Monaco suffered a 1-2 home defeat against the Toulouse of former Standard coach Philippe Montanier on Saturday, the third in a row, and thus finished in sixth place – while in France only the top five are allowed to enter Europe. A few months ago, the Monegasques were still in the running for Champions League football.
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Monaco was his fourth club as head coach, after spells at Waasland-Beveren, RC Genk and Club Brugge. The 49-year-old Clement has so far won four Belgian titles, a Belgian Cup and two Belgian Super Cups as a trainer.
Pride
Clement himself posted a message on his social media: “It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce that my adventure with Monaco has come to an end. It was an honor to train this great club and I am proud of the contribution I have been able to make to the development of the club and its players. Finishing third after nine straight wins at the end of 2021-2022 was a highlight for me. I want to express my gratitude to the club, my colleagues and the fans for the faith and all the beautiful moments.”
Clement became a trainer in the principality in January last year as a replacement for the fired Niko Kovac. Monaco was then in sixth place, but was still in the 1/8th finals of the Europa League. In the end, despite the European elimination against the Portuguese Braga, Clement led the Monegasken to a successful season with a third place in Ligue 1 and the corresponding ticket for the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
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“It is a difficult decision because Philippe has given everything and has always behaved professionally. On behalf of the club I would like to thank him for all his efforts,” said sporting director Paul Mitchell. “Philippe has greatly contributed to the development of young players such as Benoît Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Youssouf Fofana and Vanderson, who was recently called up for the first time for the Brazilian national team, as well as the emergence of Eliesse Ben Seghir and Edan Diop from the youth academy. Despite these results and development, the sporting momentum at the end of the season, which ended with a final ranking below expectations, indicated that a change at the head of the first team was necessary.
Clement. — © AFP
As a successor, Matthias Jaissle (RB Salzburg) and Jesse Marsch (ex-coach of RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig) are being considered. The team.
Monaco started this season weakly with barely one win from its first five games and the elimination in the Champions League preliminary round against PSV Eindhoven. After that, Clement got his team back on track with fourteen victories and barely two defeats in six months. Also in the Europa League, the French were allowed to go to the knockout phase together with the Hungarian Ferencvaros, but after penalties in the 1/16th finals, they had to give up on later semi-finalist Bayer Leverkusen. In February, Clement was still in third place, but after mixed results it dropped one place lower. Three match days from the end, the low point was yet to come. Monaco lost three times in a row, including against direct competitor Rennes. As a result, the Monegasken finished in sixth place.
Clement already saw the storm hanging after the last defeat against Toulouse. “This club is in my heart. I want to fight for it, but it’s up to the management to decide,” he said at the press conference after the game. “I do not shirk my responsibilities.”
