Bordeaux claim Ligue 1 title to justify faith in Laurent Blanc

Marseille missed their chance when they had it. So did Auxerre, and Monaco too. All three clubs turned down the opportunity to give Laurent Blanc his first job as a coach, and all three will regret it now, after Blanc led Bordeaux to a wholly deserved Ligue 1 title, their first for 10 years, in only his second season as a coach. Bordeaux beat Caen 1–0 to stay three points clear of Marseille, whose 4–0 hammering of Rennes carried a note of defiance but ultimately was in vain.

"Indisputable!" was the L'Equipe headline while Sud-Ouest announced: "They were magnificent, the true kings of the season." "We've had a revolution here," said the defender Mathieu Chalmé. Bordeaux were down in fifth after Week 27, but they won their last 11 matches, a French record, with their final victory sending Caen into Ligue 2. "We worked so hard on our fitness back in January to be fit for this part of the season," said Blanc, "and that's what made the difference in the end."

It was not the only difference: this season, Bordeaux were unbeaten at home (their last defeat at Stade Chaban-Delmas was in October 2007), and earned 12 more points at home than the runners-up, Marseille; they showed huge mental strength, not least in the nine-man 1–0 win over Grenoble in Week 6, the comeback from 3–0 down to beat Monaco away 4–3 in Week 19 and, in Week 33, the 3–2 win at Rennes after having a player dismissed in the first half-hour. Their youth policy is working, as evidenced by the emergence of young local talents such as Benoît Trémoulinas and Grégory Sertic and their recruitment has been spot on, as the yo-yo pairing of two Yoanns – Gourcuff and Gouffran – proved on Saturday night.

It was Gourcuff's free-kick that set up the only goal of the game at Caen: Trémoulinas crossed and Gouffran headed home. "It was appropriate that he scored the winner: a rookie who began the season slowly, before ending it, like his team, unstoppable," wrote Sud-Ouest. For the player, who signed from Caen last summer, emotions were mixed: "These are all my friends lying on the pitch and crying, I'm just so sorry for them," he said.

That the winning goal was a header was not surprising. Among the many stats France Football recently published to explain Bordeaux's success were the following: no team has scored more goals from headers (22), from set pieces (25, nine from corners), from substitutes (10), or by coming from behind (23 points). The physical and mental strength of this team is why So Foot's comparisons to Aimé Jacquet's bruising 1987 title winners seem more appropriate than the 1999 comparison. The 1999 side did beat Marseille to the title on the last day of the season but, with a front four of Johan Micoud, Ali Benarbia, Lilian Laslandes and Sylvain Wiltord, it was a lot more attacking.

Blanc's side is somewhere between the two: amid the brawn of Souleymane Diawara, Alou Diarra and Marouane Chamakh, the genius of Gourcuff has shone through. One of the season's longest soap operas ended on Thursday when France's player of the year completed his move from Milan and signed a four-year deal at Bordeaux . "My decision had nothing to do with money," Gourcuff said, although a delay in signing the deal might have. Bordeaux's original offer of a monthly €300,000 (£260,000) with a €25m buyout clause was a long way from what he wanted, but tying the contract up before the final day gave the club a huge boost.

Blanc, typically, has already started playing down expectations for next season. "No French team will be able to repeat the dominance of Lyon," he warned. But with Gourcuff staying and Chamakh changing his tune and claiming he now wants to stay, Blanc's next ambition, to match Lyon's quarter-final place in the Champions League, might just be achievable.

It seems incredible to think that had Bordeaux's president, Jean-Louis Triaud, not appointed Blanc two years ago, a coach now tipped as a possible successor to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United might never have returned to the game. "If Bordeaux had the same attitude as some, I might never have made it to the bench," he said. "Just when I thought I might never get a job, Bordeaux came along and I'm very grateful to them." This week, the feeling is most definitely mutual.

Round 38 talking points

Although Marseille reached their pre-season target of a top-two finish, there was huge disappointment at the Vélodrome. "That's inevitable, really, but this season has not been a failure," said their president, Pape Diouf, after second-half goals from Bakary Koné, Mamadou Niang (two) and a Nicolas Douchez own goal blitzed Rennes. Diouf must take some responsibility for the breakdown in the relationship between the owner, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, and coach, Eric Gerets, who was on the verge of tears after his final game. "The club got what they wanted, but I wanted more," he said, adding as his voice broke: "Tonight was very special, but all a bit much for me, thank you."

A few weeks ago, Paris St Germain were challenging Lyon for a Champions League place, but they ended the campaign with a 0–0 draw at Monaco and so missed out, on goal difference, on even a Europa League spot. The coach, Paul le Guen, is now leaving, and others, such as the goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau and winger Jérôme Rothen, are set to follow.

Rothen was among many of the PSG players whistled and jeered at the Parc des Princes during Sunday's testimonial for Pedro Pauleta. "Alain Roche [PSG head of recruitment] has broken me, he criticised me to the coach, to the board, and even to my fellow players, while [president Sébastien] Bazin barely acknowledges me now," said Rothen. "I turned down Lyon to stay here, I wanted to finish my career here, but with these guys in charge, I have to leave."

"For a season that should have been about consolidation, the club was rocked by crisis," lamented Le Parisien. "Three years after Colony Capital took over, there has been no progress. In Paris, nothing changes, least of all this phenomenal ability to create a mess."

The other big winners on the final day of the season were Lille and Toulouse, who both qualified for Europe after beating Nancy 3–2 and drawing 0–0 with Lyon, respectively. Both clubs expect to lose their best players, Michel Bastos and André-Pierre Gignac, before next season.

Mention must also go to Alain Perrin, whose St Etienne side smashed Valenciennes 4–0 to leapfrog Caen to safety. Their hero was Ilan, who responded to getting the captaincy by scoring five goals in their last seven games to keep Les Verts in Ligue 1. "We were relieved to survive, but we could have clinched it before now," said Perrin, who may yet get the chop from the sports director, Damien Comolli, before the summer is out.

Results, Week 38: Caen 0–1 Bordeaux, Grenoble 0–1 Sochaux, Lille 3–2 Nancy, Lorient 1–1 Le Mans, Marseille 4–0 Rennes, Nantes 2–1 Auxerre, Nice 0–0 Le Havre, PSG 0–0 Monaco, Saint-Etienne 4–0 Valenciennes, Toulouse 0–0 Lyon

Final Ligue 1 table

Watch video highlights of the last day of the Ligue 1 season