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AS Monaco begin 2023 with a victory

by: Luke Entwistle
02/01/2023

AS Monaco began 2023 just like they ended 2022: with a win. It may not have been emphatic, but Philippe Clement’s side scraped past Brest (1-0) on New Year’s Day to move up to fourth provisionally in Ligue 1.

Fans who were permitted free entry to the Louis II clash packed the stands to welcome football back to the Principality. It was the first time that Les Monégasques had played at home since the World Cup break.

Monaco should have steered themselves into the lead in the first-half, but a mix of good goalkeeping and poor finishing let Brest off the hook. Eliesee Ben Seghir, making his first Ligue 1 start, had the best chance. The French youngster produced a stunning piece of skill to work the opening before blasting just over from eight yards out.

However, Monaco did hit the front early in the second-half. Aleksandr Golovin cut back on his right-foot just outside the box and rifled a perfectly-hit shot into the top corner. From there, Clement’s side dropped off and decreased their intensity. That was a mistake.

Brest, who hadn’t mustered any resistance until that point, began to push and worked multiple chances. Alexander Nübel had to deny Jérémy Le Douaron on multiple occasions, whilst Steve Mounié had a brilliant chance late on, but he could only strike the bar with his header.

Ultimately, Monaco held on, and the three points moves the team up to fourth. Marseille has a game in hand, but the Principality side are currently level on points with their third-placed Mediterranean rivals.

Clement’s comments

“It is important to have more and more people in the stadium,” began Clement, who believed that the initiative to allow fans free entry helped his side. “Away from home there is always a lot of people and that gives more strength to the players to get the result. It is very important for them, and it is something that could prove decisive in the result of a match. I hope in the coming months there will be more people here in the Louis II to push us.”

Man of the match – Aleksandr Golovin

Golovin is certainly experiencing his best season in red and white. His goal against Brest was his fourth of the season in Ligue 1. It was another crucial one. He is becoming a player that steps up in big moments for Monaco, and having such players within the squad will be essential for the Champions League push.

Monaco next compete in the Coupe de France. They will face Ligue 2 side Rodez at home on Saturday.

 

 

Photo by AS Monaco

 

Ben Lambrecht replaces Jean-Emmanuel de Witt as Monaco CEO

by: Luke Entwistle
06/12/2022

Jean-Emmanuel de Witt, who was appointed AS Monaco CEO only six months ago, has been replaced by Ben Lambrecht, who joins the Principality side from satellite club Cercle Brugge. 

In a move that highlights the increasing synergies between Monaco and their Belgian satellite club, Lambrecht succeeds de Witt. The latter was only appointed to the role of CEO in May of this year, but according to AFP, his profile was ultimately too detached from the specificities of football.

Lambrecht comes in with a knowledge of the multi-club project, having contributed to the good results and business development of Cercle Brugge, who have bounced back after a difficult start to the 2022/23 season. The sides are currently joined in Benidorm for a mid-season training camp.

Lambrecht had occupied his role at Cercle since March 2021, and has since been working closely with the management of AS Monaco in implementing a global strategy and helping modernise and strengthen the existing structures and synergies between the two clubs.

Lambrecht was trained at the INSEAD Business School, and has 28 years of business experience at places like KPMG, Delacre and Coca-Cola. He has worked in Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK and France.

 

Photo by AS Monaco 

Monaco World Cup round-up: Embolo begins with emotional goal

by: Luke Entwistle
25/11/2022

Five AS Monaco players featured in the opening round of World Cup games in Qatar, as Breel Embolo stole the headlines, netting for Switzerland against his country of birth, Cameroon.

Krépin Diatta and Ismaïl Jakobs were the first Monaco players to star in the tournament, with the latter’s preparation for the tie against the Netherlands hugely hampered.

Administrative banality almost ends Jakobs’ World Cup

Jakobs’ decision to switch international allegiance from Germany to Senegal was a relatively late one. Despite featuring for Aliou Cissé’s side in the last international break before the World Cup, FIFA still hadn’t processed his paperwork. Consequently, the full-back’s participation was thrown into doubt and only resolved hours before the game.

Given the all-clear, Jakobs had to settle for a place on the bench, but came on in the latter stages. Diatta played from the start, but couldn’t influence the outcome of the game as Senegal lost 2-0 against the Dutch.

France survive early Socceroos scare

Youssouf Fofana and his former teammate at AS Monaco, Aurélien Tchouaméni, both featured for Les Bleus as they came back from a goal down to beat Australia 4-1 on Tuesday. Tchouaméni featured from the start, as he often has in recent weeks, with his old midfield partner coming on in the final minutes.

Former Monaco forward Kylian Mbappé got himself on the scoresheet too as Didier Deschamps’ side got themselves off to a winning start. Axel Disasi didn’t play, but he could potentially start against Denmark on Saturday, with RMC Sport reporting that the former Reims defender is being tested as a right-back option ahead of the game.

A game-changing intervention

Takumi Minamio didn’t feature from the start against Germany, but he used his limited playing time to good effect. When he entered the fray in the 74th minute, Japan were 1-0 down. One minute later, and Japan drew level after the Monaco forward’s shot was parried into the path of Ritsu Doan, who couldn’t miss the rebound.

Japan shocked the Germans when they grabbed a late winner through Takuma Asano, with Minamino’s introduction proving a game-changing moment. Germany now face Spain in their next round, and they must win if they are to progress to the knockout rounds.

Embolo’s emotional goal

In a roundtable interview with Monaco Life prior to the tournament, Embolo spoke about the difficulty of choosing Switzerland over Cameroon.

“When I chose to play for Switzerland, there was always part of me that wanted to represent my country of birth. I am very happy with my choice and I’m Cameroon’s biggest fan,” he said.

The Monaco striker had the unusual sensation of facing his country of birth in a World Cup opener, and he marked the “emotional” occasion with the winning goal, which out of respect, he chose not to celebrate. He has now put Switzerland in a strong position to qualify from their group.

 

 

Last-gasp Marseille winner sinks Monaco

by: Luke Entwistle
14/11/2022

Sead Kolasinac scored a 98th-minute winner to break Monaco hearts at the Stade Louis II on Sunday (2-3) as Philippe Clement’s men head into the World Cup break on a sour note.

A win for Monaco would have seen them move into the top four, and for a large part of the match, they looked on course to do so, but a late collapse sees them drop to sixth.

AS Monaco’s supporters’ groups packed the stands of the Louis II on Sunday evening, whilst thousands of Marseille fans joined in to create a fantastic atmosphere.

The away side started the brighter and should have taken the lead. Nuno Tavares, Mattéo Guendouzi and Samuel Gigot all missed glaring chances early-on. Marseille did eventually take the lead through a sumptuous Alexis Sanchez free-kick.

However, Monaco hit back before the break. Krépin Diatta was brought down inside the box and Wissam Ben Yedder stepped up and calmly slotted a panenka penalty past Anthony Lopes to level the scores.

Monaco then carried their momentum in the second half, and they went ahead through Kevin Volland, who was slotted through on goal by Aleksandr Golovin. But the pendulum swung again the final stages.

Jordan Veretout showed some nimble footwork inside the box before blasting past Alexander Nübel to level the scores. Both sides then went for the win. As a result of a horrible injury to Amine Harit, there was a lengthy amount of stoppage time, and with the final kick of the game, Marseille broke Monaco hearts.

Dimitri Payet’s in-swinging cross was met by Kolasinac, with the glancing header making its way past Nübel and into the back of the net.

Clement’s comments

“The outcome was cruel… In the end, I am disappointed because my players didn’t get the result they deserved tonight,” said Clement.

The Belgian coach also bemoaned some late refereeing decisions, which saw Payet awarded a late foul, when replays showed there was very minimal contact.

“Honestly, the foul was very slight. In any case, if this action deserved a foul, we must call for 100 like that per game. I am very disappointed, like my players,” he said.

Man of the match – Wissam Ben Yedder

The Frenchman showed a good reaction to being left out of Didier Deschamps’ World Cup squad. If Monaco are to reach their objectives this season, they will need a fully-firing Ben Yedder and one that isn’t affected by his World Cup disappointment. His panenka penalty was indicative of a player high on confidence. Perhaps a mid-season break for the 32-year-old striker will be a blessing in disguise for the former Sevilla man.

Monaco now goes into hibernation before returning to competitive action against Auxerre on 28th December.

 

 

Photo by AS Monaco

Dmitry Rybolovlev joins LFP Executive Board

by: Luke Entwistle
10/11/2022

AS Monaco owner Dmitry Rybolovlev has joined the Executive Board of the Ligue de Football, succeeding Oleg Petrov in the role. 

The Ligue de Football (LFP) made an announcement on Wednesday 9th November that during a meeting of the General Assembly earlier that day, a vote saw Rybolovlev join the Executive Board of the organisation, which runs France’s professional football leagues.

Rybolovlev replaces Petrov, who has vacated the role. However, this former member of the LFP Executive Board is still the Principality club’s representative on the European Association of Clubs and Petrov has recently diversified his sporting activities in the Principality, managing Fedcom Media, which is owned by AS Monaco Basketball owner Alexei Fedorichev. Consequently, Petrov is often present at the Roca Team’s fixtures, as was the case against Red Star Belgrade just last week.

Petrov had been on the board for over two years, having joined it in September 2020. As well as Rybolovlev’s significant investment in AS Monaco, including in the club’s brand new Performance Centre in La Turbie, the Russian owner’s latest move to join the LFP is another sign of his commitment to the club.

 

 

Photo source: AFP

Paul Mitchell reacts to AS Monaco’s “exciting” Europa League draw

by: Luke Entwistle
08/11/2022

AS Monaco have drawn German side Bayern Leverkusen in the first round of the Europa League knockout stages, in what sporting director Paul Mitchell has described as an “exciting game.”

Last Thursday’s comfortable victory over Red Star Belgrade consolidated Philippe Clement’s second place in their Europa League group, meaning that unlike last year, they will face against a dropout from this year’s Champions League competition.

During Monday’s draw, Monaco drew German side Bayern Leverkusen, who have been struggling in their domestic division so far this season.

“I think it’s an exciting draw. Their league position is a bit false, to be honest,” began Mitchell. “I spent time in Germany, and they were always a great rivals of ours at RB Leipzig (one of Mitchell’s former clubs). They were always fighting for the podium, fighting for the top four. I actually, fortunately, and maybe intuitively, was there last week for their game against Club Bruges so I have seen first-hand the quality that they have. They’ve just changed coach to Alonso, so they have someone implementing a different style and they’ve just had a massive win against Union Berlin at the weekend, who are having a fantastic season. It will be a tough challenge, but I think it will be an exciting game,” he continued.

Asked by Monaco Life whether Alonso’s recent arrival at the German club makes them a bit of an unknown entity, Mitchell replied, “Everyone is going to get this kind of micro pre-season again. That will give [Alonso] time on the grass with his team. Any new coach wants as much of that as they possibly can. I think we’ll see a different Leverkusen in the second half of the season when we play them. Seeing the quality of their squad list, the dynamism of their team, it’s going to be a tough challenge for us for sure.”

Monaco visit Leverkusen on 16th February, before hosting the return leg one week later, with Clement’s men looking to better last year’s performance in the competition.

 

Photo of Paul Mitchell by Monaco Life