Niko Kovac, Franck Haise, Claude Puel, Laurent Batlles, Christophe Pélissier and Pascal Gastien. They will be only six coaches, at the time of the resumption, with more than a year of seniority on their bench, with a Niko Kovac who only totals twelve months and… three weeks at AS Monaco. Not that Ligue 1 is necessarily renowned for the longevity of its coaches, but on the same date last year, the reverse prevailed with only six technicians from less than a year of seniority.
“If we talk about stability within clubs, it is true that it is not necessarily encouraging, loose Hubert Fournier, national technical director and former coach of OL. It is a shame because the title of champion of France from LOSC, which had Christophe Galtier at its head since 2017, proves that we need longevity to build. “
A finding that is confirmed when we see the three Ligue 1 technicians with the longest service in their clubs: Pascal Gastien in Clermont (3 years and 11 months), Christophe Pélissier in Lorient (2 years and 2 months) and Laurent Batlles in Troyes (2 years and 1 month), coaches who have experienced sporting success with a recent rise in the elite, the result of work in the medium term.
“Foreign coaches feed our football”
But since the start of 2021, a wind of change has blown over Ligue 1 and a multi-faceted cast has emerged: the sedentary members of the championship who have changed clubs (Dall’Oglio in Montpellier, Der Zakarian in Brest, Galtier in Nice ), ghosts after more or less long cuts (Génésio in Rennes, Oscar Garcia in Reims, Gourvennec in Lille, Stéphan in Strasbourg) and the new guard of foreign coaches (Petkovic in Bordeaux, Bosz in Lyon, Sampaoli in Marseille and Pochettino at PSG).
With Oscar Garcia in Reims and Niko Kovac in Monaco, they will be six foreign coaches to start the season, a record in Ligue 1, tied with the 2017-18 season. “Having foreign coaches in our championship feeds our football, it brings novelty and new methodologies”, reacts Hubert Fournier. One way to pull everyone up for Luis Fernandez, former PSG coach and now consultant for the beIN Sports channel: “There are sports policy changes, some clubs with European ambitions are betting on these coaches foreigners. But in a way, it will also help other clubs who will have to raise their level in response. “
