AS Monaco clinched a deserved draw against PSG on Sunday in an entertaining game that will boost the side ahead of a difficult run of fixtures.
The two clubs couldn’t have been heading into the fixture in more contrasting form. PSG come into the game on the back of three consecutive wins during which they have scored 17 goals, including seven against Lille last weekend.
Monaco, meanwhile, are yet to find their rhythm. After an opening day win, they then drew with Rennes, before being comprehensively beaten by Lens 4-1 at the Stade Louis II last Saturday. However, Philippe Clement’s side didn’t show any scars from that defeat, and from the first whistle they took the game to PSG, employing an intense and brave high press.
The intelligent pressing traps and determination in one-on-one duels allowed them to control the game in the opening minutes. Employing a back three for the first time in the league this season, Monaco looked to be working from a solid base, whilst Mohamed Camara, making his first start for the club, was dogged in his work to disrupt PSG’s world-class attacking line.
Monaco’s strong start was rewarded with a goal mid-way through the first-half. Camara’s challenge on Lionel Messi allowed Kevin Volland and Aleksandr Golovin to exchange passes. The former then ran in on goal and sent a shot low to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s left.
With a lead to protect, Monaco didn’t let up and the side continued to deploy a high-block. However, they were lucky to go into the break ahead. Messi’s long-range effort hit the post, deflecting the ball into the path of Kylian Mbappé, who had an open goal to aim at, but he could only hit the foot of the opposite post.
Monaco still had their own chances too, the most gilt-edged of which fell to the usually prolific Wissam Ben Yedder, but having rounded the keeper at distance, he couldn’t divert his effort on target.
With their 100% win record on the line, PSG began to lay siege on the Monaco goal and the pressure finally told midway through the second-half. A driving Neymar run provoked a clumsy challenge from Guillermo Maripan in the box. The Brazilian then got up and converted the penalty himself to level the tie.
From there, Monaco were hanging on. Achraf Hakimi saw his effort cannon on the post, and minutes later, the all-too familiar image of Mbappé bearing down on goal alluded to a PSG winner. However, for once, the goal did not bulge, and Alexander Nübel spread himself well to block the shot and keep the scores level.
The game finished 1-1, the point moving Monaco up to 12th, whilst PSG go top of the Ligue 1 table on goal difference. Post-match, Clement said he was “satisfied” with the result, adding, “We showed by taking a point here, you can take points everywhere, and that is important for the future, to have this as a reference match.”
Clement’s men will certainly be expected to earn the three points when they host Troyes on Wednesday, although the following league matches, firstly against Nice and then Lyon, will provide a sterner test. However, a gritty performance on the Champion’s garden means they go into the difficult run with renewed confidence.
Photo source: AS Monaco
Lady First III big winner of Palermo-Montecarlo regatta
The 17th edition of the Palermo-Montecarlo regatta has ended, and after a voyage filled with rough seas and difficult wind conditions, it was the Lady First III who took the cup.
This year’s Palermo-Montecarlo sailing race pulled in 40 teams from nine countries and drew big crowds in the process.
The event, organised by Circolo della Vela Sicilia in partnership with Yacht Club de Monaco and Yacht Club Costa Smeralda since 2005, is a 480 nautical mile race and is one of the stages in the Italian Offshore Championship circuit, organised by the Italian Sailing Federation, IMA’s Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge and the Class40 Mediterranean Trophy.
“Wind and sea conditions were quite difficult this year, which made it all the more exciting,” said a delighted Agostino Randazzo, President of Circolo della Vela Sicilia.
Despite the challenging environment, the racers all left from the Gulf of Mondello in high spirits, but it was to be Jean-Pierre Dreau’s Lady First III helmed by Nicolas Berenger who would cross the finish first on Sunday evening at 11:47pm after 2 days 11 hours 47 minutes 6 seconds of sailing, winning the Giuseppe Tasca d’Almerita Trophy for the first to finish in real time.
“Everything went well,” said skipper Berenger, “we had quite tough conditions for the first part of the course, crossing the Maddalena Archipelago then the Strait of Bonifacio and then managed to escape the whims of the Corsican coast to end on a good crossing from there to the continent, with the wind pushing us along in the right direction. Despite the last 25 miles being difficult, we managed to stay ahead of our rivals.”
In a close second was Dominique Tian’s Tonnere de Glen, though confusingly, after a real time correction, they were first, and therefore winners of the Angelo Randazzo Perpetual Challenge Trophy for the second time after victory in 2018.
“Our crew sailed really well. We are very happy with the results, particularly as it was not an easy race,” said Dominique Tian, who good-naturedly went on to say, “I’m delighted Lady First III took line honours. We are friends and mates at the Marseille Société Nautique, so I’m very happy for them.”
Another prize offered at this race was the newly minted Circolo della Vela Sicilia Trophy which rewards the first in the overall ranking of the ORC group and was won by the Sun Fast 3600 Lunatika of Guido Baroni and Alessandro Miglietti.
Monaco had two boats in the running this year, including Andrea Statari’s Gorilla Gang, K’Mena and Andreas Feichtinger’s Lung’Ta which had two young members from the YCM’s Sports Section on board, and Oscar Royneau and Jessica Klimeck, supervised by YCM’s Thierry Leret.
“They were great throughout,” said Thierry Leret. “Over the 10 days spent at sea (between delivery and the race itself), we had only three hours downwind. The rest of the time we were close-hauled and in some very tough conditions. Despite that, these two young rookies have fallen in love with offshore racing and want to continue on this path which is a victory in my eyes.”
Photo credit: Circolo Della Vela Sicilia, Studio Borlenghi
Artcurial Monaco welcomes Olga de Marzio as new Director
Olga de Marzio has been announced as the new director of high-end auction house Artcurial, where she will take over the branch’s growth strategy and management.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela and of German origin and Italian by adoption, Olga de Marzio is a true woman of the world. She studied Visual Arts and Communication in Rome before starting her career with a wine producer in Tuscany as International Marketing Manager, before moving to Monaco in 2004.
For a decade, she worked for one of the Principality’s largest wealth management banks as client marketing manager before becoming the manager of an online art gallery linked to the Fondazione Volume, the Foundation of Contemporary Art in Rome. She also was president of an organisation that raises environmental awareness among young people.
“I am delighted and honoured to join Artcurial in this year which coincides with its 20th anniversary,” said Olga de Marzio. “In a short time, it has become one of the most important auction houses in Europe and a benchmark in Monaco. I will work now to continue its development in the region.”
Artcurial has been in the Principality since 2006, but became a permanent fixture in 2015 when it opened a dedicated auction site. By 2019, the company had a new exhibition space on Boulevard des Moulins where they presented major works going under the gavel as well as a place to meet with collectors.
The auction house is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Last year, the company saw sales of more than €32 million, an increase of 50% compared to 2020. The Principality has become the second most profitable place for sales, after Paris and ahead of Marrakech.
Olga de Marzio replaces former director Louise Grether, who is now heading Sotheby’s new gallery in the Principality.
A hapless valet near Casino Square has crashed a LaFerrari worth over €3 million in front of the hypercar’s furious owner… and it’s all been caught on video.
The valet on Monaco’s Avenue des Spélugues, just off Casino Square, had an incredibly bad night when he crashed a client’s 2013 Ferrari, sold originally for just over €1 million but due to the car’s rarity is now worth upward of €3 to €5 million, into a couple of scooters, one with the driver still sitting on it.
The incident was filmed in its entirety and has now gone viral.
The valet had slowly pulled the electric blue LaFerrari model, a hybrid hypercar that has come to be seen as a modern classic, to a stop next to the curb, leaving the ignition on. After a short time, the valet climbed out and started to close the butterfly door, at which point the 950 brake-horsepower monster began to move forward.
As the valet panicked, he attempted to jump back in to the moving vehicle, but the Ferrari ploughed into two scooters parked a few metres away. One man had to jump to avoid being hit by the car.
It all unfolded in front of the Ferrari’s owner, who came running from across the road shouting profanities and demanding the valet get out of the car.
A man is forced to jump out of the way as the LaFerrari rolls into parked scooters outside the Rampoldi restaurant. Image taken from GE Supercars YouTube video
No one was hurt, except the valet’s pride and the owner’s wallet and only minor damage was sustained on the nose and downforce generating front splitter. On a car such as this though, even those small repairs are likely to be expensive, perhaps tens of thousands of euros.
It is unclear how this whole episode happened in the first place, but speculation by those who have seen the video leans toward the attendant simply not being able to engage the electronic handbrake or that the car had been left in automatic mode and the handbrake either failed or had not been correctly put on, which led to the car moving forward when the door was closing.
The LaFerrari is one of three trailblazing vehicles that uses hybrid power whilst still maintaining impressive levels of performance.
Released alongside the McLaren P1 and the Porsche 918 Spyder, the three cars are referred to as the “Holy Trinity” and paved the way for a new, electrically charged era of hyper cars.
The Ferrari was spotted the next morning cruising the streets of the Principality, so no real harm done, but the video lives on for the world to see.
As the end of the transfer window approaches, AS Monaco are fine-tuning their squad for the season, which includes the outgoings of Chrislain Matsima and Harrison Marcelin on loan.
Philippe Clement had previously stated a desire to reduce the size of his squad. Although he highlighted that the need to sell and loan players isn’t as pressing as it is for many Ligue 1 rivals, such as PSG, he nonetheless stated a desire to work with a less bloated squad.
Matsima loaned to Lorient
Having brought in Takumi Minamino, Breel Embolo, Thomas Didillon, Malang Sarr and Mohamed Camara, the focus, for now at least, is on balancing out those arrivals with some outgoings.
Chrislain Matsima last week moved on loan to Ligue 1 rivals Lorient. The deal includes a purchase option reported to be €10m, according to L’Équipe. The 20-year-old French centre-back has three-years remaining on his current deal at the Principality club.
Last season, he featured 13 times for the Monégasques having come through the ranks at the club. Overall for the club, he has made 24 appearances, whilst he is also a regular feature in the France U20 side.
Marcelin returns for second stint in Belgium
Another young centre-back has also departed, which currently leaves Benoît Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Guillermo Máripan, Malang Sarr and Yllan Okou as Clement’s centre-back options. Harisson Marcelin has struggled with injuries at Monaco. He will be given the chance to work his way back to fitness, whilst earning game time at satellite club Cercle Brugge.
It will be the France U19 international’s second stint at the Belgian club, after he spent the 2020/21 at the club. During that spell, he made 20 appearances in the Jupiler Pro League, before a torn muscle fibre put an abrupt end to the loan spell.
There is no purchase option in the loan, so the hope for Monaco is that he accrues experience, builds back his fitness and returns to the Principality next summer. He joins fellow Monégasuqe Radoslaw Majecki, who also joined the Belgian top division side on loan this summer.
Vanderson extends
One player who isn’t making a move this summer is Vanderson. Despite only arriving in January, he has earned himself a one-year contract extension, due reward for his impressive start to life in the Principality.
The 21-year-old Brazilian’s contract now runs until June 2027. Last season, he made five goal contributions having arrived from Gremio in January for a reported €11m fee.
Speaking in a press release, Vanderson said, “It’s with great satisfaction that I extend my contract with AS Monaco for another season. At this club, I am very happy to have found an ambitious sporting project that offers me the possibility to continue my progression. I would like to thank AS Monaco for placing their trust in me and now it is up to me to continue to work hard in order to help the team in this season’s challenges.”
It remains to be season whether Monaco will dip back into the transfer window in order to further strengthen their squad. They have just under a week to do so with the window slamming shut on 1st September.
Photo source: AS Monaco
Interview: The great and powerful Jacqueline Green
Monaco Life, in partnership with the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, is proud to present a monthly series highlighting the lives and artistic work of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA’s illustrious Award winners.
In this month’s exclusive interview, Princess Grace Foundation-USA’s Director of Programming Diana Kemppainen catches up with Princess Grace Award winner Jacqueline Green. After 11 years as one of the stars of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (Ailey), Jacqueline retired from the company to build her own dance training center in Chicago. Below she shares some of her favorite moments with Ailey – from taking on iconic roles, how to maintain her physical and mental health during a rigorous tour schedule, and her favorite travel destinations – as well as the importance of mentors in dance, and her next steps.
“Ailey dancers are superb because they can do any style and look like experts. In my first year in the company, I was the lead in a hip-hop piece by Rennie Harris.”
For 11 years, Jacqueline Green was one of the stars of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. During her tenure, Jacqueline performed Ailey’s most iconic roles, including those originally set on Judith Jamison. She started her dance training at age 13, and since then has performed works by choreographers Wayne McGregor, Jirí Kylián, Ronald K. Brown, and Kyle Abraham, among many others.
In 2016 she was a guest artist with The Royal Ballet and is a 2018 ‘Bessie’ Award nominee for sustained achievement. Since retiring, Jacqueline is co-founder and co-director of The Dance Prep, a training institution based in Chicago that provides dancers with customised dance training and preparation for a professional career.
Looking at you, you clearly have the grace and stature of a dancer; but you actually didn’t start dancing until you were 13. That’s a little later than most dancers. Tell us how you discovered dance.
I was one of five siblings, and my mum was looking for high schools that were customised for each of her children. Something drew her to Baltimore School for the Arts. It was 2nd in academics in the state; I was a big nerd and was flexible, so she thought I would do well at an arts high school. The audition was my first class – I remember standing there and they were speaking another language, which I later learned was French. The class was ballet, musicality, and stretching. I remember the instructors saying “good, good” to me, and I was accepted. Once school began it was a lot to learn, and my teachers were very good at starting at a basic beginner level for me. When I finally got it, I was bit by the dance bug.
But I still considered it as a hobby because I didn’t see anyone who looked like me with a professional career. It wasn’t until my sophomore year, when Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell (principal dancer with Ailey, now Artistic Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago) came to the school. She was an alumnus of Baltimore School of the Arts and she took a class with us; she looked like me and she was just perfection. I finally understood that this was something I could do. She was dancing and traveling the world, and I wanted to do that as well. I learned more about Ailey, the company she danced with, and the more I learned, the more I related to the company, its repertory, and history.
Ailey is a demanding company, performing a variety of repertory from Ailey classics using Horton technique to more contemporary styles. How do you prepare for that variety?
My foundation is classical ballet and I went to Ailey/Fordham University for college. I learned codified modern techniques (Horton, Graham, Limón, etc.). Both institutions really prepared me for Ailey’s rep. However, even with all of that, there is still something new and as a professional dancer, you need to catch on quickly. Ailey dancers are superb because they can do any style and look like experts. In my first year in the company, I was the lead in a hip-hop piece by Rennie Harris. Hip hop was not a technique I was familiar with, so I needed to do work on my own and ensure I felt comfortable.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Jacqueline Green, Photo by Andrew Eccles
You have taken on some of Alvin Ailey’s most renowned work – pieces that were originally set on the iconic dancer (and former Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre) Judith Jamison. How do you take on those roles and make them your own?
It’s always an honor. I was Robert Battle’s (Princess Grace Award winner, 1991) first hire as Artistic Director. Ms. Jamison was still working with the company, and I was able to learn a lot from her.
She set Pas de Duke, a duet she originally did with Mikhail Baryshnikov on me. She is amazing; she would break down every step, and there’s a wealth of knowledge and mentorship. She’s skilled at communicating and helping you manifest the work in your body. Looking back, especially in my new position, I really understand how precious it is.
Ailey is a company that tours – 7-8 months of performance – do you have favorite places and experiences from travel?
Yes! I have a top five: Tel Aviv and performing in Jerusalem; Copenhagen and Tivoli Gardens, it’s the place that inspired Walt Disney; London at Sadler Wells, South Africa was a life-changing experience; and Paris. We would spend three to four weeks there, and it felt like you were living in Paris. You found your lunch spots and practiced your French.
“I didn’t know I had it (scoliosis) until I started dance in high school, and it turns out I have a 48-degree curve.”
You are on the road so often. How do you maintain a schedule/routine to be at the top of your game?
It’s very individual. For me, I have scoliosis so I have a specific workout I need to do on my own. I also give myself goals for each tour – some of those goals include turnout, alignment and artistry. I appreciate work ethic, and even when I’m off, I’m taking class. For me, it’s a check in for my body.
You mentioned scoliosis. Can you speak about being a dancer with scoliosis?
I didn’t know I had it until I started dance in high school, and it turns out I have a 48-degree curve. Dance educated me about my body. By the time we found out, I didn’t need a brace, my teachers taught me posture and that information was priceless. When you work with the right tools, you can heal it. Now, I know what to look for and how my body needs to feel. Physical fitness will always be a part of my regime.
I learned that Wendy Whelan (former Principal Dancer at New York City Ballet) also has scoliosis. I watched her dance – and again it’s the representation of seeing someone like yourself – and knew that it was not something that could hold me back. I fell in love with it. When Wayne McGregor worked with Ailey, my torso could move in ways that other company members couldn’t, and I loved it.
TDA Prep
You joined Alvin Ailey in 2011 and performed with the company for over 10 years. What’s next?
I got married this year, and we were doing long-distance. He’s based in Chicago and I was on the road or in NYC. During the pandemic we literally built a school – we put the floors in – and now we guide students. It’s called the Dance Artist Prep. We customise the dance journey for the young dancer and assist the parents. We help them through all of it; provide resources, training, etc.
My husband was my dance coach, and I worked with him throughout my career. As a professional dancer, it’s your job to maintain your technique and artistry; you should be as good as your audition or better. He held me accountable and I stayed injury free throughout my career. Now we are passing that on to our students.
Was this transition a reflection of Covid-19 or was this long brewing?
In the span of a flight from Iowa City to Dallas, our tour was canceled. At that point NYC was a bit crazy, so I asked to be sent to Chicago. I had my tour clothes for months. While we were there, my husband and I got our own studio for teaching and for me to rehearse in when we were in virtual rehearsals. It really grew from there into what was needed in the dance world.
Last question – you left Ailey at the pinnacle of your career. In some ways this parallels Princess Grace, who also left Hollywood at the height of her career. What would you want to talk to her about?
I would ask her about transference of passion and how is that fueled. For over a decade you’re in an art form that fuels you – your passion, work ethic, routine, etc. and then it’s a complete flip to something else. I have passion and work ethic in working with young people and helping them find their purpose. It’s different, and I would love to know how that felt for her when she transitioned, and her perspective on what’s to come. It feels good right now, and if I could predict, I think it will continue to feel good. It’s different from me being the performer and affecting thousands of people for two hours, versus affecting one child’s life for a lifetime. It’s a different purpose, and seeing how that felt for her.
