The 2010–11 season was French football club Paris Saint-Germain's 38th professional season, their 38th season in Ligue 1 and their 37th consecutive season in French top-flight. PSG was coached by Antoine Kombouaré. The club was presided by Robin Leproux. PSG was present in the Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, the Coupe de la Ligue and the UEFA Europa League. PSG's average home gate was 29,317, the fourth highest in Ligue 1.
After a season marked by the violence between the fans and poor results from the team, Paris Saint-Germain started the season with the prospect of regaining success and stability. The club management presented the key measures of the anti-violence which intended to pacify the Parc des Princes. By the name "Tous PSG", many celebrities, such as former player Nicolas Anelka, attended and committed to the call of the club on the occasion of its 40 years. Paris Saint-Germain maintained the services of key players such as Claude Makélélé, Guillaume Hoarau, Stéphane Sessègnon and Mevlüt Erdinç, as well as adding Mathieu Bodmer and Nenê to their player pool. Robin Leproux had pretty high ambitions and declared that PSG was on the course to become more competitive. He expected the capital club to finish between the first four in the league and to pull something off in the Europa League:
News Robin Leproux announced the main measures of "Tous PSG", an anti-violence plan to pacify the Parc des Princes: removal of subscriptions, random distribution of seats and fully supervision by the club over the fans. It was a powerful measure by the club which intended to finally turn a page in their history, often punctuated by serious incidents due to the increasing antagonism between supporters of Auteuil and Boulogne. Assistant coach Yves Bertucci and physical trainer Raphaël Fèvre were handed a one-year extension. Goalkeeping coach Nicolas Dehon left for Marseille and Gilles Bourges replaced him. Claude Makélélé postponed plans to retire and instead signed a new one-year contract extension with PSG. The friendly match between PSG and Mechelen took place behind closed doors at the Camp des Loges. The towns of Arras and Le Touquet refused to host the friendly match due to the people's fear towards PSG fans.
Paris Saint-Germain were plunged into controversy following forgery allegations against goalkeeper Apoula Edel. Sevilla lodged a formal complaint to UEFA after former Cameroon coach Nicolas Philibert declared that 24-year-old Apoula Edel was instead a 29-year-old named Ambroise Beyama. If the allegations were proved true and the player was found guilty, he could be sentenced to prison. Meanwhile, if false documents were lodged with the game's French and European governing bodies, Paris Saint-Germain risked losing their last two wins against Sevilla and Arles-Avignon. They could also face expulsion from the European competition, demotion from the top tier of French football and heavy fines. Paris Saint-Germain, in partnership with Goom Radio, officially launched their own numerical radio station, the first ever dedicated to a Ligue 1 football club, which is also available over the internet. Edel was acquitted of possessing fake documents by the French police as his passport was found to be genuine. As a result, UEFA rejected Sevilla's appeal to have their Europa League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain overturned.
The LFP decided to close the visiting stand to followers at the Ligue 1 matches between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille. The measure was designed to ensure the security after the serious incidents of recent seasons. Clément Chantôme was named Player of the Month for November by the UNFP with 51% of the votes. Nenê and Robin Leproux were respectively elected Foreign Player of the Year and President of the Year by France Football. The second phase of "Tous PSG" was implemented. Free subscriptions returned but the random distribution of seats was maintained. The new measures also allowed the creation of supporter associations signatories to the "Charte 12" peace treaty. Antoine Kombouaré was elected Manager of the Year by France 3. Nenê was named Player of the Month for December by the UNFP with 62% of the votes. The LFP sanctioned Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco following the use of a match ball which was not the "snow" version of the official Ligue 1 ball. Mamadou Sakho extended his contract with PSG until 2014. Clément Chantôme extended his current deal with the club until 2015. Christophe Jallet inked a contract extension until 2015. Antoine Kombouaré penned a contract extension that saw him link to the Parc des Princes club for a further 12 months.
Mamadou Sakho was named "Player of the Month" for April by the UNFP with 45% of the votes. Mamadou Sakho confirmed his continuing ascendancy in the French game by collecting the coveted Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award. Sakho and Nenê appeared in the Ligue 1 All-star XI, while Pauleta was included in the All-Star XI of the past 20 years. The LFP announced the classification of training centers for the 2010–11 season. Paris Saint-Germain earned 417 points thanks largely to their double coronation as U-19 and U-17 French champions. The capital club appeared in the top ten, being ranked in ninth position just behind Lyon. Once again, Rennes occupied the top spot with a fairly consistent lead. The FFF announced the classification of professional youth clubs for the 2010–11 season. Paris Saint-Germain earned 421 points and was ranked the best professional youth club in recognition to their unprecedented and historic double.
Transfers In
Total spending: €9 million
Out
Total income: €7 million
Squad information
Kit Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: Fly Emirates
Kits information Nike manufactured the kits for Paris Saint-Germain and the airline Emirates continued to be the club's main sponsor. Nike have been PSG's official kit provider since 1989. Emirates have been a partner of the capital club since 2005 and the major shirt sponsor since January 2006. PSG were handed brand new home and away kits. The 2010–11 season marked PSG's 40th Anniversary and the shirt commemorated it by reverting to the club's original colours. The Stade Saint-Germain club played mainly in white until 1970, when they merged with Paris FC and combined the white of Saint-Germain-en-Laye with the red and blue colors of Paris. The new shirts presented a special badge commemorating PSG's 40th anniversary. A golden embroidery encircled the shield with the traditional dates 1970 and 2010.
Home: The home kit was mainly solid red, the original colour of the club. Across the body there was a watermark that red 'PSG 1970'. The v-neck collar and the sleeves ends were navy. Away: The away kit had PSG's traditional colors and included graphic details directly inspired by the architecture of the Parc des Princes. It featured a navy blue base with a red vertical band in the middle and two thinner white zigzagging stripes around the band that recalled the architecture of the stadium's roof. The shirt also featured a stylized red trimming around the sleeves ends, the bottom of the shirt and the v-neck collar. The chosen colors and their alternation (blue-white-red-white-blue) honored the club's original graphic codes and dropped Daniel Hechter's historical model. Third: The away kit from last season was retained as third kit for 2010–11 season. Keeper: PSG goalkeepers wore three different kits throughout the season. The most conspicuous feature of the kits were the black zig-zags on the arms, based on the template Nike used in 2010 for its main clubs. The primary kit was purple, while the alternatives were pink and third were yellow.
Board and staff
Friendly matches Paris Saint-Germain opened their pre-season campaign with a victory over Évian. It was Mathieu Bodmer's first match with Paris. Évian opened the score through Oumar Pouye, but second-half substitute Clément Chantôme saved the day for PSG with a double. "Les Parisiens" continued their preparations for the coming season in a match which saw new recruit Nenê make his debut for Antoine Kombouaré's side as PSG came from behind to record a victory over Portuguese side Sporting CP. Despite falling two goals behind in the first five minutes, with an own from goalkeeper Apoula Edel included, strikes from last season's top scorer Mevlüt Erdinç and Ludovic Giuly had the scores level at the break before Stéphane Sessègnon and Jean-Eudes Maurice scored in the second half to clinch a tough win. Three weeks before the start of the Ligue 1 season, pre-season preparations seemed to be progressing perfectly for PSG as they ran out convincingly winners against Belgian side Mechelen in an empty Camp des Loges, notching their third successive victory thanks to goals from Nenê, Christophe Jallet, Stéphane Sessègnon and Mevlüt Erdinç. Just a few days before the Trophée des Champions and the Tournoi de Paris, Antoine Kombouaré's men could only draw with Legia Warszawa in their last friendly match after being two up following consecutive goals from Guillaume Hoarau and Mateja Kežman. It seemed the hard work was done but the Polish outfit took advantage of PSG's overconfidence and managed to score twice in the final ten minutes.
After 17 years of absence, France's most prestigious tournament was back at the Parc des Princes. The Tournoi de Paris was first held in 1957 and the 2010 edition celebrated its 30th anniversary. Between 1975 and 1993, Paris Saint-Germain won the tournament a record seven times. It was abandoned by PSG's new shareholders Canal+ because of the club's financial deficit in 1993. The last champions were Paris Saint-Germain who defeated Auxerre in the 1993 edition final. The 2010 edition took place between 31 July and 1 August, with Italian side Roma, replacing Juventus, Portuguese club Porto and French outfit Girondins de Bordeaux visiting the Parc des Princes as PSG decided to resurrect the Tournoi de Paris for their 40th birthday. PSG presented their official anthem and mascot. The lyrics of "Go West" were rewritten following the suggestions made by the fans in PSG's website and was released as the official anthem before every match at the Parc des Princes. Germain, a lynx, was presented as the new mascot of PSG. After a draw between Bordeaux and Roma, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Porto in a match punctuated by the numerous chances created by both sides. The French capital won in extremis against the Portuguese thanks to a goal from Sammy Traoré at the end of regular time and took the first place in the standings.
Just like against Porto, "Les Parisiens" made the difference at the end of the encounter as Guillaume Hoarau equalized Roma's lead deep in stoppage time and allowed PSG to finish off their pre-season without having lost a single match. PSG's goal angered Roma's players who surrounded French referee Stéphane Lannoy. Roma coach Claudio Ranieri also walked onto the field to complain that too much injury time had been played when Hoarau scored. Earlier, Michaël Ciani scored off a free kick as Bordeaux came from behind against Porto to win the Tournoi de Paris with four points - the same total as PSG but "Les Girondins" scored one more goal. During the winter break, Paris Saint-Germain drew with Moroccan outfit Wydad Casablanca in Marrakesh. Mouhcine Iajour put the home side ahead but Antoine Kombouaré's men were the dominant force throughout and got a deserved equalizer shortly before half-time when Mevlüt Erdinç headed home Tripy Makonda's cross.
Matches
Competitions Trophée des Champions