Olympique de Marseille retained a slim chance of taking part in a European competition next season with an outstanding 4-2 win against Lyon, days after Marcelo Bielsa's arrival to the club was confirmed.
News of the former Athletic Bilbao and Argentina boss taking up the OM coaching slot, which has been left vacant due to Elie Baup's departure earlier this season, were lingering for weeks.
On Friday, OM president Vincent Labrune made an official announcement that pleased the Marseille faithful and a large number of French football enthusiasts: ‘El Loco’ was to take over France's most popular side next season.
The news was heartily greeted by OM fans, after a season of torment that has seen them fail to reach their initial top-three target and fall way behind arch-rivals PSG.
The rivalry between the two clubs is historic and dates back to the time when both were a force to be reckoned with on the European stage. Marcel Desailly's Marseille won the Champions League in 1993, a season before George Weah's PSG got their second domestic title.
At the time, both clubs fought it out at the top of the French league, but recent events have seen the QSI-backed Parisians take a firm hold on domestic proceedings.
Retaining their popularity, especially in the South of the country, OM have failed to attract similar investors and failed to capitalize on their last Ligue 1 trophy in 2010. A steady decline has seen standards drop and all best players go, from Didier Drogba back in 2004 to Franck Ribéry, Samir Nasri or more recently Cesar Azpilicueta.
This has left the hugely-supported club in tatters, lagging behind PSG and other regional rivals like AS Monaco and Olympique Lyonnais despite retaining a larger fan base than these clubs.
The arrival of Marcelo Bielsa was welcomed with all the more enthusiasm as it was rumoured that the Argentine coach had been courted by bigger clubs.
The prestige of the man goes well with that of the club, and should make for entertaining viewing next season, though no one will bet on this spicy combination overtaking PSG or AS Monaco.
On Sunday, the 60 000 supporters filling Stade Vélodrome waved Argentinean flags to greet the announcement made a couple of days earlier. This wave of enthusiasm translated to the players who produced one of their finest displays this season to see off Lyon, their rival for fifth place and a spot in the Europa League.
A 4-2 win witnessed André-Pierre Gignac score a brace to join Edison Cavani and Vincent Aboubakar as joint second in the scoring table with 16 goals. The most prolific French striker in Ligue 1, it looks like he will be part of Didier Deschamps' list for World Cup 2014.
All the Marseille players performed with the aggression and intensity Bielsa requests of his sides. This was the first time since April 2011 that OM had scored four goals in Ligue 1.
It is difficult to forecast what exactly Bielsa will change to the current squad, but regardless of the twitches to come his arrival is beneficial for French football as a whole. The gap between PSG and AS Monaco on the one hand, and the rest of the league on the other, threatens to make Ligue 1 less attractive in coming years.
With Bielsa leading the way, Stade Vélodrome will certainly be a tough away ground even for these two richer rivals. What's more, these two sides have a lot of trouble coming their way as far as management goes.
Laurent Blanc was in hot water following the Champions League exit to Chelsea, and Claudio Ranieri heavily criticized following a French Cup defeat to Rennes.
Both managers do not benefit from the support in and outside the club which Bielsa already has at OM.
This is a first, albeit small victory for OM in its quest to retain its pride and prestige in light of the irresistible rise of its competitors.
Elsewhere in Ligue 1 …
– Guingamp, 16th in the French league, won the French Cup on Saturday at the expense of regional neighbour Rennes, one place in front of them in Ligue 1. Albeit uneventful, this game was an opportunity to witness the interest for football in Brittany, France's westernmost region where both clubs hail from. With a city of just 7000 inhabitants, Guingamp had 20000 supporters at Stade de France to cheer for their side.
– Bordeaux unveiled their jersey for next season this week with a vine leaf decorating their home kit, a tribute to the region's prolific wine-making industry. What could be heard through the grapevine on Sunday is that club legend Zinedine Zidane is to take over as head coach next season, in a move that would further boost the league's attractiveness.
– After Ajaccio a few weeks ago, Valenciennes became the second side to be officially relegated from Ligue 1's top flight. Another club from the North disappears but could be replaced as of next season by RC Lens.
– Edinson Cavani has been at the heart of numerous transfer rumours in the last few days as part of possible exchanges with Wayne Rooney or Eden Hazard. One sure thing is that he has failed to fill Zlatan Ibrahimovic's shoes after the latter's injury and will be relieved that the Swedish striker is back at training since Friday.
