19 ° C
Profile

Tag: monaco

Interview: Thiago Scuro reflects on AS Monaco’s past, present, and future

by: Luke Entwistle
28/09/2024
AS Monaco CEO and Adi Hütter look on during a training session at the club's performance centre in La Turbie.

Ahead of Saturday night’s “special” centenary celebrations, AS Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro discussed the club’s past, it’s present, and it’s future in an interview with Monaco Life’s Sports Journalist Luke Entwistle.

Earlier this season, the Principality club celebrated its centenary. But whilst the club was officially founded on 23rd August 1924, they didn’t play their first game until 20th September of the same year. As a result, further celebrations are planned on Saturday, when Les Monégasques will take on Montpellier HSC in Ligue 1.

“It will be a special night. It will be a moment to celebrate some good moments and some important people from our history,” began Scuro in an interview with Monaco Life, before outlining those plans.

“[We will be] hosting some iconic players from our history, and coaches that have made history over these past 100 years. A special jersey on the pitch in order to show our respect for our past. We will have Arsène Wenger, one of AS Monaco’s former managers and who became a legend. There will also be players like (Marco) Simone, (Eric) Abidal, (Delio) Onnis, (Claude) Puel, and (Jean-Luc) Ettori.”

“There will be around 40 former AS Monaco players from different moments of our history. There will also be an exposition of the trophies in the stadium during the match, all of the iconic jerseys, and other animations both before and after the match to surprise our fans,” added Scuro. 

‘The club represents the Principality forever’ – Scuro

It is a night that transcends AS Monaco as a club and that has a greater importance for the entire Principality, as Scuro recognises: “It is special and it is also important to highlight how important it is to Prince Albert II, who is strongly connected to the club. The club represents the Principality forever. There has been a deep relationship with him and his family since day one. And also the our president Dmitry (Rybolovlev) that after 10 years here in Monaco leading the club, supporting the club, having the chance to be here means a lot to him too.”

Amid the festivities, Adi Hütter and his squad have the task of focusing on matters on the pitch. “This is the most important thing. We are working a lot on not distracting ourselves from the football project. Everything around [the club]: the excitement, the celebrations, it is important to the Principality and to our fans but we need to keep focused on our job on the pitch,” admits Scuro

It has been an excellent start to the season for Monaco, who are joint top in Ligue 1 after four wins and one draw, whilst the victory over Barcelona means that Les Monégasques are so far unbeaten. It is a run that means that Hütter has the best percentage of any Monaco manager in the 21st century. Whilst the legends of the past will be honoured and on show at the Stade Louis II, the Austrian is in the process of making his own history at the Principality club.

“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. Has also a very positive leadership skills […] strong compliments to our coach Adi, who is building a strong history here at AS Monaco,” Scuro told Monaco Life. The Brazilian’s first appointment has certainly been a successful one.

Monaco’s unwavering youth strategy

Under the Austrian manager, the club’s youth are featuring prominently and flourishing. As has been the case historically, developping young players through the prestigious La Diagonale or investing in youth, as they did with this summer through the signings of George Ilenikhena, Lamine Camara and Christian Mawissa, remains a central pillar of the club’s strategy.

The club’s participation in this season’s Champions League not only allows those young players to grow, but it also gives them increased exposition. There is no question of a deviation from the Monaco model. “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.

“This is the way we believe we should keep working. So having so many young players on the pitch playing a game of this level for sure will be a big, big step to allow them to become higher-level players in the future.”

A Ligue 1 title challenge?

And those players, notably Camara and Ilenikhena, as well as academy products Eliesse Ben Seghir and Maghnes Akliouche are already contributing to the club’s current success.

After a strong start to the season, there is already talk of a title challenge, with vice-captain Thilo Kehrer admitting that such talk had reached the dressing room, even if he believes he and his teammates remain unperturbed.

“At this stage, it is too soon to discuss the possibility [of a Ligue 1 title challenge]. PSG continue to be a strong club in the league, as they have been in previous years,” said Scuro, who nonetheless recognises the “clear potential” in this current cohort of Monaco players.

Scuro provides update on AS Monaco sale talks

Les Monégasques have a glistening past and in the present they remain at the cutting edge of French football, whilst also once again flourishing on the European scene. But there are uncertainties surrounding the future.

As reported earlier this year, owner Dmitry Rybolovlev received unsolicited interest to purchase the club, and talks over a potential sale have been ongoing. Scuro provided an update on the situation. “The process is ongoing; nothing concrete has been announced or has happened,” said Scuro, before providing assurances.

“What I want to highlight is that, throughout the whole process, the transparency and the support of our president. The president was part of the summer strategy, decisions, and investment. He is very connected to us and I speak to him basically every week about key decisions that we must take together here at the club. The president, Adi, and I had a conversation last week in terms of what we are doing for the season. This is what we need at this stage – clarity and support from the president. This will make AS Monaco stronger and this is our main focus,” said Scuro.

As Monaco celebrate their past, Scuro is unequivocal in his positive outlook for the future.

Monaco Life is produced by real multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads,  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok. 

Photo source: AS Monaco

Football: Monaco get the better of Barcelona in the battle of the prestigious academies

by: Luke Entwistle
20/09/2024
Saimon Bouabré on the ball as AS Monaco's academy take on Barcelona in La Turbie.

Before the main event took place on Thursday evening, AS Monaco beat Barcelona (4-3) to get their UEFA Youth League campaign off to the perfect start in La Turbie.

It was one of the graduates from Monaco’s prestigious La Diagonale academy, Maghnes Akliouche, who netted the opener in the senior side’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona inside a packed Stade Louis II. The likes of Saimon Bouabré, John Tincres and Mayssam Benama dream of following a similar trajectory asthe France youth international; Bouabré in particular showed that he has the technical ability to do so in the future, but it was a strong collective performance that allowed Monaco to defeat arguably the most prestigious academy in world football – La Masia.

Besides the swathes of physical and technical quality, Djimi Traoré’s displayed their mental fortitude in a match in which they had to twice come from behind. Despite starting with intensity, it was Barcelona who took the lead through Arnau Pradas, before Hugo Alba then doubled the Spanish side’s lead from the spot.

Joan Tincres in action for AS Monaco. Photo credit: Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life

It was an uphill battle to get back into the match but Les Monégasques finished the first half with a flourish. Nick Mokabakila found Tincres at the back post and, buoyed by halving the deficit, the highly impressive Bouabré drew Monaco level with a sumptuous curling effort. That quickfire double saw Monaco head into the break level, however, there was once again a drop-off upon the return from the dressing room.

It was a lack of coordination and intensity in the press that allowed Barcelona to re-seize control of the fixture. “One of our principles of play is to try and win the ball high, go and press them,  but when you’re late in doing so, that hurts […] when you’re playing against strong sides, you have to choose the right moments to go and press,” reflected Traoré post-match.

In front of the onlooking Deco and Bojan Krkic, both legends of La Masia, Pedro Fernandez Sarmiento put Barcelona back in the lead. However, Monaco’s response was immediate. It was once again Mokabakila who found Tincres in the box, with the latter making no mistake with his finish.

Lorenzo Carvalho celebrates his match winner against Barcelona. Photo credit: Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life

Then, with the game seemingly drifting towards a draw, Tincres, scorer of a brace, turned the provider, sliding through Lorenzo Carvalho, who kept his composure to put Monaco 4-3 up and secure the win. “It was a big challenge to play against a team like Barcelona […] they hurt us but we showed a lot of character; that is what I liked,” reacted Traoré.

That “character” will also have impressed club CEO Thiago Scuro, who was in attendance alongside president Dmitry Rybolovlev and technical director Carlos Aviña. Their presence highlights the continued importance of developing players at AS Monaco, and just like the former Diagonale players who shone under the bright lights against Barcelona on Thursday night, the next generation will be looking to accelerate their development over the course of this UEFA Youth League campaign – next up, Dinamo Zagreb.

 

Monaco Life is produced by real multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads,  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok. 

Photo credit: Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life

Football: Monaco upset Barcelona to ensure triumphant Champions League return

by: Luke Entwistle
20/09/2024
Akliouche celebrates with his Monaco teammates as they take the lead against Barcelona in the Champions League.

It has been six years since AS Monaco were in the Champions League, and seven years since they won a match in a competition. That run came to an end against Barcelona in what was a euphoric night at the Stade Louis II. 

“I’ll have goosebumps when the [Champions League] anthem rings out,” said manager Adi Hütter pre-match. Whilst there was certainly an element of awe as Champions League football returned to a sold-out Stade Louis II, Monaco’s players quickly applied themselves to the task at hand.

In front of a star-studded crowd, which included the likes of Michael Jordan, Didier Deschamps and Prince Albert II, Les Monégasques had what can only be described as the perfect start. The same intensity that has guided the Principality club to third in Ligue 1 was on display and provoked the first key moment of the match.

Akliouche overcomes ‘goosebumps’ to give Monaco perfect start

Takumi Minamino picked Eric García’s pocket on the edge of the box. The Spaniard, almost instinctively, hauled the Japan international to the ground, leaving the referee without any choice but to brandish a red card. Monaco’s evening would get better just minutes later as Maghnes Akliouche, on his Champions League debut, cut inside and finished past a stranded Marc-André Ter Stegen.

Like Akliouche, he also admitted to having “goosebumps” during the anthem, but like his manager and the rest of his teammates, he put his emotions aside to get the job done. “I think I did what I had to this evening,” said the France U21 international.

However, nervousness kicked in. Monaco, until then, had been the underdogs; it was a tag that suited them. But they were now the favourites. The intensity dropped and Barcelona equalised.

Hütter was so concerned about Lamine Yamal running the show that he started Vanderson, a right-back, over on the left. But the Monaco full-back, in an unfamiliar position, couldn’t prevent Yamal from getting on the scoresheet. The 17-year-old, who lit up the Euros with Spain equalised with a near-identical finish to Akliouche’s just moments earlier.

Monaco had possession, were well set, but failed to create anything other than half-chances. Barcelona, who have won all five of their games in La Liga, scoring 17 goals in the process, looked dangerous on the break. “It sometimes isn’t an advantage when you have an extra player,” said Hütter. For a long time, it showed.

But with the game drifting, the Austrian manager made a game-changing intervention. Off came the ineffective Breel Embolo, and on came George Ilenikhena. Folarin Balogun then made his entrance moments later. The duo wreaked havoc and it was the former who got the winner.

Vanderson, who struggled defensively at times, picked out Ilenikhena’s well-timed run with a sublime cross-field path. The summer signing, baring down on goal then beat ter Stegen to restore Les Monégasques’ lead.

‘Winning against Barça, one of the biggest clubs in the world, makes us proud’ – Hütter

In the lead, looking for their first Champions League in 15 attempts, therewas certainly nervousness; Hütter himself admitted that there were “some situations” where that was the case, but he emphasised his side’s bravery, both pre and post-match, and that above all was on show as they held out for the three points.

“I am really proud and really happy. I am happy for the club and the fans. I think we deserved to win this match for sure tonight. Winning against Barça, one of the biggest clubs in the world, makes us proud and gives us confidence,” reacted Hütter.

“Tonight is for celebrating,” he added. It is a victory that will go down as one of Monaco’s greatest in recent history and it will be savoured. But this “brave” and youthful team looks more than capable of producing more magic moments over the course of this Champions League campaign.

 

Monaco Life is produced by real multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads,  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok. 

 

Photo credit: AS Monaco

Football: Monaco start with a win as Ligue 1 makes long-awaited return

by: Luke Entwistle
18/08/2024
Monaco's players celebrate after Takumi Minamino's strike is awarded as a goal after a lengthy VAR check.

AS Monaco got their Ligue 1 campaign off to a winning start, beating newly-promoted AS Saint-Étienne (1-0) at a packed Stade Louis II on Saturday evening.

It is a season like no other for Monaco, who celebrate their centenary later this month. With Champions League football also returning to the Principality, it is a season that promises to be special, and it got off to the perfect start.

This opening day was less about the Principality club and more about Saint-Étienne, a fallen giant of French football back on the rise following promotion to the top flight last season. Over 14,000 fans packed into the Stade Louis II, and many of them were supporting Les Verts, who were in an understandably festive mood as they returned to the elite.

Breel Embolo almost silenced them in the third minute with a bullet header from close range, but Gautier Larsonneur was equal to the effort, parrying the shot away.

Whilst Monaco looked superior for large periods, controlling the game through the impressive duo of newly-apppointed club captain Denis Zakaria and new signing Lamine Camara, Saint-Étienne created chances of their own on the break. All of them fell to Ibrahim Sissoko, and luckily for Monaco, he wasn’t in clinical form, squandering a number of chances throughout the game, notably failing to beat Philipp Köhn in a one-on-one.

Sissoko denied twice by the offside flag for Saint-Étienne

The Principality club thought they had taken the lead through Takumi Minamino, only for a tight offside call to deny the Japanese international. Sissoko had the ball in the back of the Monaco net just seconds later, but his effort was ruled out for a much more obvious offside call.

Minamino had the ball in the back of the net once again seven minutes later, but there was no reaction from the forward with the flag immediately raised. However, this time, VAR came to Monaco’s rescue, with the Japanese forward adjudged to have been marginally offside.

Heading into the second half, Monaco continued to dominate, but they couldn’t add to their advantage, despite creating a set of good half-chances. The fear of being punished for profligacy was always there and it was seemingly realised with just under 20 minutes remaining.

Sissoko found the back of the net for the second time on the night, latching on to Zuriko Davitashvili’s cross. With the game about to restart, a collective sigh of relief spread around the Stade Louis II with Davitashvili adjudged to be ever-so marginally offside.

Despite losing captain Zakaria, and Eliesse Ben Seghir to cramp, Monaco held on to secure the victory that, according to manager Adi Hütter, was more resounding than the scoreline suggested.

Hütter unhappy with state of Stade Louis II pitch

“I’m happy with the result. When you look [at the score], it looks like a 50/50 game but with the chances we had, we could have won by many more; we should have scored more goals,” said the Monaco manager.

Whilst Hütter called for improvements from his side, both in defence and in attack, he also called for improvements to the recently relaid surface at the Stade Louis II, which was not up to scratch for the return of Ligue 1 football.

“The pitch wasn’t good, not in a top condition […] the people in charge should work as quick as possible to bring it into a decent condition,” he said. With Monaco travelling to face Lyon next week, groundstaff have a fortnight, until the arrival of Lens on 1st September, to get the pitch up to scratch.

An imperfect performance, an imperfect pitch too, but Monaco ensured that this special centenary season got off to the perfect start.

 

Monaco Life is produced by real multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads,  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok. 

Photo source: AS Monaco

Love the Ocean blessed by Archbishop, Yvan Griboval set to embark on new species-saving adventure

by: Cassandra Tanti
04/07/2023

Monaco’s expedition catamaran Love the Ocean has been blessed by Archbishop Dominique-Marie David ahead of its departure in September. Skippered by explorer Yvan Griboval, the boat will embark on an eight-year mission to collect data on the little-known health benefits of sea sponges to help save them from extinction.

The catamaran Love the Ocean is part of the OceanoScientific family, a philanthropic association that organises sailing expeditions that have no CO2 emissions in regions of the seas that have seldom been explored, if at all, to increase knowledge of the oceans and of the causes and consequences of climate change and pollution.

One such location is the coral reefs of Juan de Nova, located in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and Africa, in the Indian Ocean.

As part of the OceanoScientific Expeditions 2023-2030, Yvan Griboval will depart on 21st September from the Yacht Club de Monaco for an adventure to the Eparses Islands onboard the Love The Ocean catamaran. The aim: to collect the genetic data of different species of sponges and help prove the economic value of keeping this ancient organism, which is facing accelerated extinction, alive.

Sponges are believed to be the oldest animals on the planet. Photo credit: Karl Callwood, Unsplash

The oldest animal of the sea

Relatives of the humble sea sponge have filtered Earth’s waters for 650 million years or more, long before the first plants took to land. Their simplicity has led scientists to suggest sponges were the earliest animals to arise on our planet.

Today, the descendants of these amazing organisms are under the severe threat of the Sixth Extinction due to human activity.

OceanoScientific is therefore on a mission to help safeguard their biological heritage and preserve it for future generations.

One way of achieving this is by identifying the value that their molecules can have on human health and future new therapies.

“Let’s stop piling up alarmist scientific findings, let’s consider the Ocean as the most gigantic resource of humanity and let’s demonstrate that ecology and economy can be effectively married,” says Griboval.

“By bioprospecting little-known sponges on little-explored reefs using an oceanographic sailboat, using only three to five centimetre samples analysed biologically and genetically according to innovative techniques, we are inventing a virtuous development of an as yet unknown underwater resources, for the benefit of the sites of origin of these organisms.”

Juan de Nova is a French-controlled tropical island in the narrowest part of the Mozambique Channel

Scientific objectives

The OceanoScientific Expeditions 2023-2030 are the first sailing oceanographic campaigns in the Eparses Islands to explore all facets of sponge biodiversity. The aim is to make an inventory of species in situ by molecular extraction onboard the Love The Ocean.

The result will be a genetic database of marine organisms in the service of science, health, wellbeing and the environment. It will be a reference collection of tissues and extracts that will then be the subject of an integrative and interdisciplinary study.

The aim is to provide chemists with methods that could reproduce these molecules by biomimicry.

More than DNA collection and analysis

​Every 10 seconds, the OceanoScientific System (OCS System) will be used to collect and automatically transmit every hour new data of the Air-Sea interface, feeding the international weather forecasting and operational oceanography centres and providing new information on climate in remote locations.

In addition to the oceanographic campaigns in the Eparses Islands, from May to July the explorer will also be studying the universe of sponges on the Mediterranean coasts, looking for new species, together with students.

As the future protectors of the ocean, children are a major focus of OceanoScientific. On Thursday, school children from local CM1 and CM2 classes were at the Yacht Club de Monaco to witness the blessing of Love The Ocean by Archbishop Dominique-Marie David and hear more about the expedition. Through education, the association is hoping to inspire this generation towards the New Maritime Professions in the Blue Economy, seeing the value that lies within the sea.

The blessing ceremony on Thursday ended with the singing of the ‘Anthem of the Ocean: Love the Ocean’, produced by the Oceanoscientific Monaco association and written and performed by Monegasque singe Olivia Dorato.

Prince Albert has been a supporter of Yvan Griboval and his environmental causes for many years. Photo source: YCM

Backed by Monaco and Prince Albert

On Saturday 24th June, Yvan Griboval presented the 2023-2030 major initiatives of the OceanoScientific association to Prince Albert II of Monaco, as the Sovereign made a special visit to the Love The Ocean catamaran, currently moored in the Yacht Club de Monaco’s berth spaces.

Among the topics discussed was the Mediterranean Of The Future operation, to which the Principality of Monaco is committed and whose colours the Love The Ocean bears.

 

Make sure you’re never left out of the conversation. Sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter, and follow us on Facebook,  Twitter,  Instagram and LinkedIn.  

 

SEE ALSO:

OceanoScientific welcomed home

Featured image by Monaco Life

​

Monaco to release Prince Rainier III commemorative coin

by: Cassandra Tanti
25/05/2023

Prince Albert has ordered a special €2 coin be made for the commemoration of the centenary of the birth of his father, Prince Rainier III, which will be free for Monegasque citizens.

The Mairie has announced that the special commemorative €2 coin will be available free of charge to Monegasque citizens from 31st May, the day the official celebratory period kicks off and the actual day that Prince Rainier was born in 1923.

People can pick up their coins from the Mairie between 2:30pm and 10:30pm on Wednesday 31st May, and from the Museum of Stamps and Coins thereafter.

A Monegasque identity card must be presented to receive the coin free of charge.

The general public can purchase the limited-edition coin online only at https://www.mtm-monaco.mc from 1stJune. Only one purchase per person is allowed.

Sign up for the Monaco Life newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Photo by Monaco Life