It is now a matter of time, but it is likely that Juvisy abandons fourth place in the D1 in favor of Olympique Marseille, promoted this season in the elite. A prospect that may have precipitated the announcement of the departure of Emmanuel Beauchet, the coach Juvisy at the end of the season.


At the scale of the D1, it's a small earthquake. The championship of France that exists in its current form for fifteen years with Juvisy in the four leading teams. While digging into the recent history of the championship, we must go back to the 1988/89 season to not find Juvisy among the top four French teams (at the time, there was a knockout final phase between the top eight teams of the championship).


Juvisy, from one championship to another?


A longevity unmatched by other members of the current "Big 4". Montpellier settled in this top of the table in the early 2000s, and Lyon also had mid-table seasons in the 1990s (the last in 1998/99), at the time of FC Lyon.


A top of the table became a very closed club with the strengthening of Paris Saint-Germain. Since the 2009/2010 season, four teams have split the top four, with a significant gap with the rest of the D1 teams. With the exception of the 2014/2015 season where Guingamp was able to get closer to the best teams, the norm remained to speak of "two championships" with distinct issues, and sometimes the acceptance that only punctual exploits are possible face in Lyon, Paris, Juvisy and Montpellier.


For Juvisy this period is both marked by its ability to resist the emergence of professional clubs but at the same time shows the fragility of the building. A situation that illuminates the choice to merge with Paris FC and seek to have more important means to support the women's team both at the high level and in the training of young players.


A fragility that was expressed in particular in the erosion of the offensive potential of Juvisy. The 10-0 won on the Rodez lawn and the 6-0 against Metz at the beginning of the season, mask an attack at half-mast and in particular a difficulty to rely on a true center-forward that fits into the quartet. 'attackers of the Juv'.


With Marseille, the end of the "glass ceiling"?


Juvisy's difficulties were also highlighted by the emergence of Olympique Marseille who went for fourth place in their first season in D1. After a period of adaptation, Marseille managed to chain the victories but also break the glass ceiling, beating Juvisy, Paris Saint-Germain and putting Montpellier in difficulty in the Coupe de France. The kind of performances that seemed impossible to achieve in one season for the "second championship" teams.


Olympique de Marseille was able to rely on these summer recruits who came to bring their qualities and their experience in the Marseille collective. When we look at Christophe Parra's eleven preferential this season, we find seven of the players arrived last summer and among them five had already more than a hundred matches of D1 on the clock. We must also add Nora Coton-Pelagie and Caroline Pizzala, arrived at OM while the club was in D2 but who also have a solid experience at the top level.Cards in hand for the future


Numerous experienced executives are also what facilitates the emergence of (very) young players in the image of Tess Laplacette, who soon 18 years is one of the Olympians most used by Christophe Parra and who knew 'adapt to the D1, having experienced the rise of OM last season. We can also mention Maëlle Lakrar, international U17 and who has had several tenure in central defense, especially in the victory against Paris Saint-Germain.


Because OM knows that the recruitment of experienced players can not be the main source of renewal of the workforce. It's partly on the youth side that OM can tap its ability to look at the table.


With Maëlle Lakrar, Mickaëlla Cardia who currently participate in Euro U17 with Sandrine Soubeyrand's Bleuettes. Among the U19 Olympians, there are six (including Lapalacette and Lakrar who sometimes play with the U19 OM) to have been recently called at the meetings of the various teams of young France (U16 / U17 / U18 / U19).


The progression of OM this season finds its strength in this solid base and an ability to correct these "small mistakes" and work on the "small details" that spoke Christophe Parra early in the season. Among them, this need to "find security in the game", a reflection he has led by proposing various organizations and associations in the defensive sector before finding a formula he installed on the second half of the season.


New deal?


A team from Marseille who has both found ways to exploit the mistakes of the opponents to score, or counter on fast attacks but also gradually reach in some matches to be illustrated by a game sometimes more built with a better circulation of ball.


But for the moment, Marseille's success is both a real thunderbolt but does not imply definitive conclusions for the future. If Juvisy has had a historically disappointing season in terms of results, we can not conclude either that the slope is definitely down to the club of Essonne, with questions around the merger with Paris FC and behind means available to the club to continue to join the fight at the top of the table.


From a symbolic point of view, the match between the two teams during the last day of the championship will be important especially for Juvisy who in terms of accounting has very little chance to return to OM. For the future, should we expect a championship where the top of the table or even all of the D1 would be exclusively reserved for professional teams? The trend seems to be confirmed with this fourth place of the OM, but at the same time the fight for the maintenance concerns only female sections of professional teams (Metz / Bordeaux / Saint-Etienne).


A contrasting reality that shows that the future of the D1 is not definitively drawn even if it confronts all the clubs to the need to raise the level of requirement and the means that go with it to continue to evolve at most high level.


Photo: Julia Tefit