France bask in schadenfreude

Each UEFA Champions League match week, uefa.com will discuss a hot topic in European football and invite users to give their own views.

By Pete Sanderson

Whoever coined the phrase "never write off the Germans" may be slightly concerned to note that there is not one team from the Bundesliga in the last eight of this year's UEFA Champions League.

Big blow
They may once have been the connoisseurs of consistency, but this season, the German clubs have struggled to impress against Europe's elite. VfB Stuttgart began the tournament impressively but were eventually squeezed out by Chelsea FC in the last 16. FC Bayern München fell by wayside at the same stage to Spanish giants Real Madrid CF.

Dortmund go down
Meanwhile BV Borussia Dortmund - who had missed out on a place in the Champions League after losing to Club Brugge KV on penalties in the third qualifying round - floundered against FC Sochaux Montbéliard in the UEFA Cup second round.

Lyon kings
To further compound German woes, their dip in form has coincided with something of a French renaissance. Both Olympique Lyonnais - who beat Bayern on their home patch in their Group A meeting - and AS Monaco FC are still in the hunt for Champions League glory. This could ultimately see the German's lose one of their Champions League places to their neighbours after they sank to 15th place in the UEFA rankings.

French domination
Even the German national team were dealt a rare 3-0 hammering at the hands of the French late last year. So, after years of success, has the magic of German football finally worn off - or will the masters of the comeback come through this temporary setback in typically determined style?

Purple patch
It is hard to say, but it does appear that the French are going through something of a purple patch. Prior to Monaco and Lyon’s successes this season, no French team had reached the last eight of Europe's premier club competition until this season since Monaco in 1998. However, this year the top two in Ligue 1 have shown that they are more than capable of rubbing shoulders with the giants.

Success stories
Admittedly, the Champions League has had its share of French success stories since Olympique de Marseille won the inaugural competition in 1993. Monaco (1994), Paris Saint-Germain FC (1995) and FC Nantes Atlantique (1996) have been semi-finalists, while AJ Auxerre (1997) were quarter-finalists.

Financial gap
But, with the financial gap steadily widening between the relatively modest French sides and their more affluent counterparts in Spain, Germany, England and Italy, it seemed unlikely that Ligue 1 clubs would be able to compete with the big boys again.

General downturn
That is, until this year. There is little doubt that the general downturn in football's financial fortunes has played its part in France's renewed vigour. With big clubs abroad keen to lower their wage bills, Monaco and Lyon have both benefited from the giants' willingness to offload non first-team players. Monaco's loan of Real Madrid CF's Fernando Morientes and Lyon's acquisition of Bayern's Giovane Elber have proved great moves.

Your opinion counts
What do you think? Is this the end of Germany's tenure as an elite country at club level or can they bounce back against the flamboyant French? Click here to join our Topic of the Week on uefa.com.