4 April 1998 - This Cup Runneth Over

On 4 April 1998, Paris Saint-Germain won their second Coupe de la Ligue, beating Bordeaux on penalties, 2-2 (4-2). It was the third straight final to go to a shootout.

The teams met before a crowd of 77,700 at the Stade de France, Bordeaux started as the stronger side, with midfielder Johan Mocoud sending one shot off the post before burying a strike in the 30th minute. But the momentum shifted in PSG's favor by the end of the half, with one near miss and one shot cleared off the line.

The Parisians finally drew level in the 80th minute, after a missed penalty rebounded to forward Marco Simone, who fired the ball into the net. A few minutes later, Simone nearly put PSG ahead, but his shot hit the bar. They did take the lead in extra time thanks to a header from their captain, Raí (pictured) (107'), but Bordeaux's Jean-Pierre Papin restored equality seven minutes later with a goal from a free kick.

In the shootout, Bordeaux fell behind early, as PSG goalkeeper Vincent Fernandez blocked their first attempt, then Papin sent their second attempt wide. PSG, meanwhile, converted their first four, which was enough to secure the cup without the need for a fifth kick.

30 March 2010 - C'était Une Affaire Française

On 30 March 2010, Lyon and Bordeaux met for the first all-French contest in the Champions League, with Lyon emerging as 3-1 winners.

Bordeaux, the reigning Ligue 1 champions, were again at the top of the table, four spots above Lyon, and had beaten them in the league back in December. The Girondins had also gotten off to a flying start in the Champions League, winning six of their first seven matches to reach the quarterfinals (the other was a 1-1 draw with Juventus in the group stage). There, they met Lyon, who had just eliminated Real Madrid in the Round of 16.

The teams' meeting at Lyon's Stade Gerland was a first, as French teams had met five times previously in UEFA competitions, but never before in the Champions League. Lyon marked the occasion by taking a 10th-minute lead with a goal from striker Lisandro López (pictured). Not to be outdone, Bordeaux forward Marouane Chamakh drew the visitors level four minutes later.

Lyon regained the lead in the 32nd minute with a goal from Michel Bastos, then sealed the win with a 77th-minute penalty kick from López. That final goal proved to be crucial, as Bordeaux won the second leg 1-0, but lost 3-2 on aggregate.


Lyon vs Bordeaux 3-1 30 03 2010 Highlights by hhhlllify

6 January 1953 - The Coming Of Kaltz

On 6 January 1953, longtime Hamburg player Manfred Kaltz was born in the West German city of Ludwigshafen. Despite being a full back, he was a prolific goalscorer, including knocking a few home for the other team.

He joined up with Hamburg's youth team in 1970, then signed a professional contract in 1971. He remained there for thirteen seasons, making 568 league appearances. Along the way, he won domestic and European honors including one Bundesliga title (1979), one German Cup (1976), and the Cup Winners' Cup (1977).

Kaltz was active in the Hamburg attack, known in particular for his arcing right-footed crosses called "bananenflanken" ("banana crosses"). He also was a regular scorer--usually from the penalty spot--providing 76 goals. Unfortunately for Hamburg, however, he also set a Bundesliga record for own goals with six.

In 1989, he left Hamburg for a short spell in France with Bordeaux and FC Mulhouse, but returned in 1990 to play one last season with Hamburg before retiring in 1991. In all, he made a total of 581 league appearances, which places him second on the Bundesliga's all-time list behind Frankfurt's Karl-Heinz Körbel (602).

17 September 2002 - Bordeaux's Beautiful Symmetry

On 17 September 2002, Bordeaux won by a record margin, beating Slovakian club ŠK Matador Púchov by the score of 6-0.

The teams met at the Stade Chaban-Delmas for the opening leg of their UEFA Cup first-round match-up. Playing before a crowd of 12,700, it took the hosts a while to take the lead with the day's first score coming from center back David Sommeil in the 23rd minute, but the goals flowed regularly after that. A 36th-minute strike from forward Christophe Dugarry extended the lead to 2-0 and his second-half replacement winger Pascal Feindouno, pushed it to 3-0 in the 61st minute.

Pauleta (pictured), Ligue 1's top goalscorer the previous season, contributed a 68th-minute penalty kick, followed by a Matador own-goal from Pavol Vavrik ten minutes later. Finally, striker Jean-Claude Darcheville found the net in the 89th minute to complete the 6-0 rout.

Matador did slightly better in the second leg, losing 1-4, then returned to the competition the following season, drawing 1-1 at home with Barcelona before losing the second leg 8-0. Bordeaux, meanwhile, advanced to the third round of the 2002-03 tournament where they lost to Anderlecht.

The 6-0 scoreline remains Bordeaux's record win, matched in the reverse by their record loss, a 6-0 defeat to Parma in 1999 (also in the UEFA Cup).

22 August 1937 - I Hope It Was Worth The Wait

On 22 August 1937, Bordeaux made their league debut, losing to Toulouse, 3-2.



The club dates back to 1881, but initially offered only gymnastics and shooting. They added football on a trial basis in 1910, then abandoned it again for nearly a decade. It returned for good in 1919 and they played their first official match in 1920, beating Section Burdigalienne 12-0.



In 1936, the club merged with Girondins Guyenne Sport and assumed professional status. They joined the French league for the 1937-38 season, playing in the second division, where they opened the year with the loss to Toulouse. It was not a good season for the Girondins, who finished sixth out of seven teams in Division 2's Sud subdivision.



They remained in Division 2 until 1939, finishing eleventh in the league's last season before the hiatus for World War II. When league play resumed in 1946, Bordeaux were placed into Division 1, but were promptly relegated at the end of the season.



Bordeaux returned to the top flight in 1949 and won the league that season, the first of their six league titles. They enjoyed their greatest period of success in the 1980s, winning the league in 1984, 1985, and 1987, then won it again in 1999 and 2009. They have also won the Coupe de France three times (1941, 1986, 1987) and the Coupe de la Ligue three times as well (2002, 2007, 2009).

25 July 2009 - There Was Something In The Air That Night, Apparently

On 25 July 2009, Bordeaux won the Trophée des Champions by beating Guingamp 2-0, with both goals scored by players named Fernando.

The tournament, which started in 1995 but traces its roots back to 1949, pits the previous season's Ligue 1 champions against the reigning Coupe de France holders. The league champions were Bordeaux, who had also won the Coupe de la Ligue that season. They were up against Ligue 2 side Guingamp, who had defied the odds by defeating several Ligue 1 clubs, including Rennes, Toulouse, and Le Mans, on their way to the Coupe de France title, despite finishing in the bottom half of Ligue 2 that year.

For the first time, the match was played outside of France. In order to promote French football overseas, the teams met at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, where a crowd of over 34,000 turned out to watch.

Bordeaux took a first-half lead with a goal from forward Fernando Cavenaghi (pictured, center) in the 39th minute. Guingamp's tight defense managed to keep the margin close, but midfielder Fernando Menegazzo, who had come on as a second-half substitute, scored in the 90th minute to seal the victory. It was Bordeaux's second consecutive Trophée des Champions and their third overall.

23 May 1937 - Glory Comes To The Girondins

On 23 May 1937, Bordeaux won their first national title. They have since gone on to become one of France's most successful clubs, with a silverware collection that includes six top flight titles and three French Cups.

Founded in 1881 as Gironde Omnisports, the club originally included a variety of sports including gymnastics, shooting, swimming, rowing, and boxing. They added football in 1910, but dropped the sport after a year. They picked it back up for good in 1919.

Their first national title came under president Olivier Lhose-Clos, whose tenure began in 1934. In 1937, Bordeaux advanced to the French Amateur Final against FC Scionzier. Played at the Stade de Colombes in Paris as a prelude to an international match between France and Ireland, Bordeaux won 2-1.

They followed that trophy with their first Coupe de France title in 1940, then won the league in 1950. They enjoyed their most successful period in the 1980s, winning three league titles (1984, 1985, 1987) and two more French Cups (1986, 1987). Bordeaux won their most recent trophy in 2009 with their sixth league title.

22 January 2005 - Menez Scores Many Goals

On 22 January 2005, Sochaux winger Jérémy Menez became the youngest player in Ligue 1 history to score a hat-trick. And he did it in the span of six minutes.

Menez already had one record under his belt as the league's youngest-ever player when he signed with Sochaux in 2004 at the age of 16. He became an instant first-team choice, making his inaugural start in August of that year and scoring his first goal in November.

That month, Sochaux rose as high as third in the table, but they dropped to 10th by the time Bordeaux came to town in January, following a 6-match winless streak. The Girondins, meanwhile, were 7th.

The two sides were evenly matched until Sochaux left back Sylvain Monsoreau put the hosts ahead in the 73rd minute. Then Menez ensured that there would be comeback, adding goals in the 78th and 82nd minutes. He completed his hat-trick with a tasty chip over Girondins keeper Ulrich Ramé in the 85th minute. (The goals start at 1:17 in the clip below.) He was 17 years, 8 months, and 15 days old at the time.

Menez moved to Monaco in 2006, then in 2008 to Roma, where he currently plays.

[2012 Update: Since this post was published, Menez moved back to Ligue 1 and now plays for Paris Saint-Germain.]

21 October 2009 - Bayern's Bump In The Road

On 21 October 2009, Bordeaux beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in the group stage of the Champions League. They were one of only two teams to defeat the German side in the campaign.

The teams met at Bordeaux's Stade Chaban-Delmas on the third match day of the group stage. They had identical records, both of them having drawn with Juventus and beaten Maccabi Haifa. Battling for the group's top spot, Bayern received an early gift in the form of a 6th-minute own goal from Bordeaux center back Michaël Ciani, who inadvertently turned a Bayern corner into his own net.

Bordeaux put the Germans under constant pressure, however, and Ciani redeemed himself in the 27th minute when he powered another corner into the correct goal. Three minutes later, Bayern midfielder Thomas Müller received a second yellow card for a strong tackle on Bordeaux right back Matthieu Chalmé, reducing the Germans to 10 men. With Bayern reeling, the hosts took advantage with a 40th-minute goal from defender Marc Planus, whose extended leg beat Bayern defender Hamit Altintop to the ball and poked it into the top corner.

The second half proved just as exciting, with Bayern keeper Hans-Jörg Butt saving two penalties to spare the Germans an even greater margin of defeat. The second of those came after center back Daniel Van Buyten received a straight red for fouling Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh.

Bordeaux proceeded to beat Bayern again in the return match on 2 November, but it was Bayern's last defeat in the competition until the Final, when they fell to Inter, 0-2.

7 October 2007 - Rumors Of Lyon's Death Were Slightly Exaggerated

On 7 October 2007, Lyon defeated Bordeaux, 1-3, at Bordeaux's Stade Chaban Delmas. The win put Lyon on top of the Ligue 1 table.

Lyon were the reigning Ligue 1 champions, but had stumbled to start the season with away losses to Toulouse and Lorient in the league, as well as two 3-0 losses to Barcelona and Rangers in the UEFA Champions League. Nevertheless, they were still sitting in second place when they visited fourth-place Bordeaux. The Girondins had been tipped as challengers for the league, but the match proved that Lyon were not ready to relinquish their title ambitions.

Lyon opened the scoring in the 5th minute when Brazilian defender Anderson Cléber Beraldo headed home from a trademark Juninho free kick. French striker Karim Benzema added to the lead in the 23rd minute, then another Juninho free kick in the 60th minute led to a goal from Swedish midfielder Kim Källström. Bordeaux's Brazilian striker Jussiê pulled one back in the 83rd minute, but the Girondins could not create another and the match ended 3-1 to Lyon.

Lyon finished the season at the top of the table to claim their seventh consecutive title, four points ahead of second-place Bordeaux. The match was Bordeaux's last home defeat and they went on to claim the Ligue 1 title at the end of the 2008-09 season.

23 June 1972 - ZZ On Top

On 23 June 1972, French star midfielder Zinedine Zidane was born in Marseille. His parents were Kabyle Muslims from the village of Aguemone in Algeria. They moved to Paris in 1953 and settled in Marseille a few years later.

Zidane, nicknamed "Zizzou," started his professional career with Cannes, where he played from 1988 to 1992. He transferred to Bordeaux for the 1992-93 season and helped them to win the Intertoto Cup in 1995. In all, he made 174 appearances for the Girondins, scoring 37 goals. He also earned individual recognition, being named the Ligue 1 Best Young Player in 1994 and Best Player in 1996.

In 1996, he moved to Juventus and helped them claim back-to-back Scudettos in his first two seasons. They also made consecutive appearances in the UEFA Champions League Finals those years, but lost to Borussia Dortmund in 1996 and Real Madrid in 1997. In 1998, he won the Ballon d'Or, due in part to his role in leading France to the 1998 World Cup title. He also won the 1998 FIFA World Player of the Year award, which he won again 2000.

In 2001, Zidane moved again, this time to Real Madrid for what was then the world record transfer fee of €76 million. He culminated his first season in Madrid by scoring the winning goal in Real's 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final. In 2003, he again won the FIFA World Player of the Year award, becoming only the second person to claim the honor three times (along with his Real teammate Ronaldo).

Despite all of his success on the pitch, he is probably best remembered for the 2006 World Cup in which he was sent off for head-butting Italy's Marco Materazzi in the 110th minute of the Final. It was his last professional match, as he retired from football after the tournament.

Zidane currently serves as an advisor for Real Madrid.