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LIBERATING FOOTBALL TRAVEL

Girondins de Bordeaux

European stalwarts face stormy seas on the horizon

A fan’s guide – the club from early doors to today

The inverted chevron on their shirts once a symbol of pride and class, the Girondins de Bordeaux reigned supreme in France in the mid 1980s and made a European final in the mid 1990s, suffering scandals in between. Regular top-six finishers in Ligue 1, the Girondins remained popular and consistent but lack the clout to dominate the domestic game as Lyon and PSG then did.

At the end of 2014-15, the Girondins said goodbye to Stade Chaban-Delmas, created for the World Cup of 1938, and moved into the Nouveau Stade Bordeaux, created for Euro 2016. 

The club’s most famous old boy, Zinedine Zidane, kicked off proceedings for the opening match on the last day of the season, Bordeaux’s win over Montpellier assuring them of sixth place in the league and European football in 2015-16. A major sponsorship deal was cut with a French insurance giant to rename the arena the Matmut Atlantique.

All seemed to be going swimmingly until the good ship Bordeaux hit very choppy waters around the time of the pandemic. Placed in administration and relegation, the Girondins were relegated again in 2024, this time to the third tier, with the possibility of worse to follow from the administrators.

Formed as a multi-sports organisation in 1881 – making the Girondins one of the oldest clubs in France – Bordeaux didn’t see much football until around the time of World War I. 

 Once focus moved from racquet sports and cycling, it still took a while for football to develop. War-time silverware preceded a league title in Bordeaux’s first season in the top flight, 1949-50. Star of the side was Dutch international Bertus de Harder – though it took more than three decades, a ruthless chairman and a genial midfielder before the Girondins again triumphed.

By the time club treasurer Claude Bez took over Bordeaux in 1979, Alain ‘Gigi’ Giresse had been manning the midfield for a decade. Short, swift and possessed with a sharp football brain, Giresse was essential to the French national side who won Euro ’84 on home turf. That same year, under coach Aimé Jacquet, and with French stars Jean Tigana and Bernard Lacombe, the Girondins won the first of three league titles in four seasons. 

The last was particularly satisfying for Bez, Giresse having abandoned his home-town club for Marseille, where rival tycoon Bernard Tapie was creating a new empire.

Bordeaux had narrowly missed out on a place in the European Cup final in 1985 – had they beaten Juventus, the Heysel disaster may not have happened – but after a number of shady deals, Bez was thrown in prison.

Forcibly relegated in 1991, Bordeaux bounced back with home-grown stars Christophe Dugarry and Bixente Lizarazu – and Zinedine Zidane. Under the ownership of millionaire optician Alain Afflelou, Bordeaux capped a 20-game winning run from the Intertoto Cup by reaching the UEFA Cup Final in 1996. A shock 3-0 win over AC Milan in the quarter-finals will live long in the memory.

The goals of Sylvain Wiltord and Lilian Laslandes secured a narrow title win over eternal rivals Marseille in 1999 – though it was an injury-time strike by young winger Pascal Feindouno in Paris that sealed it. 

Ten years later, under Laurent Blanc, another last-gasp finish saw Bordeaux take a sixth title. A stellar season by pin-up boy Yoann Gourcuff, his goal against PSG in a 4-0 victory the highlight, kept the Girondins ahead of Marseille and Lyon. Injury-hit the following season, Gourcuff duly joined Lyon, then back to Rennes, somehow never really living up to his huge promise.

Coach Francis Gillot having failed to repeat Blanc’s triumph in his three seasons at Bordeaux, in 2014 former Bayern full-back Willy Sagnol stepped in. Behind the scenes, despite all the promise of a new stadium created for Euro 2016, the club’s takeover by little-known American owners King Street proved unpopular. 

Among the critics was short-lived coach, Gus Poyet, unhappy with the inexplicable sale of home-produced striker Gaëtan Laborde to Montpellier, who duly finished 18 points above Bordeaux in the 2018-19 season.

Poor performances in Europe – a winless Europa League group stage also featuring Liverpool in 2015-16, a shocking defeat to Hungarian team Videoton in 2017-18 – saw the club lose credibility abroad while slipping down the league table at home. Wresting ownership from the faceless King Street looked tricky until lack of revenue during the pandemic did the trick. 

Worse, however, was to follow. With King Street withdrawing financial support, Bordeaux were relegated in 2022 and only avoided dropping down two divisions on appeal. The Girondins would have made the promotion play-offs in their first season in Ligue 2 since 1992, but the shrinking of Ligue 1 to 18 clubs for 2023-24 meant that a third place behind Metz wasn’t enough.

Backing the club now was venture capitalist Gérard López, raised in Luxembourg, educated in Miami, who also acquired Boavista in Portugal but whose real passion was for fast cars and Formula 1. Bringing in ex-Bordeaux (and -Liverpool) left winger Albert Riera as manager in October 2023, López managed to push the Girondins up the league but nowhere near a promotion place.

Keen to shift the club from his portfolio, López all but persuaded Liverpool’s owners, the Fenway Sports Group, in assuming control but the sums didn’t add up, and FSG pulled out after Bordeaux’s relegation from Ligue 2 was confirmed in July 2024. 

Having already been deducted a point through a fan attacking a Rodez player during a game at the Matmut Atlantique, the Girondins had fallen foul of the authorities for financial mismanagement. Starting 2024-25 as an amateur club, their training centre closed, Bordeaux were looking to academy players to lift them out of the National leagues to regain professional status.

Stadium Guide

The field of dreams – and the story behind it

The Nouveau Stade Bordeaux, renamed Matmut Atlantique after its sponsor, was opened at the end of the 2014-15 season, a year before its hosting of five matches as part of Euro 2016.

When Zinedine Zidane kicked off the inaugural match there, the last game of the 2014-15 campaign against Montpellier, he brought an end to eight decades of history. His former club, the Girondins de Bordeaux, had been based at the Stade Chaban-Delmas since it was adapted for the World Cup of 1938.

When conceived by key Bordeaux architect Jacques D’Welles and Art Deco stylist Raoul Jourde, the former Parc Lescure was a grand rebuilding of an existing, modest velodrome-cum-sports ground. With the feel of an ocean liner – a decorative echo of Bordeaux’s past – it was embellished with a vast concrete arch, a Neo-Classical courtyard and two Olympic towers. Art Deco touches added a final flourish.

The arena was ready just in time to host three games for the 1938 World Cup, all involving the great Brazil side and all featuring goals by the great Leonidas. The last match, a third-place play-off, was also the swansong of legendary pre-war World Cup referee John L Langenus.

Too small to be considered for the 1984 Euros, the Parc Lescure was transformed under ambitious chairman Claude Bez, who had the cycling track removed and the capacity increased to 40,000. For the purposes of FIFA, this was the smallest of the France ’98 host stadiums.

Renamed after a long-term city mayor in 2001, the Stade Chaban-Delmas was replaced in May 2015 by the Nouveau Stade at Bordeaux-Lac, just north of Les Aubiers, current northern terminus of the C tramline.

Holding 42,000 people, the €168-million arena has been created by Herzog & de Meuron, also responsible for the Tate Modern in London and Munich’s Allianz Arena. Surrounded by signature poles representing the woodland beyond this commercial zone north of Bordeaux, the stadium comprises four stands, away fans allocated sectors 50 and 51 between the north end and east stand. If demand requires, visiting supporters can also be placed in sectors 58 and 59 in the middle of the north end.

getting there

Going to the stadium – tips and timings

The stadium is a short walk from the north-east terminus of tramline CParc des Expositions Stade Matmut-Atlantique, 12 stops from central Quinconces (20mins), 18 from the main train station, Gare Saint-Jean (30mins). Note that line C has two branches, dividing at Cracovie – trams either run to Parc des Expositions or Blanquefort every 10mins (15mins Sun). 

Shuttle buses also run on match days from La Cité du Vin on line B and from Cenon Gare on line A. La Cité du Vin is also on boat line Bat3 from Quinconces (25mins), services roughly every hour at weekends.

A Pass Stade ticket (€3.30) is valid for a return journey to the stadium, including shuttle buses and Bat3 boats if you need them.

getting in

Buying tickets – when, where, how and how much

Tickets are available online via the club. Ticketmaster, incorporating the Auchan network, also distribute. To purchase in person, advance tickets are sold at the club shop (Mon-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 11am-7pm) in town at rue Sainte-Catherine 77.

The ticket windows at the stadium open on match days, 2hrs before kick-off.

Prices range from €15 behind the goals, around €32-€42 along the sidelines in either the Tribunes Est or Ouest, to €50-plus for the best seats, in eight categories. These may well drop for 2024-25, when the Girondins are expected to play in the third-tier Championnat National.

what to buy

Shirts, kits, merchandise and gifts

The club has two outlets, one at the stadium, one in town (Mon-Sat 10am-7pm) at rue Sainte-Catherine 77, diagonally opposite Fnac in the city’s retail hub.

On the home south side of the Matmut Atlantique, on avenue de la Jallère, the vast Galerie Girondins (match days only) sells all things Bordeaux. Look out for Giresse-era vintage shirts with the iconic OPEL advertising, current first and second kits in navy/white and white/navy, both the with the reversed chevron, of course, and branded sets of pétanque boules.

Pop-up stalls and kiosks are also set up around the Fan Zone and stadium on match days.

Where to Drink

Pre-match beers for fans and casual visitors

On match days, a family-friendly Fan Zone operates alongside the Tribune Ouest from around 2-3hrs before kick-off, with live music, games, food trucks and lashings of Carlsberg beer. Food and drink outlets also line level 3 of the stadium.

By the club shop, the Brasserie du Stade operates from a concise menu every weekday lunchtime and on match days, when you should reserve (+33 5 56 50 28 26). Note the photo montage of classic Girondins moments across one wall. The shaded patio is a pleasant retreat during the week, when one-, two- and three-course lunches are available. 

Alternatively, the standard Courtepaille is attached to the ibis Bordeaux Lac hotel in the complex near the stadium, its terrace overlooking the lake.