AS Monaco: From grace to grass
Football
By
Brian Murumba
| Feb 26, 2019
AS Monaco have had to endure a bumpy ride for the better part of this season after a poor string of results.
The former French champions sacked Leonardo Jardim for underperforming and appointed former Arsenal hotshot Thierry Henry in a move that was expected to halt the club’s fall from grace. The decision, however, proved futile as the former Belgium assistant manager lost more matches than he won.
The poor results left the Ligue 1 outfit in the relegation zone, prompting the management to sack the 1998 World Cup winner after just a few months in charge.
This paved way for the return of Jardim.
What went wrong at Monaco?
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Over the years, the French club has been known as a ‘selling club’. Since the sale of Anthony Martial to Manchester United in 2015, Jardim sold an incredible £750 million worth of talent in just four years including James Rodriguez and World Cup sensation Kylian Mbappe.
The sale of an elite squad
After the 2016-17 season in which they were crowned French champions, Monaco sold almost their entire first team with star players heading to European giants like PSG, Man City, and Chelsea.
The resurrection
Despite the disastrous run of form that has left them crippled and fighting for their Ligue 1 status, the management is trying to turn the club’s season around by making visible changes, the most prominent – re-hiring of Jardim.
The recent in-bound transfers include:
Again, Jardim hit the ground running, adding much more experienced players to his already rejuvenated side. These include the acquisition of Cesc Fabregas from Chelsea, Fode Toure from Lille and Naldo from Schalke 04.
The move by the management seems to be slowly turning the club’s fortunes around with some recent encouraging results which have lifted the club out of the relegation zone.
Do you think Monaco can return to their elite status by the end of the season?