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All in all, not a bad time for French sport. Though the country’s club football has always been a modest affair compared with the vibrant and money-drenched leagues of England, Spain and Italy, no one with a pulse could have failed to thrill at Lyon’s Champions’ League elimination of Real Madrid. And this week there was every likelihood that Lyon would be joined by Bordeaux in the draw for the quarter-finals. Two French clubs in the last eight? Ooh-la-la.
Strong though Lyon are, Bordeaux really look like the coming team — they are currently leading the 2010 race. Much of the credit has to go to their manager Laurent Blanc, the former international defender who has made the transition from top player to top boss look easy. Some have even touted him as a possible successor to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, where Blanc spent a couple of years in the twilight of his playing career. He’s certainly un homme serieux.
Is there anyone more annoying than Mike Atherton? He was a heroic and determined cricketer, who then stepped over the boundary to become an excellent broadcaster. He’s written two fine books, Opening Up, one of the better sporting autobiogs, and a thoughtful study of the bane of the lives of many of us, Gambling: A Story of Triumph and Disaster. Now, he has turned himself into one of our very best journalists, first in the Sunday Telegraph and recently, in one of journalism’s most inspired signings, for the Times as a columnist and cricket correspondent. And at last week’s Sports Journalism Awards, he cleaned up with the two main gongs, Columnist of the Year, and Sports Journalist of the Year. To cap it all he made an effortlessly charming thank you video from Chittagong. So a better cricketer than any of us, and now a better journalist than most of us. Plus, he’s got a beautiful wife, and is an absolutely delightful bloke to spend any time with. Bastard, eh!
Roger Alton is editor of the Independent.
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