Domestic domination not enough for Paris Saint-Germain's ambitious project

There weren't many people there to see it, as is so often the case at AS Monaco's games, but as the home side failed to overcome Guingamp, Paris Saint-Germain were crowned French champions for a second season running on Wednesday. These are their first back-to-back titles, having only won Ligue 1 four times overall.

Guingamp'€™s Fatih Atik scored an 85th-minute equalizer to negate Dimitar Berbatov's 77th-minute go-ahead goal for Monaco. But even as Guingamp labored with a man down, courtesy of Mustapha Diallo 88th minute ejection, Monaco hardly looked capable or interested in striking back. Manager Claudio Ranier's dour scowl was the only visible sign of ennui, even though the tie meant that Monaco had fallen seven points behind PSG with just two games to play.

Ranieri seemed to know: it's only going to get harder for anybody else in France to win anything.

PSG's meteoric rise, underpinned by a giant injection of cash from the Qatar Investment Authority, has also seen them reach consecutive quarterfinals in the UEFA Champions League at a time when it's considered nigh on impossible for an outsider to break into Europe's elite. Yet these nouveaux riches have. And even though their stated objective is to dominate Europe, not France, the residue of that intent is a domestic superiority that not even Monaco, newly moneyed in their own right, can match.

Olympique Lyonnais have fallen off in recent years as owner and sugar daddy Jean-Michel Aulas was hit hard by the financial crisis. Bordeaux, Olympique Marseille and Saint-Etienne simply aren't big clubs anymore. And so nothing seems capable of standing in the Parisians' way. The might of their players and resources is such that the French league may well grow a bit dull in the next few years.

Because even though last year's triumphant manager Carlo Ancelotti bolted for Spain when the Real Madrid job was offered to him, nothing could seemingly slow PSG down. They simply appointed Laurent Blanc, dropped another $200 million or so in transfer fees on a foursome of new players -- Marquinhos, Edinson Cavani, Lucas Digne and, in the winter transfer window, Yohan Cabaye -- and rampaged to the title again.

They began the year with two draws, but they lost just once in their first 32 rounds of play. They collected three 4-0 wins, two 5-0 wins and a jaw-dropping 19 shutouts. And so, thanks to Monaco's draw, their final games will be for naught.

But this is not the final destination of the journey. Since buying the club for some $140 million, the Qatar Investment Authority has spent several multiples of that on making the side better. As mentioned above, this team will look to win something in Europe next year. And on that score, their own domestic dominance might prove somewhat cumbersome.

There are those who believe that a strong league is a necessity in order to better prepare and equip yourself for those mid-week battles in Europe. The German and Spanish teams are good examples of that. This could also backfire, as it seemingly has on occasion for the Barclays Premier League clubs, whose weekend docket is so unforgiving that insufficient energy remains to win on the continent. As such, PSG's easy wins against their regular opponents might stifle their growth. Or that's one theory anyway.

What does seem incontestable is that there's a lot of untapped potential remaining in this side. As star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic (32) and captain and central defender Thiago Silva (29) age, young Brazilians Marquinhos (19) and attacking midfielder Lucas Moura (21) will make long strides. Italian Marco Verratti (21) could become one of Europe’s premier playmakers while his countryman Salvatore Sirigu (27) might do the same in goal. French midfielder Blaise Matuidi (27) might be the most underrated player in the game. Young Frenchmen Adrien Rabiot (19) and Lucas Digne (20) could become mainstays for Les Blues. And the South American attacking trio of Ezequiel Lavezzi (29), Lucas Pastore (24) and Cavani (27) hasn't quite shown its best for PSG yet.

There now exists no doubt that this lofty Parisian project is on the right track. And that Laurent Blanc's men will likely rise higher yet in this game. The only question is how much higher.