Day: 11 October 2024

Under the gaze of club legends such as Arsène Wenger, AS Monaco’s current crop are making their own history as past, present, and future intertwine in this special centenary year.

It wasn’t just nostalgia but also entertainment that was in high supply at the Stade Louis II at the end of September. Wenger was amongst around 40 legends of the Les Monégasques to descend on the Principality on 28th September as part of the club’s centenary celebrations. Gathered at the club’s sleek new Performance Centre in La Turbie, incomparable to the facilities that they once had at their own disposal, they reminisced.

Lucien Cossou joked about how he missed out on beating Delio Onnis’ all-time goal-scoring record for Monaco. “What annoys me is that people don’t ask why I’m only the third top-scorer [in Monaco’s history]. It’s because I took and scored just one penalty,” Cossou told journalists gathered atop the sun-drenched rooftop of the Principality club’s base.

But there were also conversations that melded together the past and the present, such as an anecdote recounted by Euro 1984 winner Bruno Bellone, who spoke about getting the train down to Cannes as a 14-year-old with his Adidas to join Monaco’s now famed academy before going on to establish himself as a legend of the club. It is a path that many since have followed.

The past is also translating onto the pitch at the Stade Louis II. Legends spent the day talking about football being played “the Monaco way”. Two adjectives most commonly associated with “the Monaco way” are “attractive” and “attacking”. That is exactly what Adi Hutter is proposing in the current day.

The Austrian was in esteemed company as Les Monégasques took on Montpellier HSC. He would have been forgiven for feeling a little intimidated. Behind him, between the running track that circles the Stade Louis II and the VIP box where Prince Albert II and Dmitry Rybolovlev looked on, was a whole host of legends, including managers who had written history at the club. Wenger, Gérard Banide, Leonardo Jardim, and Claude Puel to name but a few. Hutter’s record now betters them all.

Thanks to that dramatic late victory against Montpellier (2-1), earned through a last-gasp Lamine Camara goal, coupled with a win over Stade Rennais ahead of the international break, Hutter now has the best win record (63.4%) of any manager in Monaco’s decorated history.

“Adi really fits well with the way we work, the way we are in terms of an organisation. He has a clear playing idea and he is very simple in the way that he shares this with the players. He also has very positive leadership skills,” Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro told Monaco Life before that win over Montpellier.

Monaco make best start since 1961

Hutter has helped lead Monaco, currently top of Ligue 1 with 19 points and two points clear of Paris Saint-Germain, to their best league start since the 1960/61 season. The team to win the title that year? None other than AS Monaco.

As Scuro rightly tells us, it is “too early” to talk about a title challenge, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for optimism. In their post-Kylian Mbappé era, PSG have lost their air of infallibility. Whilst some opposition managers have described Les Parisiens as “better” than in previous seasons, that is yet to reflect on the pitch.

With Olympique de Marseille yet to show the consistency required to launch a title challenge, Monaco do look best placed to challenge PSG’s supremacy. There is undeniable quality in this squad, with a mix of youth and experience. Denis Zakaria and Thilo Kehrer are the backbone of this side. Their experience, as well as their undoubted leadership qualities, are helping the other youthful elements to shine.

Eliesse Ben Seghir, who spent much of last season on the sidelines with injury, is like a new signing; Maghnes Akliocuhe is proving that last season wasn’t a flash in the pan, picking up where he left off; Lamine Camara, in his short time at the Principality club, has shown that he may be destined for big things; and George Ilenikhena, in the process of obtaining French citizenship, broke Mbappé’s record to become Monaco’s youngest goalscorer in the Champions League, thanks to his winner against Barcelona.

“Sometimes [the youth-centric recruitment] goes against fans’ expectations, but we believe in this way. That’s the way we have the opportunity to see an 18-year-old striker scoring against Barcelona at the Stade Louis II. This is the history of the club,” said Scuro, referencing Ilenikhena’s goal. The Monaco CEO is perpetuating the club’s tradition, all while yielding results.

Scuro deserves great credit for the construction of the squad, with strong backup options in every position. With Monaco competing in multiple competitions, rotation is essential, and the strength in depth in the squad is allowing for that, all while remaining highly competitive.

“Our playing style is connected to our physicality […] if you don’t rotate, it is basically impossible to give energy and physicality, which are our principles,” Scuro told us. But implementing a rotation policy whilst not disrupting the dressing room, or hurting egos, is no easy task. Communication is key, according to Kehrer. “There is good communication, and that is why there is a good understanding in the team and with the technical staff,” said Les Monégasques’ vice-captain.

This strong connection, harmony and ability to put ego aside in the name of collective goals has Monaco flying high, both in Ligue 1 and in the Champions League, a competition in which they remain unbeaten. In this special centenary year, the current iteration of the Principality club is upholding the traditions of the past. Striding along the path laid by the champions of 1961, time will tell whether they will reach the same destination and lift silverware once more at the end of the campaign. But they can hardly have gotten off to a better start.

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Photo source: AS Monaco