How one of France's top soccer clubs ended up fighting for its very survival in the lower leagues

BORDEAUX, France -- Inside Bordeaux’s training analyzable a elephantine representation shows each shot nine it has ever faced successful European competition, including giants specified arsenic AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Juventus.

These days fewer fans person moreover heard of Bordeaux’s opponents, and high-profile distant games person been replaced by arduous six-hour autobus journeys to little-known stadiums successful small-town France.

The nine — a six-time nationalist champion that was erstwhile location to France awesome Zinedine Zidane — is languishing successful nan amateur-level 4th section aft 1 of European soccer’s astir staggering declines.

Swamped by 118 cardinal euros ($128 million) of debt, Bordeaux has closed its younker academy, women’s section and astir administrative offices. It has revenge for bankruptcy and renounced its position arsenic a master sports club. On Nov. 5, much than 80 group will suffer their jobs successful a 6 cardinal euros ($6.5 million) redundancy plan. Without a caller investor successful show 1 of France’s proudest clubs faces a title against clip to debar liquidation.

“You consciousness truthful sad, disillusioned,” said Alain Giresse, a nine fable who scored 182 goals successful 592 appearances successful nan 1970's and '80s. “It's not a nine that destroyed itself, it’s a nine that has been destroyed (by) nan group successful charge.”

The squad now plays successful nan National 2 convention — 3 rungs beneath France’s apical tier — against opponents from towns pinch arsenic fewer arsenic 10,000 residents. By contrast, Bordeaux, a tourer destination world-renowned for its prestigious wines, counts astir 1 cardinal group successful its metropolitan area.

If that’s an unfamiliar business for nan club, nan aforesaid tin beryllium said for its apical player, erstwhile England and Liverpool striker Andy Carroll, who joined Bordeaux this summer.

“I knew nan business they were successful and erstwhile I said to them, I knew location was a task there,” Carroll, 35, told The Associated Press successful a caller interview. “It’s a nine that deserves to beryllium astatine nan apical pinch nan stadium, nan training ground, nan fans, everything that nan nine has to give.”

Bordeaux’s misfortune shows really a longtime top-level nine tin plummet done nan convention strategy of European soccer, which dissimilar U.S. master sports operates connected a strategy of promotion and relegation whereby teams astatine nan bottommost of a convention driblet down a level nan pursuing season.

Founded successful 1936, FC Girondins de Bordeaux has played a full of 75 seasons successful France’s apical section and won its latest convention title successful 2009. It has besides won 4 French cups, 3 League Cups and reached nan 1996 UEFA Cup final.

The club’s training crushed is named aft nan 19th period Château du Haillan, which sits astatine nan bosom of its sweeping meadows, befitting nan artistic aura of a nine graced by elegant playmakers for illustration Giresse, Zidane and Yoann Gourcuff. In 2010, Haillan buzzed pinch anticipation erstwhile a Gourcuff-inspired Bordeaux reached nan Champions League quarterfinals.

Now almost each training transportation is empty.

“It’s for illustration a spot that nary is longer alive, there’s thing there,” Giresse told AP by telephone.

After nan solution of a conflict complete matchday costs pinch nan owners, Bordeaux has returned to nan 42,000-capacity Matmut Atlantique stadium, which hosted shot matches during nan Paris Olympics. But nan distant location, 40 minutes from nan halfway by tram, adds to nan belief of an isolated achromatic elephant. During a convention crippled connected Oct. 19 against Avranches, a Normandy team, nan nutrient stalls were unopen and fans sat connected benches eating their ain provisions for illustration a surreal picnic.

Denis Barbet, who has followed Bordeaux since nan '80s, was profoundly upset by nan younker academy’s closure.

“It’s a catastrophe pinch each nan group who mislaid their jobs,” Barbet, 57, said. “The training halfway is emblematic of nan club, nan Château du Haillan is exceptional. When you’ve known that and nan glory days, and now there’s thing near and everything’s been abandoned, it’s heart-breaking.”

His son, Yoann Barbet, came done nan academy and captained Bordeaux past play erstwhile it vanished 12th successful section two.

As different lifelong fan, Regis Marty utilized to watch Giresse and Zidane successful nan glory days and fears a bleak future.

“There are not galore solutions different than a bully buyer,” Marty, 61, said. “I don’t judge it will happen. I want it pinch each my heart, but it will beryllium difficult.”

During nan game, nan club’s main protagonist groups, Ultramarines and North Gate, expressed differing views astir nan club's leadership.

While nan Ultramarines unfurled a elephantine banner talking astir “renewed hope” nan North Gate urged nine president Gérard Lopez to “get lost” and fto disconnected flares pinch achromatic fume successful protest.

Bordeaux won 1-0 pinch Carroll’s 5th extremity successful 3 matches.

“Right now I’m moving astir retired location each time emotion for illustration I’m still 17," Carroll said. “I consciousness really bully successful myself and successful my life, successful shot and extracurricular nan club."

Carroll's heading expertise and singular chest-trapping of nan shot group him isolated successful amateur soccer. Hardly surprising, considering he played 16 seasons successful nan Premier League and scored doubly for England.

Carroll costs Liverpool 35 cardinal pounds ($46 million) erstwhile he joined from Newcastle successful January 2011. Back then, he was nan Premier League’s astir costly British transportation signing.

After years pinch wounded problems, he joined French second-division squad Amiens past play and moved to Bordeaux this year. His net is undisclosed, but nan maximum monthly costs successful nan amateur convention is 3,500 euros ($3,800).

“When I first came here, I wanted to situation myself, thing different," Carroll said. "I didn’t cognize really it was going to be."

He has knowledgeable deafening atmospheres astatine St. James’ Park successful Newcastle and Anfield successful Liverpool. So what does he deliberation astir playing distant against Saumur successful a 2,500-capacity stadium?

“I emotion it, deliberation it’s brilliant. That’s what grassroots shot is about, that’s wherever I started and it conscionable brings backmost a batch of memories,” Carroll said. “It’s conscionable a awesome emotion conscionable to play shot and still person nan fans location astatine my age. It doesn’t matter if there’s conscionable a statement astir nan transportation aliases a large stadium.”

General American Capital Partners bought Bordeaux from semipermanent proprietor M6 tv transmission successful 2018, past sold it to backer King Street.

The pandemic and a collapsed tv deal caused French shot immense losses. When King Street pulled out, Lopez acquired Bordeaux successful June 2021. The pursuing play it vanished past successful Ligue 1 and was relegated.

As Bordeaux narrowly missed retired connected moving backmost up nan adjacent year, Lopez offset immense financial losses by penning a shareholder’s indebtedness to Bordeaux for 38 cardinal euros.

Ahead of this season, nan nine grounded to supply financial guarantees to French soccer’s financial watchdog, nan DNCG. After a woody pinch imaginable backers The Fenway Sports Group — which owns Liverpool and nan Boston Red Sox — fell through, nan DNCG demoted Bordeaux to nan 3rd tier successful July. Bordeaux was placed into receivership by nan city’s commercialized court, which triggered different relegation but astatine slightest meant a indebtedness freeze.

Fifty academy players were released, generating short-term savings but depriving nan nine of early gross from trading homegrown talent.

Former players for illustration Giresse, Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, want Lopez out. So does metropolis politician Pierre Hurmic. Going into liquidation could enforce that, but Bordeaux would driblet into nan abyss of location leagues.

Lopez didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Bordeaux, astatine mid-table early successful nan season, needs 2 promotions to return to master shot truthful so plentifulness of goals from Carroll, who is optimistic contempt nan standard of nan challenge.

“There’s a monolithic unit connected america anyway, being who we are, to get promoted,” Carroll said. “If we tin transportation connected winning games I deliberation nan pressure’s going to beryllium connected nan different teams to extremity us.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer