Club history: 2005-06

2005-2006. At the start of the campaign, PSG’s aim was to finish in the top three of Ligue 1 and all boded well in the opening months of the season. With a stunning opening match 4-1 victory over Metz at the Parc des Princes, Paris was sitting top of the standings after four rounds and was still in the top three come November.

Unfortunately, a series of poor results, particularly away from home, sent Laurent Fournier’s side into a downward spiral over the next two months. Pierre Blayau, PSG President, took the decision to change coach during the winter break in order to make a clean start to the second half of the season.

The new man in charge of the club’s sporting aspirations was Guy Lacombe. Despite a ninth-placed finish, the former Sochaux boss led Les Rouge et Bleu to the Coupe de France final against Marseille. Victorious 2-1 against their archrivals, PSG lifted the French Cup for the seventh time in its history and moved above Saint-Etienne (6 wins) in the record books. Above all, the win over Marseille qualified PSG for the following season’s UEFA Cup. The arrival of new owners (Colony Capital, Butler Capital Partners and Morgan Stanley) and with Alain Cayzac as President, Paris Saint-Germain began writing a new chapter in the club’s illustrious history…