FC Differdange 03 crowned champions

It has been a matter of when, not if: as everyone predicted after a landslide win in the autumn season, FCD continued their rampant march towards a history-making first National Division title in the town since Red Boys Differdange emerged victorious in 1979.

A single defeat in the 28 matches to date can assure all neutrals the best side in the country prevailed, putting all doubts to rest by inflicting Niederkorn’s first loss at their own ground for 11 months yesterday, to finish the title quest by celebrating the landmark occasion at their bitter rivals’ home.

Captain Geoffrey Franzoni might be 33 years old already, but this year was one of his most successful. Since joining Differdange in 2010, the wing-back has largely operated in a versatile box-to-box role, earning him frequent goal contributions and three Luxembourgish Cups to show for his performances. This term, he had to focus on the defensive side of his game as FCD played out of a 5-3-2 formation, but the organised structure at the back resulted in the best defence in the country, and a first-ever league championship in Franzoni’s life, too.

It was him who passed on the opportunity to decide the Progrès game himself, when he selflessly squared the ball to an open Jorginho to put it in the gaping net uncontested. It was only Franzoni’s second assist of the year – but Jorginho’s 24th goal (in 26 appearances). The Portuguese summer signing has scored many of his goals when the outcome had already been secured, but his latest one will go down as one of the most important in the club’s life dating back to their foundation in 2003 from the merger of AS Differdange and the aforementioned Red Boys.

Owner Fabrizio Bei sounded as motivated as ever last year when he talked about the overhaul in the squad he deemed necessary for progress. The result of the changes yielded a domestic run exceeding even his wildest dreams, as his strengthened side made star-studded Swift Hesperange go from the only contenders for the title to also-rans.

What now awaits FC Differdange is the Champions League. The club will start the competition in the first qualifying round in July, and will have to beat three opponents to reach the newly-revamped 36-team league stage. In the event of a loss, they can proceed in the Europa League qualifiers, while another defeat would send them down into UEFA’s third-tier competition, the Conference League. If they qualify for either, it would mark Luxembourg’s first group stage involvement in Europe for five years (since F91 Dudelange in 2019/20).

Progrès Niederkorn, although losing a home derby and letting the arch-rivals write history in the process, need not feel too upset either as their recent Luxembourgish Cup victory means they find themselves directly in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, with one fewer opponent blocking their way to the tournament proper compared to F91 Dudelange and Swift Hesperange.

Until then, both clubs can afford to celebrate the new additions to their respective trophy cabinets before their attentions would turn to the final two league games, which are essentially dead rubbers considering both clubs’ fates have already been decided in the recent weeks.

Planning for next season is already underway too, as Differdange are reportedly keeping an eye out for any potential managerial candidate for the next season, due to deteriorated relationships between Pedro Resende and the club’s board. The head coach is also likely to attract foreign offers in the summer, in which case he will undoubtedly prefer to leave FCD.

Around the pitches

F91 Dudelange succeeded in delaying the Differdange party by a day by getting their part of the job done, in a dramatic win secured in Rosport. Samir Hadji and Herman Moussaki assisted each other to score the goals that kept the team in the title race for a little more than 24 hours. Rosport have already secured survival, and are pushing for the best available finishing position in fifth.

Marisca Mersch failed to beat Swift Hesperange despite a weak, uninspiring display from a heavily rotated Hesper side, who played the last half an hour with 10 men following Jerry Prempeh’s red card. The 3-1 result means Marisca are one place and one point above the direct relegation zone and still have to play two strong mid-table sides in Union TP and Victoria Rosport in their remaining games. Hesperange sit third, three points off Dudelange in second.

Fola Esch registered their first win since March with a crucial 1-0 against relegation rivals Käerjéng, who failed to get a shot on target throughout the 90 minutes. Even more important than the result, however, is Julien Klein’s return to the pitch. After being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma last April, the Frenchman successfully recovered earlier this year, and made his first appearance for 13 months, to loud applause from both sets of supporters.

The equation is getting easier for Schifflange every week. After a 2-0 defeat against Strassen, they now have to secure at least a point against Hesperange, and beat Union Titus Pétange on the last matchday. As the club haven’t had a two-game, four-point sequence since November, it is no exaggeration to call this latest setback a huge step towards relegation.

FC Mondercange got extremely close to dragging Racing Union into the relegation battle while putting themselves out of it, but Farid Ikene’s 82nd-minute equaliser dampened their spirits. As a result, it is RFCUL who have mathematically confirmed their place in the division for next season, but Mondercange are also technically safe at the moment in 12th place.

Wiltz 71 might have collected their last point of the season in a 2-2 draw, coming back from two goals down against Mondorf, whose striker Oumar Gassama scored a brace in the first half. The last two opponents for Wiltz are the current top two in the standings (Differdange and Dudelange), while Wiltz are four points above the relegation spots. Definitely a nervy end to the season, unlike for Mondorf, who have already managed to stay up.

Jeunesse Esch made significant off-the-pitch progress this week by extending the contracts of manager Arnaud Bordi and several important players. On the pitch, though, they have seemingly taken a step back by losing to Union Titus Pétange to a 90+3rd minute decider. Both teams are in the top half of the table, with fifth place the best prospect for both.

As always, the games’ live commentaries, highlights and full video footage are all available on RTL.lu’s Live Arena hub.