History:
The professional soccer team for Paris France, Paris Saint-Germain was established in 1970 as a result of the joining of the two clubs, Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain. This occurred due to a wealthy group of businessmen wanting to make a large soccer club in Paris. Also, this was due to the fact that the soccer team who played in Saint-Germain-en Laye, which is a town that is located 15km west from Paris was brought up to Ligue 2. |
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Struggles:
Quickly, upon its creation PSG gained many fans as well as had success on the pitch. As a result they were promoted in their first season. However this didn't last for long, because the club was separated in 1972, which resulted in Paris FC staying in Ligue 1 and PSG being forced down to Division 3. Due to the determination and skill that PSG possessed they were able to make their way back up to Ligue 1 and eventually even moving into the Parc des Princes in 1974, which is a large football stadium situated in the southwest portion of Paris and with the capability to hold 48,712 spectators. They have stayed in the same arena ever since. First Success: The first major award that the team had won, was the Coupe de France which was obtained when they beat Saint-Etienne in a very close game which was only decided by penalties in the final. Four years later, due to their coach Gerard Houllier, they were led to their success in the maiden league. Houllier managed many different teams through his career, starting with AC le Touquet (73-76), then Noeux-les-Mines (76-82), next RC Lens(82-85), and then onto PSG(85-88). Following his success with PSG he became the national coach for France from 1992-93 and then moving on to coach the U18 (94-96) and U20 (96-97) national teams. Finally he joint managed Liverpool (98) with Roy Evans, and then singularly did so from 1998-2004. Then he went on to finish his managing career with Lyon (2005-2007) and Ashton Villa (2010-2011). Currently, he is the Head of Global Football for Red Bull and has been since July 2012. Ligue 1 Success: The success of Paris Saint-Germain started to increase even more when the broadcasters Canal+ gained control in 1991. Canal + was first launched in 1984 and has established itself as a French premium cable TV channel. This channel is entirely owned by the Canal + Group which is owned by Vivendi SA. Canal + broadcasts both encrypted and non-encrypted programming which can be viewed without any charge. By 1986 the channel had 1 million subscribers, therefore the popularity of this channel increased the viewing of the PSG games drastically. In the next decade, they won a Ligue 1 crown. This was when they beat Rapid Vienna in the 1996 UEFA Cup WInners' Cup Final, when Bruno N'Gotty scored the only goal of the game. The following year, PSG made it to the finals again, however coming up shorthanded against Barcelona. Bruno N'Gotty was born on June 10 1971 and is of Cameroonian descent. He played as a defender in the time of 1988-2008, and briefly came out of retirement in 2011 when he joined the French 6th tier side l'AS Lattes. He has played professionally not only for his native country of France but as well as in the top flight divisions in the countries of Italy and England. Bruno has also played for many different teams in his career, however most notably, he has played for Olympique Lyonnais, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Olympique Marseille and Bolton Wanderes. Throughout his career he has earned 6 caps (played internationally) for France. Ligue 1 Troubles: In the early 2000s, times were tough for PSG. This was primarily due to the combination of incredibly high expectations set upon them as well as the large media pressure. As a result they were almost relegated, meaning that they were almost forced down to a lower league. However, they were able to overcome these troubles when PSG was purchased by Qatar Sports Investmetns in 2011, which allowed for a balance to be established. Comeback: Due to the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti as well as the signing of some big players allowed for them to comeback and win the Ligue 1 title of 2012-13 in a spectacular fashion, leaving two matches to spare. Shortly after, they reached the quarter final of the Champions league, however losing to Barcelona, somewhat prompting Ancelotti to leave the club in exchange for managing Real Madrid. Ancelotti is one of the only managers that has won the European Cup three times, and as a result is considered one of the best managers of all time and is very well respected. Over the course of his career he has managed for many teams including Reggiana Parma, Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid. He also played as a midfielder for Parma Roma and was nicknamed Carletto. Most notably, he also played for the Milan team in the 1980s which was legendary, as well the Italian national team, allowing him to play in the 1990 World Cup. New Manager: Once Ancelotti left, Laurent Blanc became the newly appointed manager on June 25th 2013, promptly winning the 2013 Trophee des Champions with PSG on August 3rd and securing his first trophy with them. This was in a close game between PSG and Bordeaux where they ultimately became triumphant, beating them 2-1. The second trophy won by Blanc and PSG was the 2014 Coupe de la Ligue Final when Edinson Cavani was able to carry his team with PSG's two goals, leading them over Lyon 2-1. Finally on May 7th PSG won the Ligue 1 which resulted in Blanc being granted a one year contract extension until 2016. |