A.S Monaco, as of today, sit 18th in the French second division with 19 points three behind 17th placed Le Man's and in the relegation places. Cast your mind back to 2004 when the famous rouge et blanc conquered Real Madrid in a thrilling second leg with Ludovic Giuly and Fernando Morientes seeing off the star studded Real side including Zidane and Figo, who could have possibly foreseen the events that were to follow.
The stars of that Champions League campaign that eventually led to defeat in the final to Jose Mourinho's Porto would soon depart for pastures new. Ludovic Giuly was Barcelona bound, Dado Prso found his way to Ibrox and manager Didier Deschamps would take the managerial post at Juventus shortly after. Rumours of financial ruin and general discontent around the club lead to a turbulent season under Michel Pastor, unable to convince players to stay and under criticism of his adaptation of Monaco's playing style, Pastor left the club.
A brief reprieve under new club president Jerome de Bontin did little to mask the trouble at the club. With the expectation formed under Deschamps there was much to live up to and with very little in the ranks,six managers and five years later, Monaco were relegated to Ligue 2. There is however, a plus side to a visit these days to the Stade Louis II. If you wish to join the average 4,455 crowd it will set you back the not-so princely sum of 5 euros. Yes, that's not a typing error, making AS Monaco one of the most affordable teams to watch in the entire French league system, not bad for a stadium in arguably the most expensive region in the world.
For less than it costs to watch my local side Coalville Town, who did make it to Wembley last season in the F.A Vase, sadly haven't got a stadium surrounded by mountains, yacht's and the cast of Dragons Den, the only detraction at the Stade Louis II is the athletics track separating the pitch from the stands. Incredible value nonetheless and definitely worth a visit, for the groundhopper amongst you, neighbouring football towns and cities include Nice, Marseille and Montpellier.
It is incredible to think that a club steeped in history that has spawned such playing talent as Thierry Henry and managerial genius of Arsene Wenger, seven times champions of France, find themselves in a predicament that relegation would lead to this once great club facing both amateur and professional opposition in the Championnat National, the French third tier.
At the start of the 2011-12 season A.S Monaco re-acquired the services of Ludovic Giuly on a free transfer from Paris St Germain at the ripe old age of 35, maybe after all the heartache there will finally be a happy ending for AS Monaco.
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