Leader of the championship, Paris FC did not hesitate to launch three 17-year-old players (Hadjam, Camara, Diakité) this season in L2. Training is one of the priorities of Parisian leaders. To run the training center approved for two years, this summer they called on the experienced Jean-Marc Nobilo (60 years old). Elected best coach of L2 in 2008 with Le Havre, he notably managed the centers of Le Havre and Auxerre, African selections (Benin), was DTN (Ivory Coast, Lebanon) and responsible for youth selections in Algeria . He reveals his goals.
What attracted you to Paris FC?
JEAN-MARC NOBILO. I was Regional Technical Director in Réunion. But when you’re far away, confinement makes you think. With my wife, we wanted to get closer. I had 3 proposals from L2 and one from an African country to be DTN. But I had a good intuition with Paris FC, which is a club in full development. I had the same when I arrived in Le Havre and Auxerre where we won the Gambardella in 2014. Even though I trained in L1 and L2, training is my real core business. When I had my job interview with President Ferracci, I told him “I think you are the club of tomorrow and that’s what interests me”. I’m not a manager trainer who just does optimization. I am more of a builder.
What inventory did you carry out when you arrived?
I’m not starting with a blank sheet of paper because Pierre Dréossi (ex-manager) and Jean-Luc Ruty (ex-director of the center) have already laid good foundations. I arrive to initiate the next step. We will continue to develop the Orly site with the construction of new buildings for accommodation and education and I will set up an organization chart with profiles and well-defined missions. I signed for three years and it will certainly be my last job. Mathieu Lacan (deputy director) has a profile for the future. I found a technical team already very involved. I wanted us to get closer to the Association, it is essential. Orly and Déjerine, that should only make one club. All the coaches of the center and myself, will have to carry out at least one monthly action with the Association. These 700 kids, that must be our first recruiting pool.
In the last ranking of training centers, Paris FC is only 37th out of 38 …
It’s a ranking over 5 years and we are only two years old. My goal is already to move it from category 2 B to 1 B, which could allow the reserve to access the N2. It also involves the construction of a third site in Orly and in-depth work in our structuring, our recruitment and the identification of our best potentials to know how to best support them. We already have internationals, we must be able to have more.
“PSG is another world. You don’t have to dream and know how to box in your category ”
Compared to PSG, how do you plan to position yourself in Ile-de-France?
PSG is another world. You don’t have to dream and know how to box in your category. We do not have the 10-12 M € budget of PSG, we are not Monaco, nor Lille. If we go up to L1, it will be different, everyone will stay and it will be easier to bring in players. But for now, we must be a springboard and second chance club in post-training for some who have escaped the cracks or have burned their wings elsewhere. I would like a player and his family to say to themselves: “ in a big club with Champions League requirements, there will be 5 or 6 in my position while at Paris FC there are only 2 or 3. It will perhaps be easier to break through. “
Is this speech legitimized by the fact that 3 17-year-old players have already played in L2 this season?
It’s exactly that. René Girard is not afraid to take very young players in training and launch them into matches. It is the guarantor of our training policy. Paris FC needs to build its history and look for references. The Hadjam and Camara, who are already pros at 17, have shown others the way. Everyone can say to themselves, if I work well, the first team of Paris FC is not inaccessible.
We also know that to attract young nuggets, you sometimes have to pay dearly …
The club is progressing, the budget is also increasing. But I don’t think it’s club policy to give a 16-year-old 15 or 20,000 € every month. I can understand that some families prefer the financial aspect. It doesn’t shock me. I know what it’s like to be in trouble. But the athletic success of their child also depends on their choices. We are not going to tell the soup (sic) to families. Our strength is proximity and we must play on it. With us, the young person will be able to come home every evening. Our main argument must be to tell them: ” rather to send it to the other end of France, send it to us, that’s how we work … “This requires developing the image of Paris FC and promoting our efforts.
“Like everyone else, when I was in Le Havre and Auxerre, I came to do my shopping at Paris FC”
How do you plan to hang it?
We must crisscross Ile-de-France, our recruiting territory, go to partner clubs. Yves Gergaud (ex-PSG) who has proven himself arrived with us full time for the recruitment of young people. We also have 4 scouts on weekends. Orly, that must also be a strong point. It is a closed place, no one should enter! Like everyone else, when I was in Le Havre and Auxerre, I came to do my shopping at Paris FC. That too must change. Now, unlike its past, the club can offer contracts and protect themselves.
That didn’t stop you from losing goalkeeper Sami Tlemcani who signed for Chelsea in October…
On the contrary, I believe that this transfer was well managed by the club with respect for his wishes and that of his family. He received a proposal from Chelsea, out of the ordinary for a 16-year-old boy. We sold it for € 1.2 million, it’s pretty well negotiated. This is almost equivalent to our operating budget for one year of training. When you train well, it makes sense to have a return on your investment. Sami is certainly gone but our numbers 3 (Nkambadio) and 4 (Sow) in the pros, are 17 and 18 years old.
In your mission, there is also a component with Bahrain. What does it consist on.
I worked in the Persian Gulf so I know it well. We will set up exchanges and sales of know-how, export the club’s methodology in terms of training. Ultimately, the goal is for our tools and packaging to be sold abroad.
