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Monaco to enter into NFT market

by: Cassandra Tanti
25/08/2021

AS Monaco has unveiled a two-season partnership with fantasy football platform Sorare, which will allow the club to enter the world of NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens) for the first time.
With partnerships already with Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Liverpool, Sorare has cards from more than 155 football clubs and over 450,000 registered users on the platform, of which 100,000 are active every month.
The deal with Monaco will allow fans, collectors and fantasy football players to trade and play freely with digital cards of Monaco players. Each of these cards will be verified by blockchain technology, allowing it to be certified and therefore non-fungible.
“It is an original and innovative way of connecting AS Monaco fans with the club and the players on an increasingly renowned platform, which fits perfectly with our digital development,” said Oleg Petrov, Vice-President and CEO of AS Monaco. “This arrival in the NFT world will also give the club exposure to a fast-growing market and an opening to a new audience. We are looking forward to the start of this collaboration.”
Sorare was founded in 2018, focussing on blockchain digital collectibles and its global fantasy football. The platform has had a card sales volume of over $80 million since January 2021 across 150 countries.
“NFTs are the future of global sports fandom because they allow fans to come together and to feel ownership of the sports they love,” said Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare. “This partnership isn’t just a sign of Sorare’s growing leadership in the NFT sports space, it is a major signal of intent by the sporting world that it sees Sorare’s unique ability to connect fans with sports through NFTs a crucial part of their plans for the future. AS Monaco is one of the best club in the world, home to some of the most exciting clubs and footballers on earth. We are looking forward to working together in the years ahead.”
 
 
Image courtesy AS Monaco
 
 

Monaco’s undefeated streak continues

by: Stephanie Horsman
22/02/2021

AS Monaco soundly beat last year’s reigning champs and one of their biggest rivals, Paris Saint-Germain, two to nil in an away game at Parc des Princes on Sunday. 
The Red and Whites faced off against powerhouse team Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday in a much-anticipated game that has solidified Monaco’s status as one of this season’s teams to beat.
Coach Niko Kovac put all the biggest guns on the field, with a line-up that included Wissam Ben Yedder, Kevin Volland, Sofiane Diop, Axel Disani and Ruben Aguilar.
The match couldn’t have started off much better for Monaco with Diop scoring the opening goal at only six minutes in. He planted a magnificent header right between the posts, scoring his sixth goal this year and surprising PSG, who had not conceded a goal this early in the game once this season.
This was the only goal scored in the entire first half, with only a few close calls for both sides. One was a free header made by Disani, handily blocked by Paris goalkeeper Keylor Navas, and another by PSG striker Idrissa Gueye, which was a close-but-no-cigar shot handled brilliantly by Benjamin Lecomte.
After halftime, both sides kept things under control for the first few minutes, but at the 53 minute mark, Guillermo Maripán picked up a loose ball and knocked it into the bottom corner of the net, putting Monaco in a comfortable two to nothing lead.
Paris has not seen a two point deficit since 15th February 2020, so needless to say they were a bit rattled. Couple this was a strong showing by the Red and White’s defence and it was Monaco’s match for the taking.
The win leaves Monaco in the enviable position of remaining undefeated in 2021. Though they are still in fourth place in the standings, they are solidly there, being 12 points ahead of the fifth place team, Lens. This match also dropped PSG to third, putting them only two points and spitting distance ahead of ASM, with league-topping Lille only four points ahead.
“It’s very tight and interesting for everyone,” said Coach Kovac. “I hope it will continue like this until the end of the season, it’s exciting. It is in the interest of Ligue 1, because there is not only one team that is dominating the league.”
 
Monaco Life with AS Monaco press release, photo by AS Monaco
 
 

Christmas comes early for Red and Whites

by: Stephanie Horsman
21/12/2020

A much-needed win has put AS Monaco and their fans in jolly spirits as the team took a 1 to 0 victory against Dijon on the weekend.
It was a razor-thin win, but a win nonetheless for the Red and Whites of Monaco on Sunday, who got a three-point boost in the Ligue 1 standings, putting them in seventh place and breaking a three-game losing streak.
The only goal of the game came early on as Kevin Volland at the 15-minute mark took the ball straight up the middle, passing to Wissam Ben Yedder, who shot it quickly back to Volland. Volland took advantage, knocking it between the poles, beating out Dijon goalie Anthony Racioppi.
It made the sixth goal for Volland so far this season, and the third with an assist from his team’s captain.
“The important thing was to win,” said Coach Niko Kovac with a rare smile. “I would say that this assist is like half a goal for Wissam. He fulfilled his role of leader, and his performance was very positive. He pulled the team over the top today.”
Kevin Volland saw it much the same way, citing team effort as the tool for success.
“It’s a one touch style which reflects the quality we have on this team and I think it’s an important goal for us today. It symbolizes the relationships that are created between us,” the German striker said modestly.
The win makes for a tight race in the all-important top third of the standings, where Monaco is only one point behind Montpellier and two behind Rennes.
“Before this match we had four wins in a row followed by three defeats,” said Kovac . “The most important thing was to win. I told my players before the match that Dijon was under pressure, and that we had to get a result. It may not have been our best game of the season, but we went for a positive result. We have shown character. I congratulate them for their state of mind. We’ll take the three points.”
The Red and Whites still have one more match before Christmas, where they play St-Étienne at home in Stade Louis II on Wednesday 23rd December at 8pm.
 
 

Red and White’s heartbreaking loss to Marseille

by: Stephanie Horsman
14/12/2020

AS Monaco lost by one goal to Olympique de Marseille on Saturday, however they were saved from a total shutout by a late Wissam Ben Yedder goal.
The Red and Whites played away in Marseille on Saturday night but found no joy as they suffered a 2-1 loss in the 14th matchday of Ligue 1 play.
The game was not going well for Monaco from the start. In fact, the opponents were two goals by halftime. The first goal came just five minutes in when Florian Thauvin scored with a header after a lovely pass from Dario Benedetto. Only a few minutes later, in the 13th, the reverse occurred and Thauvin set Benedetto up to put another between the posts.
Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda was having a good night, and no matter what Monaco tried, he was johnny-on-the-spot, making two excellent saves.
The second half saw the Red and Whites come out swinging. They had possession of the ball, but were unable to convert until 79 minutes in, when Wissam Ben Yedder made a penalty kick to bring them within one goal of a draw. Sadly, this never materialised, and Monaco ended the game 1-2.
Coach Niko Kovac was disappointed, but still proud of his team for a game well-played, saying: “I think we started this match really well. We had a great good opportunity from the start through Wissam. If we had scored, I think the game would have turned to our advantage. Then we conceded two goals from two shots in the first quarter of an hour, so that necessarily changed the face of the game. Until half-time the game was balanced. Then we really dominated the match in the second half, but Marseille defended very deep, playing really close to their area. We tried to come back into it in the dying minutes of the game, but it was not enough. The first 15 minutes cost us too much.”
Monaco’s next challenge will be against Racing Club de Lens on Wednesday 16th December at 9pm at home at Stade Louis II.
 
Photo source: AS Monaco 
 
 

Last minute goal prevents shut-out

by: Stephanie Horsman
07/12/2020

AS Monaco suffered a narrow loss to Lille OSC but prevented a shut-out with a last-minute goal made by 19-year old striker Pietro Pellegri in his first goal of the season. 
After four in a row, AS Monaco endured a disappointing 1-2 loss to Lille OSC on Sunday’s 13th Ligue 1 matchday.
Though the first half produced no goals, it was a tactical battle between two evenly-matched teams who saw plenty of exciting back and forth, including several spectacular saves by Monaco’s goalie Vito Mannone, notably one in the 42nd minute where in a full body leap, he blocked a shot by Lille’s Jonathan Bamba.
The second half saw all the action. At 53 minutes in, Lille’s Jonathan David opened up the scoring giving the opponent the lead. Then about 12 minutes later, Yusuf Yazici made another goal after a cutback from teammate Burak Yilmaz.
Things weren’t looking great for the Red and Whites, but they persevered. Finally, just as the game was at its end the young Italian player, Pietro Pellegri, scored his first goal of the season as well as the only goal for his side that game, leaving the final score Monaco 1, Lille, 2.
“We obviously know that Lille are a very good team, which played in the Champions League last year and which have qualified for the Europa League this season,” said Coach Niko Kovac after the match. “I think they also have a lot of respect for us, off the back of what we’ve shown in the last four games where we’ve had four wins. We were very close. In the end there is only one goal on the scoreboard that separated us and in my head a draw would have been fairer, because there was nothing very spectacular, from one side or the other. Obviously when you lose a game like this you can only be disappointed.”
 
Photo source: AS Monaco 
 
 

Four in a row

by: Stephanie Horsman
30/11/2020

Fresh off their exciting win against number one seeded Paris, Sunday’s 3-0 victory against Nîmes Olympique gives AS Monaco their longest winning streak since the 2016-17 season and puts them firmly in the Top 5 of Ligue 1.
The Red and Whites celebrated their fourth win in a row on Sunday at a home game against Nîmes Olympique where they dominated play and set themselves up as real contenders for this season.
With three goals, one in the first half and two in the second, it seemed nothing could slow them down.
Even the normally reticent Coach Niko Kovac was mostly positive saying, “I am very happy with this 3-0 victory, which in my eyes is totally deserved, because we had a lot of chances in both halves. I was very satisfied after the first half. The start of the second half was a bit tough, but after the red card, we played a lot better. In the future, I would like us to control the match for 90 minutes.”
He went on to note how hard the team has worked to gel, declaring, “It’s true that we have found a real balance in our play. We have been working here for four and a half months, the players adhere to the strategy and integrate the principles as is requested of them. We are also happy with a clean sheet, it’s something important for the defence, the goalkeeper and the team as a whole. I really appreciated the fact that we are getting so many chances. We are really on the right track.”
Sofiane Diop made the opening goal in a nice volley about 19 minutes in that landed the ball at the edge of the nets. In fact, Monaco dominated the ball most of the first half, and though they only converted the once, they were playing well as a team.
After halftime, they came out a bit slower but still strong, and when a red card on Nîmes’s Lucas Deaux for tackling Diop from behind occurred, the Red and Whites also had a one man advantage which they took absolute advantage of.
In a one-two, Gelson Martins made a gorgeous header in the 75th minute followed by Kevin Volland putting it between the posts in the 77th. This sealed the deal and the final score of 3-0 was set in stone.
After the match, team captain Axel Disani said, “We started the match very well, with the goal coming quite early. The coach had told us we had to attack them from the start in the final third of the pitch, and that’s what we did. In the second half, I think we came back less well, Nîmes were pressing more. But when we got down to 11 against 10, we were able to break forward and score the two goals that gave us the victory.”
The Red and Whites next play in an away game in Lille on Sunday, 6th December.
 
Photo source: AS Monaco