Ligue 1 Finish Sends Lille To Europa League Qualifying

By: Julien | June 8th, 2009

Lille’s fourth place finish in the Ligue 1 table for the 2008/09 season clinched the club a spot in the 2009/2010 UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round. LOSC finished with 64 points, but Toulouse’s better goal differential (+18 vs. our +12) edged fourth place for le Téfécé. PSG nearly claimed fifth place with 64 points and a +12 GD. It came down to the last match of the season for us and the Ligue 1 title. An exciting match was played at home against AS Nancy. Five goals were scored and Plestan’s late goal (75′) just barely gave us three points. It was a nail biting conclusion for Lille. Surprisingly, this year was very competitive in the French domestic league. Bordeaux, Marseille, and Lyon all had a nice run for the title. Lille finished two places higher than last season in the table under a new manager and a younger group of players. Next season Champions League hopes seem slim, but we can work toward continuing to develop our players and the new UEFA Europa League. In transfer news, several players are returning back to Lille from being on loan: Franquart (Le Havre), Makiese (Zulte-Waregem), and Taravel (Zulte-Waregem).

Category: Matches, Team News, UEFA Europa League

Tags: Bordeaux, Franquart, Le Havre, Lyon, Makiese, Matches, Nancy, Plestan, Taravel, Team News, Toulouse, UEFA Europa League, Zulte-Waragem

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• Aditya |  June 9th, 2009 at 2:10 pm

  
  
  

  Do well in Europa League. Next season is going to be tough given the number of matches Lille will have to play.

  It will be important for Lille to do well in the league. At the same time they will also have to get good results in Europa League. Earning coefficients for France is important. With Italy weak financially, France & Germany can catch up with them.

  Posted from United States

  

• Ronan |  June 22nd, 2009 at 1:03 pm

  
  
  

  http://www.footmercato.net/fc-seville-3-joueurs-dans-la_article35747.html

  Posted from United States

  

• Ron | UEFA Europa League Live |  July 1st, 2009 at 12:21 am

  
  
  

  Hope Lille will do well again in the league for the new season – always good to see new teams challenging the old order. But it might not be a good idea to also focus too much on the Europa League – many teams try that and then end up struggling domestically.

  Posted from Singapore

  

• Chuck |  July 21st, 2009 at 6:02 pm

  
  
  

  Lille just scooped up Gervinho on a three-year deal! Fantastic pick-up for Les Dogues!

  Posted from United States

  

• Thomas |  July 25th, 2009 at 5:28 am

  
  
  

  Gervinho should be a solid replacement for Bastos. Good business Lille. You also grabbed an amazing keeper in Landreau.

  Posted from United States

  

• Theo Walcott 14 |  July 25th, 2009 at 7:02 am

  
  
  

  Gervinho should be a great replacment for Bastos,great player!!!

  Posted from United States

  

• Thomas |  July 28th, 2009 at 3:51 pm

  
  
  

  Julien: What is your email adress?

  Posted from United States

  

• Nikola |  July 30th, 2009 at 7:41 am

  
  
  

  Ah, Lille are one of my favourite French teams and I’m very sad that I won’t be able to watch the game tonight. I’m from Belgrade and I could’ve gone to see the game, but unfortunately, I’m out of the country at the moment. A pitty for me, really.

  About the game, you Lille fans really shouldn’t worry – Sevojno are a team from the Serbian second division (yes, second!) that managed to qualify for the EL courtesy of a cup final appearance and it would be a true miracle if they managed to oust one of the French top teams like Lille. But these guys don’t have anything to lose, so, who knows…

  Posted from United States

  

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