2013-14 Ligue 1 season review

For the second straight season, PSG were runaway winners of France's Ligue 1.

Now that the 2013-14 Ligue 1 season is in the books, Innocent Samali looks back on the best and worst of the French top-flight campaign.

Best game

There have been a few great games in Ligue 1 this season, but the best one had to be Lorient-Montpellier on April 20 in Week 34. At the time, Montpellier were not quite safe yet from relegation and they went down to 10 men after just 29 minutes when goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren was sent off for a foul in the box. The score was then 1-1. However, Montpellier went 4-1 up with just three minutes remaining in normal time, but Lorient managed to score three times (twice in added time) to snatch a 4-4 draw in an incredible atmosphere.

Player of the year

It can only be Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He walked on water all season, scoring incredible goals (some of which came from another planet, such as that back-heel volley against Bastia), leading his team to its first domestic double in its history (Ligue 1 and Coupe de La Ligue), being more arrogant than ever and overall being more Ibra than ever. He finished the campaign as top scorer (26 goals in 33 league games following his tally of 30 last season), top assists (13) and was the best player as voted by the rest of Ligue 1. Without his injury in April, he would have done even better.

Young player of the year (21 and under)

As James Rodriguez is 22 and not eligible for this category, there is no debate who the winner should be. Marco Verratti is 21 and was outstanding for most of the season. The Italian midfielder still needs to be a bit more disciplined and to stop losing the ball carelessly on the edge of his own box, but his vision, the quality of his passing, the way he plays with instinct and creativity makes him one of the most exciting prospects in world football. He is even more mind-blowing when you consider that it was only his second season in a European top-flight league.

Best signing

Again, there were a few options but I will go for an unsung hero in Jeremy Toulalan. He came back home from Malaga after two seasons in Spain and had a top season with Monaco. At 30, the former French international midfielder was the leader and the soul of Claudio Ranieri's team and was the key to their solid season.

Worst signing
This is an easy one: Djibril Cisse. Bastia made massive efforts financially in January to bring him back to Ligue 1 from Russia, where he lost himself at Kuban Krasnodar. At 32, it was a big gamble from the Corsican club and guess what? It didn't pay off. Cisse said he was coming back home to end the season on a high and try to sneak in the France 23 for the World Cup. In the end, he struggled and scored only two goals (one of them a beauty though) in 15 league matches and was seemingly invisible most of the time.

Best manager

The easy calls would be Laurent Blanc with a domestic double at PSG or Rene Girard, who brought Lille back in the Champions League, both in their first season at the clubs. But I didn't like how Blanc struggled in Europe and lost his grip on his team toward the end of the season and how defensive Girard was. So I will go with Jocelyn Gourvennec, one of the brightest young managers in French football, who led promoted Guingamp to safety and a French Cup triumph. He is only 42 and he has a great future ahead of him.

Biggest disappointment (team/player)

The most disappointing team has been Marseille. They finished only sixth in the league, missed on Europe for the first time in 10 years and got zero points in their Champions League campaign. They changed their manager (Jose Anigo in for Elie Baup) halfway through the season to very little effect, which angered supporters even more. In terms of players, I expected much more from Joao Moutinho, who was too disappointing for Monaco. He scored only once and made six assists in 31 league games with his club. For such a top and classy player, it was not enough.

Best moment (or funniest)

It is April 4, Week 32, Marseille are at home to Ajaccio. The home fans have threatened to take action against their players to protest against the very disappointing season so far. There are a few unhappy banners but halfway through the game, the supporters do something even better: From the stands, they play pre-recorded goat noises before singing "come on the goats, come on the goats." In France, when a player is rubbish, you call him a goat. The Marseille fans clearly wanted to make sure their own players knew what they thought of them that evening.

Biggest shock (or surprise/controversy)

I will go for Kurt Zouma's horrendous tackle on Sochaux's Thomas Guerbert back in November. Zouma, who had just turned 19 at the time and was sold to Chelsea in the January transfer window before being loaned back to St Etienne, broke Guerbert's leg and ankle with a tackle. He received a 10-match ban while his victim spent the remaining seven months of the season on the sideline despite playing a few seconds in the penultimate game of the campaign. Zouma was punished heavily, but rightly in my opinion.

Team of the season (with formation)

4-2-1-3

Victor Enyeama (Lille) -- Serge Aurier (Toulouse), Thiago Silva (PSG), Loic Perrin (St Etienne), Henri Bedimo (Lyon) -- Marco Verratti (PSG), Thiago Motta (PSG) -- James Rodriguez (Monaco) -- Edinson Cavani (PSG), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG), Salomon Kalou (Lille)