"I can't believe we've got to a game in France on two different types of public transported and not been disrupted by somebody on strike"
Girondia de Bordeaux 4-0 OGC Nice. Stade Chaban-Delmas. Sunday 23/08/09 |
Now I don't like heat at the best of times but this was something else. Admittedly, my cause probably wasn't helped by the insistence on wearing a beret to blend in with the locals (as it was, none of them had one on so I in fact blended out). But even so, just sitting there watching 22 men wander around at a leisurely pace was enough to have you sweating as if you were running a marathon inside an active volcano.
Bright sunshine, 30 degree heat. Still need the floodlights on |
Monsieur Blanc's side won Ligue 1 last season to break the dominance of Lyon, winners for the previous seven seasons in a row. This was their first home game of 2009-2010 and their first as champions, taking on a Nice team who were frankly not very good, but then again on the day both sides could be forgiven for the snails pace the game took place at bearing in mind those of us in the stand could easily have claimed dehydration purely through perspiration.
Laurent Blanc doing his best impression of a beach goer |
Stade Chaban-Delmas main stand |
The home fans ready to greet the champions |
Bordeaux free-kick |
The Bordeaux goalkeepers kit was absolutely fantastic |
Smaller Arc De Triomphe - presumably the builders went on strike |
Price of a pint = ouch |
As good as the sites got was the statue of a turtle and what appeared to be a half finished attempt to recreate the Arc de Triomphe which no doubt had never been finished due to industrial action on the part of the workers aggrieved at having to do more than an eight hour week.
The footballers on the other hand had more than earned their money after performing in that heat. It was certainly not conditions for football. Or wearing a beret.
Girondis de Bordeaux: Cedric Cassaro, Matthieu Chalme, Mickael Ciani, Marc Planus, Benoit Tremoulinas, Alou Diarra 1, Yoann Gourcuff 2, Wendel, Fernando Cavenaghi (Yoan Gouffran), Marouane Chamakh (David Bellion), Jussie 1 (Fernando).
Nice: David Ospina, Onyekachi Apam, Gerald Cid, Larrys Mabiala, Gregory Paisley (Drissa Diakite), Chaouki Ben Saada (Habib Bamongo), Olivier Echouafni (Mamadou Bagayoko), David Hellebuyck, Julien Sable, Mahamane Traore, Loic Remy.
Attendance: 32,065.