1986, Paris accede to the throne

1986 and for the club's 16th birthday, Paris Saint-Germain take home the first league title in its young history. Guided by Gerard Houllier on the bench, Luis Fernandez, Joël Bats, Dominique Rocheteau and Safet Susic led Paris to the very top of French football for the first time. A trophy that couldn't be contested given that during the campaign, Les Parisiens went 26 matches without defeat.

The Match

"If Paris beat Monaco, the title is practically in the bag". Captain Luis Fernandez summed up Les Parisiens' spirit before the encounter against Les Monégasques.

The duel between the two sides was incredible but the two couldn't be separated and were slowly heading for a draw until a final corner from Safet Susic found Omar Da Fonseca. The Argentine strike missed his effort, but Oumar Sène followed up and smashed past Jean-Luc Ettori from close-range (89'). After Nantes' draw, Paris were virtually champions with a four point lead and a better goal difference with two games to play.

The players struggled to contain their emotions as the final whistle was blown, with Captain Fernandez coming close to breaking his coach's nose as they embraced... Gérard Houllier was happy: "It was a magnificent match. The most action-packed and balanced of the season." For the first time since 1936 and Racing (50 years!), Paris had secured the French title.

The Player

Gérard Houllier had decided at the start of the season to award the captain's armband to Luis Fernandez, with the objective of channeling his hot-headed midfielder, who had been through a tricky previous season for Les Rouge et Bleu.

The bet paid off: 37 matches played and no red cards for Luis Fernandez, the spirit of the team, who would leave the club after the first title and sign for the ambitious neighbours of Matra Racing de Paris.

The image

Luis Fernandez playing in goal at Metz.

It’s the penultimate day of the season at the stade Saint-Symphorien in Metz. Top of the table since the start of the 1985/86 season, Paris Saint-Germain are just a handful of minutes away from their first title. Joël Bats suffers a left-leg injury in the first half. He’s replaced at half-time by Luis Fernandez, who concedes two goals (3-1).

The Number

8 recruits during the summer window and a new coach: despite the new-look side, Paris Saint-Germain started the league in a perfect manner and even topped the longest unbeaten run after the draw at Bordeaux, the holders of the league title at the time (21 matches without defeat), which had been held by Saint-Etienne since 1959. Les Parisiens remained unbeaten until their trip to Lille (0-2 on 22 January 1986) making it a run of 26 outings without defeat.

The highlights

The highlights of the 1985/86 season.

The anecdote

The league title may have been decided in the darkness of the Parc des Princes on one January evening in 1986…

Against a very ruthless Nice side, Les Parisiens were struggling until the 66th minute, when a power cut struck the Porte d’Auteuil. After several minutes in the dark, half of the floodlights turned back on and Paris Saint-Germain eventually won the match 3-2. At the same time, the chasing pack of Bordeaux (0-9 at Monaco) and Nantes (0-2 against Marseille) both lost and Les Parisiens extended their lead to 8 points and wouldn't been caught before the end of the season.

The interview

« We were carefree, we took the matches one after the other without any pressure. Everything came together and we surfed on the back of the wins. And when you win, the atmosphere is good! We often got together with our families, it was a really friendly atmosphere. Winning this title with Paris Saint-Germain, it was the just reward for all of the effort that we had put in, we managed well at the end and it was wasn't easy. The evening of the title, it was also a day of glory for our president, the late Francis Borelli. »