IT is in the most unexpected moments that you build the best achievements and memories. Lille are having one of those seasons where everything is going their way, a bit like Monaco two years ago or even Leicester in the Premier League before that.
Currently second in the table in Ligue 1, four points clear of Lyon in third and eleven of St Etienne in fourth with just eight games to go, the Dogues have gone way beyond expectations so far!
No one had seen it coming. Not the fans who, just a year ago, were invading the pitch to protest against the dreadful results and to threaten the players. Not the owner, millionaire Gerard Lopez, who bought the club in January 2017 with a clear plan in mind: making money by trading players as much as possible while hoping to get good results.
Nicolas Pepe with another goal for Lille!
This season in Ligue 1:
✅28 games
⚽️17 goals
️8 assists
⛔️5 penalties wonAmazing player. pic.twitter.com/zofJy7053H
— FootballTalentScout (@FTalentScout) March 10, 2019
Not the players either after a terrible 2017-2018 campaign where they fought until the end to stay up in a very toxic environment and after a change of manager in December with Christophe Galtier replacing Marcelo Bielsa. And finally, not the media who, for some of them, had Lille going down or at least struggling again like the previous season.
Yet, it has been an absolute dream of a year for the Northern side. Galtier has found the perfect balance for the team and the right tactical game plan using a solid block and the pace of his front four.
The quality of the scouting, mostly thanks to head of recruitment Luis Campos, and the signings completed last summer have made a big difference. Lille addressed their needs and improved their team. Zelik Celik, the Turkish right-back, has proved a great buy. José Fonte has brought his valuable experience at the back.
In midfield, the return of Xeka, who was on loan at Dijon last season, has been key. His duo with Thiago Mendes is providing the right amount of physicality and technical ability. Finally, up front, the arrivals of Rafael Leao, the Portuguese prodigy, Jonathan Ikoné and Jonathan Bamba have transformed the team.
In #Ligue1, Rafael Leão scored Lille’s first goal in the comeback against Nantes!
Leão came off the bench in the 59th minute and scored 2 minutes later to make it 2-1, Lille went on to score 2 more goals in quick succession!
It is Nantes 2-3 Lille, 5 mins left!
— Próxima Jornada (@ProximaJornada1) March 31, 2019
They have pace, skills, personality and all get on so well with each other. On top of all of that, in Nicolas Pepe, they have the best player of the season not called Kylian Mbappé. With 18 league goals and 10 assists, the Ivorian international has been the catalyst of Lille’s great form and the technical leader of the team.
Now, a direct qualification for next season’s Champions League (for the first time since the 2012-2013 season), which would be an incredible achievement, is in their own hands. “I think about it all the time” confessed the manager at the weekend.
However, the hardest bit is probably yet to come. The summer will be a very interesting one. The biggest task will be to replace Nicolas Pepe. He will be sold for a lot of money, probably around the 60 to 70 million euros mark. Realistically, it will be very hard for Lille to find one player capable of bringing next season everything Pepe is bringing so far this season.
However, they have a few interesting youngsters at the club and they obviously will be able to reinvest the money from the Pepe deal too. Captain Adama Soumaoro is likely to be sold as well like Thiago Mendes probably and maybe one or two more.
According to SPORTBILD, #FCBayern are still interested in Lille's winger Nicolas Pepe. pic.twitter.com/nXzDvKTznF
— Home Bayern (@_HomeBayern) April 3, 2019
To be able to play on all fronts, the club will also need more squad depth which means more investments but also relying more on the young players like the very promising Boubakary Soumaré, the Brazilian Thiago Maia or Kouadio-Yves Dabila.
Luis Campos is also followed closely by many clubs like Chelsea and Roma. After working his magic at Monaco, he is doing it again at Lille. He owns a key part in the club’s success. Without him, it would be very difficult to implement the owner’s plan. “Luis is not going to Chelsea or anywhere. He will still be here next season” said Gérard Lopez on French radio RMC the other day.
As Monaco have showed before, the difficulty when you run your club with a business plan like this is the rebuilding process. Lille have something special this season and it is a shame that they won’t be able to compete with this team in the Champions League next season.
But this is the nature of the beast. Galtier, the fans and the players all knew the deal from the beginning. A new cycle will start in the summer and whatever happens then, it will be very hard for Lille to have another incredible year like this one.
