Ligue 1 special: Olympique de Lyonnais target Remi Garde, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899’s very own Pep Guardiola
French Ligue 1 club Olympique de Lyonnais are heading towards a new direction. After winning the Ligue 1 seven times in a row from 2001 to 2008, Les Gones have not lifted the Championnat. The competition for winning the Championnat is bound to get even tougher than it was last season.
LOSC Lille have finally come out in the open and are no more the nice kids on the block. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 are not showing any signs of weakness and are expected to build a stronger squad than the one that could not win back-to-back Ligue 1 titles. Furthermore, Paris Saint-Germain’s recent activity in the transfer market has already shown the club’s ambition of becoming a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
Current coach of Lyon, Claude Puel was under fire for most part of the 2010/2011 Ligue 1 season and it is becoming more and more likely that the former AS Monaco coach would head for the exit door of Stade Gerland. Since his arrival at the Rhone district, Puel has failed to win any silverware for Les Gones. Reaching the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League in 2010 was the only achievement that the club made under Puel.
Time for a replacement
Many names have long been circulated to replace Claude Puel. Jean Fernandez, Eric Gerets and Marcello Lippi have all been tipped for the coaching position at Lyon. All of these coaches have excellent CVs and are proven winners. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Italy-c2926 in 2006 and winning the Champions League in 1996. The 63-year-old was the last coach to have won the Scudetto for Juventus.
A young face in the fold
However, it seems that Olympique de Lyonnais direction is not looking for excellent CVs as they seek for Puel’s replacement. After all, CVs don’t guarantee success. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Felipe-c13510 Scolari and Carlo Ancelotti can be used as examples for this simple fact.
45-year-old Remi Garde has been touted as Puel’s replacement. Lyon are not looking for a coach who would lead the club few years and then leave. Things have changed seemingly and Lyon are now looking for a young coach who is willing to be at the club for a long time.
Lyon through and through
Remi Garde was born in L’Arbresle, a commune in Rhone-Alpes on April 3, 1966. It was at Olympique de Lyonnais where it all began for Garde and it was Lyon where he turned into a professional footballer. From 1987 to 1993, Garde made 145 appearances for Les Gones and scored 22 goals. The defender joined Strasbourg in 1993 and left for Arsenal in the summer of 1996 after Arsene Wenger recommended the Frenchman before he took over the position of manager of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429.
Return to Lyon
In 2003, Garde returned to Lyon under Jean-Michel Aulas. From 2003 to 2005, Garde worked as an assistant manager under http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hatem-Ben-Arfa-c15884.
The next ‘Pep’?
Just like the Catalan manager, Remi Garde knows the players well and just like the Spaniard, Garde has no experience of coaching a club. However, just like Guardiola, Remi Garde embodies the drastic changes that are about to occur in the Rhone club. Furthermore, if Garde becomes the coach of Lyon, he would be given time to settle. Only time can tell if the 45-year-old can make it big among the big boys of the Ligue 1. However, considering Garde as the next coach of Les Gones is a great step taken by Lyon in order to make the club more consistent in terms of winning silverware.
Tags: