The 2008–09

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

season was the 71st since its establishment.

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

became champions for the sixth time on the last weekend of the season. The fixtures were announced on 23 May 2008. The season began on 9 August 2008 and ended on 30 May 2009. A total of 20 teams contested the league, consisting of 17 who competed the previous season and three that were promoted from France's second division

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

. Bordeaux consecutively won their last 11 league games of the season and clinched the title on 30 May 2009 after the 1–0 victory against

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

. This was Bordeaux's sixth title and their first since the 1998–99 season. Bordeaux's title victory ended a historic run for

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, who had won seven consecutive titles beginning with the 2001–02 season.

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

and Caen were relegated to Ligue 2. Both Le Havre and Nantes were promoted from Ligue 2 last season.

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, Lyon,

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

and

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

all secured

European football UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. T ...

for the 2009–10 season through their league position.

Teams

Promotion and relegation

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...

, RC Strasbourg and

FC Metz Football Club de Metz () is a Football in France, French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the highest division in the French football league system, for the 2025–26 Ligue 1, ...

were relegated to the 2008–09 Ligue 2 after finishing in the bottom three spots of the table at the end of the 2007–08 season. Lens were relegated to the Ligue 2 after 17 seasons of continuous membership in the top football league of France, while Strasbourg and Metz made their immediate return to the second level. The three relegated teams were replaced by three

2007–08 Ligue 2 The Ligue 2 season 2007–08 was the sixty-sixth since its establishment, and started in August 2007. The fixtures were announced in June 2007. FC Metz, the champions of Ligue 2, SM Caen, and RC Strasbourg were promoted to France's top division ...

sides. Champions

, who terminated their second-level status after five years, runners-up

FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes, commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Naunnt''), is a French professional association football, football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 Ap ...

, who returned to the top flight after one season in second level and

Grenoble Foot 38 Grenoble Foot 38, commonly referred to as simply Grenoble or GF38, is a Football in France, French association football club based in Grenoble. The club plays its home matches at the Stade des Alpes, a sports complex based in the heart of the c ...

returned to highest French league for first time after 35 years.

Stadia and locations

Personnel and sponsoring

League table

Results

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

''Source
Ligue 1
'' André-Pierre Gignac won the Trophée du Meilleur Buteur.

Awards

Monthly awards

UNFP Player of the Month

Annual awards

Here are shown the nominees for Ligue 1 annual awards. The winners, displayed in bold, were determined at the annual UNFP Awards on 24 May 2009.Le palmarès 2009 complet

Player of the Year

Young Player of the Year

Keeper of the Year

Manager of the Year

Team of the Year

References

External links

Ligue 1 official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 Ligue 1 Ligue 1 seasons

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...