Montpellier-The Last Champions before The PSG Domination

What do Eric Cantona, Roger Miller and Laurent Blanc all have in common? Thats right i'm sure you guessed that they have all played for Montpellier. Why am I talking about Montpellier I hear you ask? Well they were the last team to lift the Ligue 1 trophy before the current dominance of the Qatari backed PSG so lets take a look at what happened to some of the stars of La Paillade's title winning season.
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Oliver Giroud
The French striker finished top of the goal charts in Ligue 1 in their title winning season with 21 goals. Despite being linked with a big move away during January (Montpelliers chairman priced Giroud at 50 to 60 million euros) he managed to keep his head and keep firing Montpellier to the top of the table by March and on to the clubs first top flight title in their history. Having been priced so high Giroud ended up joining Arsenal for 12.4 million euros in the summer following the triumph and has gone on to score over 50 club goals and picked up two FA Cup winners medals.
 

Hilton 
Vitorino Hilton da Silva or just Hilton for short joined the French club at the start of their successful campaign in 2011. Signing after leaving Marseille and stating his unhappiness in France Hilton went on to be a solid addition to the clubs defence and was named in the team of the year 2012. The 39 year old still plys his trade for the club and is currently the club captain.
 

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa
A product of the youth academy Mbiwa went on to play over 180 games for Montpellier. He appeared 34 times in their title winning campaign putting in top performance after top performance at the heart of the defence. He stayed at the club for the first half of their title defense before an £8.5 million  move to Premier league Newcastle beckoned. After Struggling to make an impact he joined Roma on a season long loan before moving back to France permanently with Lyon. He currently has four senior caps for the French national side.
 

Benjamin Stambouli
After bouncing around various youth teams including Marseille, Satmbouli signed his first professional deal with Montpellier. The defensive midfielder made 26 appearances whilst helping them win their first ever top flight title. Resisting the temptation of a big move straight after success Stambouli stayed until 2014 and was made vice captain for the 2013/14 season. It was Tottenham Hotspur that coaxed him away from France for a fee of £4.7 Million. After an unimpressive spell at Spurs Stambouli moved back to France with PSG. He currently plays for Schalke in Germany.
 

Remy Cabella
Another academy graduate Cabella had spent the season before on loan at Arles-Avignon trying to get back to top standard after suffering a cruciate ligament injury previously. During the title winning season he chipped in with 3 goals in 24 appearances. It wasn't until 2014 that he made the move from France to the North East of England, signing for Newcastle on a six year deal for a reported £8 million, but was unable to really make a name for himself and moved back to France with Marseille.
 

Rene Girard - Manager
Girard had been around the block a few times before joining Montpellier, leaving his post as France under 21 manager to take the job. After guiding them to the title he was said 'I Think our triuph is a real shot in the arm for French football, It just goes to show that everyone can beat everyone and money isn't the be all and end all. Were a club of mates, a club that brings through young players and gives them a chance.' After doing a Leicester before Leicester he went on to manage Lille and is currently in charge of Nantes.
 
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