Jean-Michel Aulas should extend Remi Garde’s contract: Ligue 1 special
“We will work wisely and be humble in our approach this time.” These were the words of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-Lyonnais-c40130 president Jean-Michel Aulas on the eve of appointment of Remi Garde as the club’s new coach in June 2011.
For nearly four years, Jean-Michel Aulas had made full use of the club’s coffers to bring in some of the best players to the Stade de Gerland in order to fulfil his lifelong ambition of winning the UEFA Champions League.
The departure of Alain Perrin in 2008 saw the end of an era of Lyon’s dominance of the Ligue 1. From 2000 till 2008, Les Gones recorded seven consecutive Ligue 1 crowns. However, the appointment of Claude Puel saw Lyon fail to win any trophy in the consequent
seasons.
The arrival of the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hugo-Lloris-c16408 was a clear signal of intent from the Lyon supremo. However, Claude Puel failed to deliver anything and was understandably sacked earlier this
summer.
Remi Garde, who at that time was the technical director of Lyon’s youth academy, the Tolga Vologe had an outside chance of becoming the next Lyon coach with the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Francis-c13946 Gillot considered for the vacant post.
However, Aulas made one of the biggest gambles in his tenure as the Lyon president when he gave the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Job-c18684 to Remi Garde who had no experience of coaching a Ligue 1 side. Many cynics suggested the appointment as a naive decision on Aulas’ part.
Knowing that he had hired an inexperienced coach, Aulas made it clear that he is not expecting Garde to win accolades in his first year as the coach of Lyon. Furthermore, the young coach was given only a one-year contract which could be extended based on
his performances throughout the season.
What happened next is something that everyone in France knows well. A team that had been searching for its identity for over three seasons had finally grown in stature. In Remi Garde, Aulas and the players found a man who understood the values the club was
based upon.
A team that was all over the players for the past three seasons under Claude Puel had finally come out in the open and started playing an attractive brand of football. In a space of nine Ligue 1 games, Remi Garde has already shown that he has the makings
of a great manager in the coming years.
In their recent Ligue 1 outing against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes, Les Gones lost 2-0. Even then the side showed that they have the profile of a future Ligue 1 champion. Had Bafetimbi Gomis been more agile, the scoreline could have been
different.
At the post-match press conference, Remi Garde openly praised Javier Pastore’s brilliance in the game and did not take anything away from the PSG side who he said deserved to win the game. This gesture is very unlike Frederic Antonetti of Stade Rennais who
found it hard to digest a defeat at the hands of LOSC Lille by blaming his own players.
Under the tutelage of Garde, the likes of Bafetimbi Gomis and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michel-Bastos-c25461 have returned to form. In particular, Gomis has become an integral part of the starting XI and is now in line for making his return to the France national side.
Though Garde has just one year on his contract, Jean-Michel Aulas should extend his contract as finally Les Gones have found a coach who can take the Rhone giants back to the glory days.
With his contract expiring in June 2012, Aulas should recognise Garde’s efforts by extending the contract of a young coach who is already being lauded in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899 and in Europe in general.
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