Ligue 1 Talk

Lisandro is our top vote-getter. Are you really surprised?

For years, Ligue 1 has been known as a defensive league. With 1-0 scores being common, hat tricks were far from common.

Last year, Andre-Pierre Gignac scored an unheard of 24 goals. Both Karim Benzema and Guillaume Hoarau where seven goals behind. And in the last year, and especially how this year is going, fans and observers alike are starting to ask if Ligue 1 is starting to become the next big scoring powerhouse.

And while the defense is strong in Ligue 1, the offense has improved quite a bit in the last few year. One can easily make the argument that Ligue 1 has become the most complete league in the world, accommodating to both sides of the ball.

So, with that said, here is our choices of strikers for our Ligue 1 All-Star team. While the vote was very close, and there was a tie for second place, there was no doubt about who was considered number one in the eyes of our voters.

Lisandro Lopez – Lyon

What more can you say about the guy. He has smart footwork, he is mobile, he is a player that seems to always be in the right place at the right time. He is the only player on Lyon that performs exceptional in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League. Basically, he is amazing.

Coming into the season, one of the big question’s in Ligue 1 was if Lisandro was going to be an adequate replacement for the departing Karim Benzema. Not only has he proven to be just as good, some argue that me might be better, not only on the pitch, but in the pocketbook as well. Benzema transferred out of Lyon for €35 million Euros while Lyon transferred in Lisandro for only €24 million.

Lisandro is easily on pace to equal Benzema’s goal totals of 2009 (17) and 2008 (20), as he already has eight goals this season in Ligue 1. As for European Champions League, he has already netted five goals, the same amount that Benzema scored last year for Lyon in the Champions League. Both players have shown they can score clutch goals, and therefore Lisandro seems to be a “more than adeaquate” replacement the new Real Madrid striker.

Asamoah Gyan – Rennes

For the second spot on our team, there was a three-way tie between Asamoah Gyan, Kevin Gameiro and Loic Remy. All players equally deserved to be in this spot. But when all was said and done, our voters picked Ghana international Asamoah Gyan.

Like Lisandro, Gyan is an amazing player. He has speed and he has the footwork. His playing style is similar to Toulouse’s star striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, as he can slice through a number of defenders to create stong opportunities on goal.

After being injured the season before and being on loan by Udinese to Modena, Rennes acquired the services of Gyan in July of 2008 on an €8 million transfer fee. In his first year at Rennes he was used sparingly, starting in only six of the sixteen games he was dressed for.

But with the ACL injury to French international Jimmy Briand, Gyan was able to find himself as a regular starter on the team. In that position, he was able to prove his worth. So far this year, Gyan has scored 8 goals. And instead of Rennes talking about replacing Gyan with the returning Briand, there is now talk about Briand being transferred and making Gyan the starter.

Here were how the votes were tallied for the striker position:

Lisandro Lopez……..5 votes
Asamoah Gyan……..4 votes
Loic Remy…………..4 votes
Kevin Gameiro………4 votes
Mamadou Niang…….2 votes
Mamadou Samassa…1 vote
Marouane Chamakh…1 vote

Chamakh’s low vote total might be one of the biggest surprises in our poll. In addition, Toulouse striker Andre-Pierre Gignac and PSG’s Guillaume Hoarau, who have been playing poorly this season, received no votes, which actually might not be much of a surprise.

Filed under: Olympique Lyonnais, Stade Rennais FC Tagged: | Asamoah Gyan, Kevin Gameiro, Ligue 1 All Star Team, Lisandro Lopez, Loic Remy, Mamadou Niang, Mamadou Samassa, Marouane Chamakh