European Football Weekend Round-Up & Power Rankings By Zach Lowy

Since its founding in 1919, Montpellier Hérault Sport Club has enjoyed a unique legacy as one of the most historic clubs in French football; along with Marseille, Rennes, Nice and Metz, they are one of five clubs who participated in the inaugural 1932/33 season and who are still playing in the top-flight today. Sitting in a major urban centre in the Occitania region, the club has seen legendary players such as Laurent Blanc, Carlos Valderrama and Roger Milla don the famed blue and orange kits. Its crowning achievement came in 2011/12, as a squad composed of Olivier Giroud, Younès Belhanda, and Benjamin Stambouli edged out Paris Saint-Germain and secured its first and only Ligue 1 championship.

Michel Der Zakarian

The following years have been less kind to Montpellier, who, after various bottom-half and mid-table finishes, appointed Michel Der Zakarian as manager in the summer of 2017 following a disappointing 15th-placed finish. Having accrued 233 appearances from the club between 1988 and 1998 and serving as an assistant coach from 1998 to 2006, Der Zakarian led Montpellier to a 10th-place finish in his first season despite the sale of top scorer Steve Mounié to Huddersfield Town; with 33 goals conceded, only Paris Saint-Germain (29) enjoyed a stronger defensive record in the top-flight.

Despite losing key players such as Nordi Mukiele and Jérôme Roussillon, Montpellier secured an impressive sixth-place finish in 2018/19 thanks to a fruitful transfer window that saw Andy Delort and Gaëtan Laborde join from Toulouse and Bordeaux, respectively. Together, Laborde and Delort would develop into one of the deadliest strike pairings in Europe, let alone France, and Montpellier reaped the results.

Changes

However, the summer of 2021 brought a wave of transition for the Mediterranean-based club. On May 2, Der Zakarian announced his decision to step down as manager at the end of the season, which saw Montpellier finish eighth and lose to Paris Saint-Germain in the Coupe de France semifinals. “By mutual agreement, we put an end to our adventure,” said Der Zakarian in an interview with Canal+. “I’ve been here for four years, four very good years. When I returned, the club had just finished 17th. We have had four seasons in the top ten. I’m happy with my journey and what I’ve done here.”

As the saying goes, when it rains it pours. Vitorino Hilton, the club’s 43-year-old captain, the Brazilian rock in defence, and the last remaining member of the club’s championship-winning season, announced his retirement from professional football on June 7. Veteran leaders such as longtime defender Daniel Congré, defensive midfielder Damien Le Tallec, and South African winger Keagan Dolly followed Hilton out the door. And on August 28, following a three-year spell that saw him score 47 goals and 21 assists in 106 appearances, Andy Delort was sold to Nice for €10 million. The Algerian international joined Les Aiglons on a contract through 2025, reinforcing the team that finished two points behind Montpellier in 2020/21. Three days later, Gaëtan Laborde was sold to Rennes for €15 million, putting an end to a three-year spell that saw him score 39 goals and 20 assists in 118 appearances. The 27-year-old signed a contract through 2025, reinforcing the club that finished four points ahead of Montpellier in 2020/21. And just like that, the best strike duo in Ligue 1 was gone, whilst two teams that were in desperate need of a proven, veteran striker bought two of the best in the entire championship and weakened their domestic rival in the process.

Defensive Beasts

To fill Hilton’s gaping hole in the heart of defence, Montpellier brought in Mamadou Sakho on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract at Crystal Palace, whilst signing 22-year-old Brazilian centre back Thuler on loan from Flamengo. 21-year-old Léo Leroy arrived on a free transfer, providing depth in midfield following the expiration of his contract at LB Châteauroux, who finished last in Ligue 2 last season with 23 points from 38 games. Their attacking reinforcements, however, did little to inspire fans: American forward Nicholas Gioacchini arrived on loan from Ligue 2 side Caen, whilst 31-year-old Valère Germain joined on a free transfer after the expiry of his contract at Marseille. For a team that had just lost the finest strike duo in France in a matter of days, it gave the impression of a club that was looking to blow up the project and “tank,” a club that was looking to get by on the bare minimum.

Michel Der Zakarian had built Montpellier into one of the toughest defensive units in France and a dangerous counter-attacking threat for any side to France, and after four years at the club, he headed north for Brest, who, after ascending to the top-flight in 2019, managed to stave off relegation by the skin of their teeth in 2020/21. He was replaced by Olivier Dall’Oglio, who, following a two-year spell at Brest that saw the likes of Romain Perraud and Romain Faivre thrive in a fearless attacking brand of play, took charge of Montpellier on a contract through 2024.

This Season

The club’s opening game under Dall’Oglio saw them throw away an early two-goal lead and lose 3-2 to Marseille via a brace from Dimitri Payet, whilst the following match saw them draw 3-3 with Reims as a late equalizer from Ilan Kebbal cancelled out the visitors’ first-half lead. Over their first two months under Dall’Oglio, Montpellier’s sole victories came against Lorient and Saint-Ètienne – currently, the two bottom-ranking sides in Ligue 1 – whilst a string of draws and defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Lille saw them drop as low as 14th in the league.

However, the return from the October international break brought a resurgence in form for Montpellier, with a sole defeat to Monaco being sandwiched in between victories against Lens, Nantes and Nice. That form came to a halt on November 20 in a 2-0 defeat against Rennes, whilst the sending-off of Téji Savanier deprived them of their mercurial playmaker in the following match, a 0-1 loss to Lyon. However, Savanier’s return to the side saw Montpellier take back-to-back wins against Metz and Clermont Foot, conceding just one goal and scoring four in the process.

Brest

Brest endured a similarly challenging start to life under Der Zakarian, picking up six draws and five losses in their first 11 matches and dropping into the relegation zone. Their first win came on October 31 against Monaco, with various ex Monégasques such as Romain Faivre, Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel and Irvin Cardona playing a key role in defeating their former club. After narrowly edging 10-man Lorient, Les Pirates thrashed Franck Haise’s high-flying Lens side 4-0, before stringing together victories against Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne and Marseille and mounting an impressive six-game winning streak. All in all, it made for a scintillating encounter between Brest and Montpellier on Saturday at the Stade Francis-Le Blé.

With Florent Mollet, who provided the assist in the club’s 1-0 win against Clermont Foot in the previous weekend, suspended for the match against Brest, Dall’Oglio played Junior Sambia on the right-wing after starting the previous match at right-back. Brest’s captain and defensive leader Brendan Charbonnet also missed out due to suspension, with 22-year-old Lilian Brassier slotting into the back four despite suffering a car accident and being hospitalized on Friday. With both of Montpellier’s attacking signings – Germain and Gioacchini – sitting on the bench, it was 18-year-old academy product Sepe Elye Wahi who led the line for La Paillade.

The first quarter-hour was a competitive, fairly balanced affair, although, in the battle between two creative behemoths, it was Romain Faivre who enjoyed the most success, instigating Brest’s counter-attacks and proving why he has been closely followed by AC Milan over the past year. Téji Savanier reinstated his dominance in the 17th minute, picking up a loose ball and carefully pirouetting his way past Lucien Agoumé and taking a touch past Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel before being brought down by the latter. He showcased his cunning and work rate later on in the first half, tracking back and poking the ball away from Haris Belkebla, with Jordan Ferri trotting forward and playing a looping ball into Stephy Mavididi, but the English striker blasted over.

Experience Of Sakho

However, Montpellier’s standout performer of the first 45 was not Savanier, but Sakho, whose veteran leadership, expert positional awareness, imperious physique and calm on the ball built a perfect marriage alongside 22-year-old Nicolas Cozza in defence. Sakho found himself in the right position to defend against looping crosses, block shots and passes, and keep Brest from enjoying dangerous opportunities in goal; whilst Brest registered 17 shots, only 6 were on target. Whilst he mistimed his jump as Steve Mounié connected on a cross from Jean-Kévin Duverne only for the ex Montpellier man to fire wide of the goal, the events in the following minutes prevented Brest from taking the momentum. With merely seconds left before halftime, Savanier patiently took his time before firing a laser-guided cross into Sepe Elye Wahi, who snuck in between the Brest centre backs and fired a diving header off the post and into the back of the net.

Wahi came off for Germain at halftime, a substitution that merely raised the collective level of Montpellier. Less than two minutes after the restart, Savanier received a pass from Mavidi, who played a laser-guided, cross-field pass to the onrushing Arnaud Souquet on the right flank. Souquet played a cross to Mavididi on the edge of the box, and the former Arsenal youngster pulled back and struck a fine shot past Marco Bizot in goal. Whether wiggling his way past defenders, helping out alongside Germain to press the Brest defenders, or dropping deep to receive the ball and pick out teammates, Savanier delivered a magisterial performance, the Montpellier captain once again at the heart of everything. He seemed to be playing a different game than any other player on the pitch, a player who puts bums on the seats and who could make even the most cynical Ligue 1 sceptic tune in for a mid-table match-up.

Téji Savanier

After receiving various hard knocks, it seemed Savanier would come off, or at least drop his levels due to fatigue and pain, but he did anything but. Savanier received a lay-off ball from Mihailo Ristić and quickly played a through ball down the touchline to Mavididi, but Christophe Hérelle did well to recover and tackle Mavididi. As Herelle looked to play the pass towards Faivre, Savanier spotted the pass and capitalized on Faivre’s loose touch to win possession in Brest’s half. Rather than kick the ball out for the injured Mavididi, he elected to play a delightful trivela pass with his weaker left foot to Germain, who flicked it towards Sambia who tapped in the third.

The humiliation was complete in the 85th minute as Gioacchini charged forward from one box to the other and teed up Germain, who slotted into the bottom right corner. Dall’Oglio had come out victorious on his return to Finistère, whilst Der Zakarian had been humbled against his former side. After 18 matchdays, Montpellier sit in fifth place, whilst Brest are in 12th, albeit just four points behind Dall’Oglio side.

It was a stunning victory that had as much to do with Montpellier’s promising youngsters such as Wahi (18), Mavididi (23) and Cozza (22) as it did with their proven veterans such as Sakho (31), Germain (31) and Jordan Ferri (29). However, no player shone brighter than Montpellier’s creative talisman: Téji Savanier.

Born in Montpellier to Romani parents, Savanier grew up in the banlieue of Figuerolles and has never forgotten his roots to this day. He spent five years with Montpellier’s academy before heading to Ligue 2 side Arles-Avignon in 2011, an hour-and-a-half east of his hometown, where he would rent an apartment with his mother. After four seasons at Arles, Savanier joined Nîmes in 2015, a slightly shorter drive, and would lead Les Crocodiles to promotion in 2017/18. The club ascended to the top-flight for the first time in a quarter-century and enjoyed a superb return, finishing 9th in the league under Bernard Blaquart. Savanier played a crucial role in their dream campaign with 6 goals and 14 assists – only Eden Hazard had more in Europe’s top five leagues.

This form earned him a move back to Montpellier in 2019 for a club-record fee of €10 million, and whilst Savanier missed the first two months of the campaign with a knee injury, he went on to register 7 goals and 3 assists in 23 appearances. Montpellier finished 8th in back-to-back seasons with Savanier at the helm of Der Zakarian’s attack, whilst Nîmes finished a dismal 18th and 19th, resulting in the club’s relegation in 2020/21. Savanier’s international debut came in July 2021, with him, André-Pierre Gignac and Florian Thauvin being selected as the three overage players for France’s Olympic squad. Even on the cusp of his 30th birthday, it is evident that he has the talent and versatility to make the step up to a Champions League team – whether he’d even want to is the only question.

“This is where I feel the best on earth,” Savanier said in a L’Èquipe interview in 2019. When I make it to the estate, I feel cool and rested. I don’t think there are many professional football players who are lucky enough to live this life. Nothing can happen to me there. I was born there, I will die there.”