, the team crashed out once more in the Champions League, losing on away goals
to Manchester United. Their misery was further compounded by defeat to Rennes
in the Coupe de France final, despite holding a 2-0 lead. However, their not-so
noisy neighbours- Paris FC have had an equally heart-breaking end to their
season. Although their story is not so well known.
In the Quarter-final play-off for promotion to Ligue 1 Paris FC found themselves 1-0 down to Lens, thanks to a misplaced pass in midfield and an incisive breakaway that resulted in Thierry Ambrose slotting the ball home from 10 yards. However, with seconds to play Paris FC substitute, the Bosnian Marko Maletic, latched on to a flick-on and rifled home from a tight angle to make the score level and keep the Paris FC promotion dream firmly alive. This elation soon turned to despair as they crashed out to Lens on penalties, with Romain Perraud (who is now at Celtic) hitting the right post with his spot kick. Paris FC, literally inches from a possible promotion to Ligue 1, truly displaying the fine lines of football and how a season can be made or broken on one kick. Still, Paris FC should not look back on the previous season with too much gloom. The club finished 4 places better off than the previous season, moving from 8th to 4th and held the best defensive record in the league conceding just 22 goals in 38 games, a record even Atletico Madrid would be proud of. Certainly, their Parisian home, the Stade Sebastien-Charlety, in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, proved somewhat of a fortress, conceding 6 goals in 19 games and losing just once to eventual runners up, Brest. These achievements are not to be taken lightly once analysing the club’s woeful 47-year history.
Thierry Ambrose celebrating after scoring vs Paris FC
This brings us back to
Paris-Saint-Germain, the football team that dominates Paris. This was not
always such a formality, however. In an attempt to propel the quality and
audience of football within Paris, Paris FC was launched in 1969. The club then
fused with Stade Saint-Germain to form, the infamous Paris Saint-Germain. However,
the clubs divorced in 1971, as the mayor of Paris refused to support a
non-Parisian club, as they had been situated in the Saint-Germain-en-Laye
suburbs. Surprisingly maybe, it was Paris Saint-Germain coming off the worst
off out of the two clubs. Paris FC held both its Ligue 1 status and the right
to play at the Parc des Princes, whilst Paris Saint-Germain were demoted to the
French Third division. So how have the tables turned so dramatically between
the two clubs? One factor is the contrasting fortunes of the clubs following
the split. Paris FC were relegated after two seasons, whilst PSG gained
promotion to the top division in the same year, which also led to their acquisition
of the Parc des Princes over Paris FC. PSG have remained a mainstay in France’s
top league ever since, although the same cannot be said for their neighbours in
the 13th arrondissement.
Ever since their relegation in 1975, Paris FC have only been
back in the top division of France for one season. The club was even in the
Championnat de France amateur for six years, before their overdue promotion to the
National division in 2006. So how did one of Paris’ clubs become a European superpower,
whilst her ex-partner struggles in the lower divisions of French football.
Although it is difficult to identify specific points in
analysing any club’s progress, there are aspects of Paris FC which have, and
continue to hold the club back from its ambition of competing in Ligue 1. The
average attendance at the Stade Sebastien-Charlety in the previous season was a
meagre 3,849, despite the stadium holding a 20,000 seat capacity. Although an
improvement on the 3,072 average attendance in 2017/18, this was only better
than six other teams in Ligue 2. Interestingly, Parisian club Red Star FC had
the lowest attendance of all teams in Ligue 2, suggesting a deep-rooted problem
in the popularity of Parisian clubs outside of PSG. The low attendance seems
unsurprising for Paris FC however, when considering their stadium. Stade
Charlety has been shared with Stade Francais Rugby Union club, Paris Saint-Germain
Rugby League club, Paris Universite Club and Paris Saint-Germain Feminines. The
stadium also has an athletic track surrounding the pitch, which dilutes any atmosphere
created, and hinders the experience and enjoyment for Paris FC fans watching.
Stade Charlety
President of Paris FC, Pierre Feracci is open to the idea of
renovating the stadium before the club are promoted, although this could be an arduous
and expensive process that could see the club selling their key assets in order
to keep Paris FC financially stable. Nevertheless, the issues surrounding Stade
Charlety do not seem to be taking a hold of the current group of players. The aforementioned
solitary loss at home, suggests that last season the team firmly considered their
stadium home.
A second issue, which the club have already identified and
attempted to resolve is the constant stream of youngsters who have left the club
in their early years, leaving for little to no money, and going on to move to
big European clubs. In 2018, the club moved into a new training ground in southern
Paris, costing 7 million euros. Feracci, as quoted in The Independent stated:
‘We had arguably the worst infrastructure of any Ligue 2 club; now it’s among
the best. I think in the next four to five years our training ground will be
one of the best in France’. Feracci went on to say, ‘We’ve got four high-quality
pitches, including a hybrid, heated one… Orly has added so much energy and
vitality to the club.’ How does this help them attract and keep any young
talent that they hold? Their professional accreditation from the French Football
Association last year allows the club to make better contract offers to young
players, so they are less likely to move on in hope of a better deal. Feracci
(again in The Independent) lamented that ‘in the ten years I’ve been here,
15 to 20 youngsters between 11-19 have left the club every year… We couldn’t
offer professional contracts before the age of 20, and we lost players at a
younger age, too.’
It seems for a club like Paris FC the prospect of young
talent is more important than most French clubs. At the 2018 World Cup 52 players
were born in France, more than any other country. For example, Mehdi Benatia
was born in France, but chose to represent Morocco due to his parents. Out of
the 52 players born in France, 15 were from Paris. There has been an increase
in the amount of Parisian both in the French team, and Parisians participating
at the World Cup between 2002 and 2018. As the graph shows, 3 Parisians
represented France in 2002, which increased to 7 in 2018. Similarly, 7 Parisians
were at the 2002 World Cup for all countries, compared to 15 in 2019. What is
potentially even more enticing for a club like Paris FC is the estimated worth
of Parisian talent. Players from Paris at the 2018 World Cup had an
accumulative worth of 483 million euros (according to Transfermarkt values-
taken 5.6.2018). This is nearly triple the value of what players from London at
the World Cup were (167 million euros). Although Paris FC is unlikely to have
too many players competing at the World Cup in the near future, they are sure
to take optimism from the deep pool of football talent that Paris holds.
Graph indicating number of Parisians at the World Cup between 2002-2018
Player value by country at 2018 World Cup (credit to RunRepeat)
Paris FC have seen this Parisian talent first-hand with a number of players starting their career with Paris FC before jetting off elsewhere. Former Liverpool defender and PSG captain, Mamadou Sakho was at Paris FC from age 6-12. Strasbourg right-back Kenny Lala was at Paris FC from 17-19, and Red Bull Leipzig defender, Nordi Mukiele was at the club from age 7-16. These are just a handful of players that Paris FC could not keep hold of, and who left the club for no major profit. Transfermarkt shows the current value of the three players to total 44 million euros, and while it is ambitious to believe that Paris FC would be able to hold on to these players long enough to make that kind of money, it is certainly reasonable to think that the club could have made a healthy profit if they were able to hold on to their assets.
Nordi Mukiele, formely of Paris FC playing for RB Leipzig in the UEFA Europa League (Photo by Matthias Kern/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Now, with the professional accreditation from the French
Football Association for the clubs new training ground, Paris FC will have a
better chance of holding on to their youngsters. The future looks brighter than
the past for Paris FC, thanks to their new infrastructure, allowing the club to
offer youngsters professional contracts before they reached 20. Their ability
to keep hold of youngsters and offer better facilities at their training ground
may be the crucial push which propels the forgotten Parisian club back into
Ligue 1 after their 40-year absence.