The Leicester of Ligue 1: Remembering Montpellier’s famous title triumph on the eve of their relegation | OneFootball

Everyone knows the story of Leicester City. On the brink of Premier League relegation one season, to Champions of England the next. It’s the footballing fairytale of our time.

Leicester’s miraculous triumph of 2015/16 felt unheard of, like nothing of the sort had ever happened before. But indeed, it had. Across the channel, an ever-unlikely champion had risen to the French throne just four years earlier.

Montpellier were the pre-gen of Claudio Rainieri’s famed Foxes. Powered by breakout star Olivier Giroud, this humble family-run side from southern France warded off the biggest of hitters to reign over France.

Two of the greatest underdog stories in the game’s history, both now share the ignominy of a stark fall from grace. While Leicester have suffered their second relegation in the space of three seasons, the Ligue 1 final matchday marks a first demotion for Montpellier since their crowning glory of 13 years ago.

Drifting into obscurity, broke and divided, La Paillade will seek comfort from the memories of their unfathomable title win, knowing that while a return to the upper echelons may now seem a pipedream, they’ve defied worse odds before.

Ahead of the 2011/12 campaign, Ligue 1 had been rocked by the news of Paris-Saint Germain’s takeover by Qatar Sports Investment (QSI). Turning into an uber-wealthy European powerhouse almost overnight, it became inevitable that the division would come under a chokehold of the Parisiens.

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QSI's takeover of PSG led to the club taking a financial stranglehold of Ligue 1 in the years that followed (AFP via Getty Images)

But despite embarking on a summer of intense spending under Carlo Ancelotti, the Qataris would not enjoy title success in their first season. They were tripped up in that pursuit not by defending champions Lille, or French giants Marseille or Lyon – but by Montpelllier.

Led by Rene Girard, La Paillade stunned the footballing world. Three seasons prior, they were fighting for promotion in the second tier. But with a team of hidden gems valued at a fraction of their competitors, Montpellier pulled off the unthinkable to top Ligue 1 for the first time in their history.

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Rene Girard reinvented Montpellier in their title-winning season (Getty Images)

From the outset, they were the surprise package of the 2011/12 season. Five wins in their first seven saw them record their best-ever start to a Ligue 1 season. But at the back-end of September, having briefly sat atop the table, they were sharply brought back to reality.

PSG dismantled Montpellier 3-0 on their own turf to showcase what everyone already assumed was the gulf in quality between the two sides. Yet despite this setback, Montpellier kept up the pace going into the winter break.

This was in significant part due to Giroud, an all but unknown entity at the start of the year. The Mosson talisman, who had signed from Montpellier in 2010 for what was then a club-record fee of €2m (£1.7m), was taking France by storm. The 25-year-old may have been something of a late bloomer, but with 18 goal contributions in as many appearances, he had put European football on notice as the rocket fuel behind Montpellier’s shock title charge.

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Olivier Giroud was the rocket fuel behind Montpellier’s shock title charge (AFP via Getty Images)

By the end of the winter break, Montpellier had reeled the Parisians in. Fans began to truly believe when Girard’s men passed their toughest test, a trip to the Parc des Princes in February. Against the financial muscle of the division, Montpellier held PSG to a 2-2 draw to ensure they stayed within touching distance of the leaders, setting them up for the near-flawless season run-in that was to come.

Just two losses in their final 14 outings saw Montpellier leapfrog their title rivals going into the final weeks, with everything coming down to the final day in Auxerre. Three points ahead of PSG at the top but on an identical goal difference, La Paillade needed just a point to make history. A double from ex-Pompey frontman John Utaka put the outcome beyond doubt as Montpellier came out 2-1 victors. They had done the impossible.

Giroud, branded “Le Buteur de Charme” – or “The Charm Striker” – was the posterboy of Girard’s champions. He finished the season as the league’s joint-top goalscorer with 21 goals, solely responsible for 13 of the club’s points that year, with his tireless, all-action performances earning the attention of Premier League giants Arsenal and a France call-up for Euro 2012.

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Giroud earned a spot in France's squad for Euro 2012 after an electrifying season (Getty Images)

However, Montpellier were hardly a one-man team.

Pulling the strings behind the Frenchman were two homegrown midfield maestros. The first, Moroccan magician Younes Belhanda, was one of the stars of the season. Once a holding player in the academy, the versatile Belhanda was shifted to a playmaker by Girard for 2011/12, a move that paid dividends as he notched 12 goals and four assists across a highly influential campaign.

The second was Remy Cabella, another academy product who burst onto the scene that season. Then 21, the promising Frenchman, who would later be picked up by Newcastle, was a one of a handful of young talents to earn continental recognition at Montpellier during 2011/12.

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Younes Belhanda (left) pulled the strings for Montpellier’s title winners (Getty Images)

Cabella, just like Giroud, Belhanda and Mosson-bred defensive midfield starlet Benjamin Stambouli, was quickly touted for bigger things following Montpellier’s shock title triumph.

Giroud, rightly seeing his name in lights, jumped at Arsenal’s advances that summer to embark on what would be a fruitful nine-year spell in the English top tier. But local lads Cabella, Belhanda and Stambouli stayed put to try and cement Montpellier’s status as a top contender.

In this effort, they failed. Montpellier’s title defence resulted in a ninth-place finish in 2012/13, before dropping to 15th the following year. Rapidly falling off their perch, this period was enough to see their homegrown midfield trio abandon the project for pastures new. Belhanda had moved to Dynamo Kyiv, Stambouli to Spurs, and Cabella to the Magpies – all transfers of which proved pretty ill-fated.

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Remy Cabella upped sticks to Newcastle after Montpellier's sharp drop-off (Getty Images)

Montpellier’s downfall was sparked by a failure to build on their shock success. They lost their star players and did not adequately replace. They also threw in the towel on coach Rene Girard just a year after he led La Paillade to uncomprehensible heights, with founding club president Louis “LouLou” Nicollin not offering him a new contract at the end of 2012/13.

The club never consolidated their newfound identity as winners and over the 13 years that followed, they never broke the top five again. This failure to live up to potential was reflected by the careers of their title-winning squad, many of whom – with the exception of Giroud – didn’t come close to the heights once pegged for them.

Having floated back into mediocrity, the past season has seen Montpellier crumble at a time of degradation in French football. Now under the ownership of Laurent Nicollin, who took over from father LouLou following his 2017 passing, the club have been hit hard by the financial crisis that has Ligue 1 on the brink of collapse.

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Montpellier are now in financial ruin following relegation from Ligue 1 - their first demotion since their title triumph (AFP via Getty Images)

Last year’s accounts showed the wage bill as almost equivalent to the club’s entire income. Fiscal struggles, combined with dismal performances, have incited widespread disunity in the club.

Players, fans and leadership have turned on each other. During a meeting with Monaco, supporters unfurled a banner that told the team: “You embody the worst version of our club: shame on you.”

A month earlier, long-time skipper Teji Savanier besmirched his reputation after responding to an embarrassing Coupe de France thrashing to fourth-tier Le Puy by flaunting his eye-watering wage. When a Le Puy fan teased the midfielder by asking if sitting rock bottom of Ligue 1 hurt, Savanier responded: “When you’re being paid €210,000 a month, no.” He was stripped of the captaincy after being condemned by the club.

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Long-time skipper Teji Savanier (right) has besmirched his reputation at Montpellier (Getty Images)

And while fans have also taken issue with the hierarchy, Nicollin has pointed his finger at his squad. “There are people whose story with the club is over, whatever happens,” he said after defeat to Angers in April. “We will go forward with a healthy base of people who want to fight for the club and people who aren’t just there for their own sake.”

Montpellier, a club whose success 13 years ago was built off a unified effort to overcome the odds, are now embroiled in an internal war.

A shadow of their former selves, Montpellier now face the serious threat of ending up like Bordeaux - a former giant now dwindling in the fourth tier after suffering a drawn-out demise. While there will be hope of a rebuild in the second division, weak foundations in the French football system may not facilitate it.

Long gone are the dreams of established success in France. The objective is now to avoid becoming the nation’s next footballing cautionary tale.