{"id":353997,"date":"2019-02-05T15:37:06","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T20:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=353997"},"modified":"2019-02-05T15:37:06","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T20:37:06","slug":"lille-surprise-france-as-they-near-champions-league-qualification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2019\/02\/05\/lille-surprise-france-as-they-near-champions-league-qualification\/","title":{"rendered":"Lille Surprise France as They Near Champions League Qualification"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lille<\/a> hasn’t won a trophy for eight years. They seemed to be a European power just under a decade ago. Over the years, the club started to fall down the ranks in the league. The four-time Ligue 1<\/a> winners are now known as a side who struggle to avoid relegation nearly every season. However, this season is different for\u00a0Les Dogues.<\/em>\u00a0They have something special planned and it will succeed.<\/p>\n

Lille are in the Champions League Qualification Zone<\/h1>\n

Lille are in second place in the Ligue 1 table. Therefore, automatic qualification in the Champions League is the reward. Last season, the team barely survived and avoided relegation. Lille finished seventeenth place.<\/p>\n

After the disappointing season, management knew there was work to do during the summer transfer window. Last summer, ten players were signed, eight of them on a permanent basis.<\/p>\n

Two of those signing included former Chelsea<\/a> man Loic Remy<\/a> and Euro Cup winner Jose Fonte<\/a>. All these signings\u00a0cost\u00a0the club less than \u20ac10 million as most were free transfers. Lille management did a great job in strengthening the squad.<\/p>\n

At this rate, Lille would finish as runners up. Although they are far from catching up to Paris Saint-Germain<\/a> to clinch the league title, to qualify for the Champions League is a huge achievement. They have a very young squad, with a few experienced players to lead the way. The average age of the squad is just over 24-years-old. These young talents could become world-class players, similar to Monaco’s<\/a> team a few years ago and the current Ajax squad.<\/a><\/p>\n

Lille coach Christophe Galtier’s first mission is to qualify for the Champions League, which is very possible. The next objective is to successfully compete in the competition. With a squad full of talent, these objectives could be easy to achieve as this Lille side looks to make history in Europe.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>