The 1997–98 Division 1 was the 60th season of Division 1, the top French professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1932. The season began on 2 August 1997, and concluded on 9 May 1998.
This season saw a change in the league format, with the number of teams reduced to 18 from 20, shortening the season from 38 to 34 rounds. As a result, four clubs which had been relegated at the end of the previous season were replaced by only two, Châteauroux and Toulouse, who entered as winners and runners up of the 1996–97 French Division 2. Defending champions of the 1996–97 season were Monaco.
Lens won the championship for the first time in their 92-year history, becoming the 26th club to become French football champions. Lens won their league title with 68 points, edging out second-placed Metz on goal difference, for whom this was their best result in history.
Teams
Stadia and personnel
TeamManagerStadiumCapacity Pos. in 1996–97Auxerre Guy RouxStade de l'Abbé-Deschamps1066thBastia Frédéric AntonettiStade Armand Cesari1077thBordeaux Guy StéphanParc Lescure1044thCannes Adick KootStade Pierre-de-Coubertin11515thChâteauroux Victor ZvunkaStade Gaston Petit2011st (D2)Guingamp Francis SmereckiStade du Roudourou11212thLe Havre Denis TrochStade Jules Deschaseaux11414thLens Daniel LeclercqStade Bollaert11313thLyon Bernard LacombeStade de Gerland1088thMarseille Rolland CourbisStade Vélodrome11111thMetz Joël MullerStade Saint-Symphorien1055thMonaco Jean TiganaStade Louis II1011stMontpellier Michel MézyStade de la Mosson11010thNantes Raynald DenoueixStade de la Beaujoire1033rdParis Saint-Germain RicardoParc des Princes1022ndRennes Guy DavidStade de la Route de Lorient11616thStrasbourg Jacky DuguépérouxStade de la Meinau1099thToulouse Alain GiresseStadium Municipal2022nd (D2)
League table
Promoted from Ligue 2, who will play in Division 1 season 1998/1999 AS Nancy : champion of Ligue 2 FC Lorient : runners-up FC Sochaux-Montbéliard : third place
Results
Top goalscorers Rank Player Club GoalsDivision 1 - Saison 1997-1998 - Classement des buteurs deux-zero.com1 Stéphane Guivarc'hAuxerre212 David TrezeguetMonaco183 Victor IkpebaMonaco164 Anto DrobnjakLens14 Lilian LaslandesBordeaux6 Bruno RodriguezMetz13 Marco SimoneParis Saint-Germain8 Jocelyn GourvennecNantes129 Laurent BlancMarseille11 Robert PiresMetz Stéphane ZianiLens Awards Individual awards Award Winner Club Ligue 1 Player of the Year Marco Simone Paris Saint-Germain Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year David Trezeguet Monaco Ligue 1 Manager of the Year Aimé Jacquet Bordeaux Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year Fabien Barthez Monaco Team of the YearGoalkeeper Fabien Barthez (Monaco)Defenders Éric Sikora (Lens) Rigobert Song (Metz) Laurent Blanc (Marseille) Manuel Dos Santos (Montpellier)Midfielders Martin Djetou (Monaco) Johan Micoud (Bordeaux) Robert Pirès (Metz) Stéphane Ziani (Lens)Forwards Stéphane Guivarc'h (Auxerre) Marco Simone (Paris Saint-Germain)
Attendances
Source:
No. Club Average attendance Change 1 Paris Saint-Germain FC 36,723 3.2% 2 Olympique de Marseille 28,257 58.2% 3 RC Lens 27,959 21.7% 4 FC Nantes 23,303 4.2% 5 Olympique lyonnais 22,808 5.5% 6 Girondins de Bordeaux 21,019 3.8% 7 RC Strasbourg 17,266 -0.4% 8 FC Metz 16,353 11.2% 9 Toulouse FC 14,573 90.0% 10 MHSC 12,992 28.3% 11 Stade rennais 12,789 -2.9% 12 EA Guingamp 12,717 50.8% 13 La Berrichonne de Châteauroux 12,274 162.4% 14 Le Havre AC 11,192 5.7% 15 AJ auxerroise 10,054 -4.3% 16 AS Monaco 7,156 0.7% 17 SC Bastia 5,825 7.6% 18 OGC Nice 5,024 -7.5%
References
External links
France 1997/98 at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation