It was revealed during the ceremony that Princess Charlene is the new president of the Monaco SPA, taking up a position left vacant since the death of Baroness Elizabeth-Ann de Massy in 2020.
Photo above credit: Eric Mathon, Prince’s Palace
AS Monaco Women began their Régional 1 season with a comfortable 4-0 victory against Toulon Elite Futsal to get their promotion chase off to the perfect start.
It is all change of the Principality’s Womens’ side this season. Stéphane Guigo has been replaced on the sideline by the experienced Laurent Banide, who has previously managed the Monaco men’s side on two occasions.
The squad itself is also much-changed. Monaco have added seven recruits, which has reinforced a strong side that almost secured promotion last season, beofre faltering at the final hurdle in the promotion play-off against former professional side Toulouse.
The star recruit is undoutedly Marina Makanza, the former Marseille and Montpellier attacker, who has been capped 15 times by the French national team.
She opened her account on the first gameweek of the season. Her penalty added to an early goal from Moeko Morse. A Léa Malaret double completed the scoring against Toulon to secure the comfortable 4-0 victory.
Monaco go second in the table; their result was bettered only by AS Cannes, who beat FCF Monteux Vaucluse 5-0. Last season, Monaco went unbeaten in the regular championship, and they will be hoping to match that record this year. Unlike last year, there are no play-offs and the first-placed side will be automatically promoted. Hoping to maintain their record, AS Monaco Women will next face Tarascon next weekend.
Photo source: AS Monaco Women
AS Monaco edged Olympique Lyonnais 2-1 at the Stade Louis II on Sunday evening to secure their third victory in the space of a week and significantly scale the Ligue 1 table.
Only a week ago, Philippe Clement’s side languished in 16th place in the Ligue 1 table, but by the end of their thrilling victory against Peter Bosz’s Lyon, they were up to seventh, and just two points behind their opponents on the night, who had enjoyed a blistering start to the season.
The context that surrounded the game makes the victory all the more impressive. Monaco were yet to win a game at the Stade Louis II this season in four attempts. Although there were admittedly mitigating circumstances for some of those results, notably some incredibly harsh red cards, the first victory of the season in front of the home fans was sorely needed.
As Clement told Monaco Life, “You mustn’t forget that this is the first time that we have played 11v11 in the championship at the Stade Louis II. I didn’t have any doubt in my mind about the fact that we hadn’t won at home.”
Preparation for the game was also difficult and put into sharp focus Sunday night’s achievement. Following their 1-0 win against Red Star Belgrade in Serbia, the team only arrived back in the Principality late on Friday and had one day to prepare.
Whilst there were some signs of fatigue in some players late-on, Monaco matched a more refreshed Lyon side’s energy.
The first-half of the tie was littered with half-chances. Lyon had their own chances, but the best fell to Monaco. Krépin Diatta hit the foot of the post with a swivelled volley and seconds later, Breel Embolo’s free header from eight yards out was straight at Anthony Lopes in the Lyon goal.
Although an entertaining game, there was a distinct lack of goals. That changed in the second-half. Monaco have greatly improved from direct set-pieces, and there was further evidence of that against Lyon.
Caio Henrique’s corner was well met by Benoît Badiashile, who had worked himself a free header and made no mistake with the finish. Monaco earned another set piece just minutes later and it was once again Henrique who found one of his centre-backs.
This time, his free-kick was met by Guillermo Maripán, who doubled Monaco’s lead. Half of Monaco’s goals this season have now come from set pieces, an area of Monaco’s game that has been under-exploited in recent times.
However, Lyon weren’t out of the game and launched a barrage on Monaco’s goal. Alexander Nübel, who had one of his finest games in a Monaco jersey had already saved brilliantly from Alexandre Lacazette and he was repeatedly called upon in the final moments.
The Bayern Munich loanee couldn’t do anything about Karl Toko Ekambi’s volley, but he secured the three points late on with a brilliant close-range stop from Moussa Dembélé, who looked destined to level the scores.
But Monaco held on to cap a perfect week. Mentally, they now look to have definitively consigned their Champions League play-off defeat to the past and their rapid ascent up the table is a manifestation of that. They next face Ferencvaros in Monaco on Thursday before travelling to Reims on Sunday.
Photo by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life
La Diagonale, AS Monaco’s academy training complex, was inaugurated on Thursday just days after the historic inauguration of the club’s performance centre in La Turbie.
Called ‘La Diagonale,’ the building, which houses AS Monaco’s academy, is located just a stone’s throw away from the Stade Louis II. The arches of the iconic stadium can be seen from the windows of the modern complex, and act as a visual reminder both for the young players, as well as the staff, as to why they carry out the work they do.
The building, situated in Cap d’Ail, was completed in 2020, but the Covid pandemic delayed its official inauguration, which happened on Thursday in the presence of Prince Albert II and Monaco CEO Jean-Emmanuel de Witt.
As de Witt told Monaco Life, the construction of La Diagonale, as well as the performance centre perched upon the hill that overlooks the Principality, are “inextricably linked.”
“This year we took the decision to create the ‘Elite Group’ rather than playing in National 2. Why did we do that? Because we want to reduce the gap between the young players and the professional players. The two infrastructures that you’ve seen this week, in the space of just a few days, work hand in hand,” said de Witt. “It [the construction of La Diagonale] fits completely into the club’s philosophy. We recruit players very, very early [scouting as young as 10 and recruiting from 13]. Then we train them in football, but also in Monégasque football. Every team has its style and so it’s very important, both in terms of values and in terms of football, that we can train them to develop within our professional squad in the future. That’s what we hope.”
Monaco are well-known as a formatory club, and so the new centre, which brings together all elements of day-to-day life under one roof, is important to withhold that image. However, the most important thing is the development of these players, not just as footballers, but as humans, as was stressed during Monaco Life’s tour of the facilities.
A gym, a swimming pool, a medical department, classrooms and accommodation are all on sight, minimising lost time through travelling between sites. As youth goalkeeper Alain Zadi, who has often trained with the club’s first team, told Monaco Life, “Everything we need is here.”
On an educational level, the academy is already producing stellar results, with the club maintaining a 100% success record in the baccalaureat three years on the trot. And the results are showing on the pitch. Benoît Badiashile, Eliot Matazo, Maghnes Akliouche and Soungoutou Magassa are just the latest in a long line of academy products that have gone on to lay for the club’s professional side.
La Diagonale allows the club to perpetuate the it’s philosophy of promoting and trusting young players, whilst also showcasing the best of Monégasuqe football and attracting the best youth to the club. That’s a winning combination, which the club hope will allow them to consolidate their position amongst the European elite and hunt for more silverware in the immediate, as well as the distant future.
Photo: Ekaterina Rybolovleva, Prince Albert II and Juan Sartori by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen overcame a five-place grid penalty to win the Italian GP on Sunday in a highly strategic race as Ferrari let it slip on their home turf.
Monégasque driver Charles Leclerc lined up on pole position having narrowly beaten Verstappen, who had a five-place grid penalty, which dropped him to seventh. Teammate Carlos Sainz finished third on Saturday, but a grid penalty saw him drop back to 18th.
It was English driver George Russell who therefore lined-up next to Leclerc on the front row of the grid on Sunday. Leclerc comfortably held his lead off the grid, but the real danger was further back. By the first corner of the second lap, Verstappen had already made his way up to third.
The reigning world champion clearly had pace, as he has in recent races. But this race was as much decided by strategic calls and tyre degradation as it was by raw pace. Leclerc saw an opportune moment to make an (almost) free stop under a virtual safety car, and took it.
However, it was too early, and Verstappen could hugely extend his first stint, allowing to take the advantage of his increasingly distant title rival. A pit stop in Monza is said to cost around 24 seconds, the longest on the F1 calendar. The decision to stop Leclerc twice, compared to Verstappen’s one-stop strategy, was the latest in a series of questionable Ferrari tactical calls.
Without having to overtake Leclerc on track, Verstappen inherited the lead of the race. A late safety car following a technical failure to Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren looked to give Leclerc another chance of snatching the victory in front of the adoring Tifosi that had attended en-masse throughout the weekend.
However, there wasn’t enough time to restart and the race finished behind the safety car, to the disappointment of everyone, even Verstappen, who was ultimately the major benefactor of the decision.
As a result, Leclerc remains truly cut adrift from Verstappen, who could wrap up consecutive titles in the coming races. 116 points currently separate the duo, who at the beginning of the season were inseparable both in the standings and on-track. Russell rounded off the podium and Sainz had a magnificent recovery drive to secure fourth.
In front of their home fans, it was ultimately a disappointing weekend. There is a tacit acceptance that the title is over, but there was hope of a Ferrari win, which could spark scenes similar to those experienced during Leclerc’s win in 2019. It wasn’t to be.
Monza, however, is always special for Ferrari, and therefore for Leclerc. “Monza is always incredible. Starting from pole, I did want to take the win. However, that’s not how it went today. Seeing the tifosi under the podium made it a lot better.”
Due to the cancellation of the Russian GP, there is now a gap in the calendar, and there isn’t a race until Singapore in early October.
Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
Clashes between OGC Nice’s ultras and the travelling FC Köln fans overshadowed the Europa Conference League opener at the Allianz Riviera on Thursday.
The fights, which were instigated by the travelling Köln fans who descended on Nice in droves, almost led to the postponement of the match. RMC had reported that the match had been called off completely amidst great uncertainty, diffusing the situation briefly, until a 55-minute delay to the 18:45 match was announced.
The build-up to the ugly scenes was incremental. It is reported that as many as 10,000 Köln fans made the trip to Nice for the opening gameweek of the Europa Conference League, the third tier of European football.
Many of them gathered in Place Masséna, Nice’s main square, during the day time. Whilst the gathering passed largely without incident, Nice’s official store, which is located within the square, was vandalised by a Köln ultras group. Local authorities later announced that they would be billing the club for the damages.
The problems started on the way to the stadium itself, which is located kilometres away from the city centre. In the sweltering heat, many marched to the stadium from the city centre in a journey that took approximately three hours, Köln fans revealed to Monaco Life.
Others opted for the tram which, apart from driving, is the only other method of getting to the stadium. It had been known that Köln fans would arrive en-masse, and figures of 10,000 fans were touted days before the match. However, seemingly, no measures were taken to cope with this huge influx of people.
Not only were no extra trams put on, but delays to the service meant that line 3 trams were packed to the brim with Köln and Nice fans. Difficulties continued upon arrival at the stadium. In the Nice end, fans were told that they would not be allowed to bring bags into the stadium, a rule that had not been enforced previously, causing delays.
According to Köln fans that spoke to Monaco Life, the food and drinks bars were woefully understaffed with reports of waits for drinks of over 40 minutes. But it was in the stands themselves that the real chaos had descended. Köln fans, situated at the complete opposite end of the ground, made their way – unopposed – to the other side of the stadium before launching flares at the small crowd of Nice Ultras.
Ugly scenes ensued. According to L’Équipe, 32 people were injured in the mass brawls, which included launching missiles and flares. One of those injured is in a serious condition having fallen five metres into the stand below.
There are reports that fans of the now unrecognised PSG ultras group ‘Supras’ had infiltrated the Köln away stand, as well as fans of rival German team Borussia Dortmund. In attendance at the match, Monaco Life can confirm that a ‘Supras’ flag was present in the away end. It has also been confirmed that two of those injured are part of the Parisian group.
As a result of the unfettered chaos within the stadium, the entrances to the stands were closed as security forces grappled to regain control of the situation. Köln fans reported being locked out of the stadium for almost an hour.
In the meantime, it was unclear as to whether any football would be played. Journalists and fans were left in the dark until a tannoy announcement, after the scheduled kick-off time, reported that the game would kick-off at 19:40. It has been reported that local authorities and the Nice president, Jean-Pierre Rivère, had pushed for the game to be postponed.
Köln captain Jonas Hector came onto the pitch to calm the travelling fans, whilst urging them to support the team in the right way. Thereafter the situation calmed and the match went ahead, eventually finishing 1-1.
In order to avoid further trouble, Nice fans were designated buses to return to the city, and only Köln fans could return via tram.
The incident raises major questions about the local authorities’ handling of major sporting events. Their solution so far to the problem has been to prevent away fans from travelling to Nice, as was the case when Marseille played the club a couple of weeks ago. However, when they are unable to do so, as is the case with European fixtures, they have no answer and the scenes in the city centre, on the public transport system, and in and around the stadium attest to that.
Lessons must be learnt, and quickly, in order to avoid a repeat of the violent scenes that, not for the first time, have dominated a major sporting event on the Riviera.
Photo above by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life
Sign up for the Monaco Life email newsletter.
