The Rise of French Football

This season’s UEFA Champions League has been full of surprises; Liverpool crashed out at the group stage, Jose Mourinho kept his unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge intact, and Wayne Rooney greeted David Beckham at Old Trafford by blasting a double past the Rossoneri.

But one story that’s failed to make the headlines is the exciting return of French football.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League tells the story of French football’s impressive re-birth in Europe’s premier club competition. For the first time since the 2005-06 tournament, Ligue Un has representation in the Quarter-finals. But it gets better, there are actually two French sides in Friday’s Quarter-final draw: Lyon and Bordeaux.

Led by Bosnian sensation Miralem Pjanic, Lyon defeated Real Madrid 2-1 on aggregate after tying in dramatic fashion at the Bernebeu. Bordeaux had a slightly easier route to the Quarter-finals, edging out Olympiakos 3-1 on aggregate thanks to goals from star men  Marouane Chamakh and Yoann Gourcuff in Piraeus.

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