Laurent Blanc’s return to Ligue 1 has been far from perfect, but there has been noticeable improvement in the team’s performance. The former PSG coach spoke with L’Équipe about his career and first two months with Lyon.
The World Cup winner was removed as the head coach of PSG in 2016. Before his return to Lyon, he had one short stint with a Qatar club Al-Rayyan. Blanc talked about leaving PSG and why it took some time for him to get back into coaching, “After PSG, I did not want to dive right back in. People don’t want to understand, but no one is in my place. I am not a careerist. I just wanted to renew my passion for football and now this return only confirms that this is what drives me.”
Click Here: Kingsley Coman jersey sale
The Ligue 1 manager of the year is no stranger to winning, but when asked if his immediate goal was winning or developing his players he stated, “To win. I am a follower of the beautiful game, but what guides me is victory and I was a player with the same feeling … In the talks I have with the players, I hammer home that our goal is victory.”
The former PSG coach has spent his entire life in French football. Starting his career with Montpellier and coaching for not only PSG, but Bordeaux and the national team. Blanc was asked about his thoughts on the progression of the league, “What jumped out at me was the physical quality of the teams. High intensity races, repeated efforts, it’s crazy! Marseille-Lens, the two teams went blow for blow. This match did not exist, in my opinion, five or six years ago in Ligue 1.”
The OL coach was asked about the praise he received from Jean-Louis Gasset in regards to his ability to break down film and come up with a possible solution very quickly. “I will have to look over Lyon quickly (laughs). Seeing is one thing, correcting is another. Lyon has a problem and we have a big project. It’s up to us, that is to say the whole club, to find the win and a game identity to put OL back where they need to be. Saying it takes five seconds, but doing it… I hope I have the time.”
A situation that is worrying many OL supporters is the sale of the club. One may have expected a company answer from their coach, but what he said was much more telling of the situation, “Completely detached? That would be a lie. That it worries me to the point of taking my phone to read the news? No. I am taken by my sporting mission. But one can only be impacted by the news. Because it affects the sportsman, the employees… The general atmosphere is not optimal. Despite that, you have to go upstairs. We are aware of people’s expectations. We represent OL, a club in a vague situation. I hope there will be a clearer picture. If the club is sold, things will happen, and others things if it is not sold, but not of the same nature. We wait.”
To make things worse, there were reports that the sale of the club had fallen through. However, John Textor publicly denied those rumors. OL currently sits in 8th place on the Ligue 1 table and 10 points behind Rennes. Blanc may not have been put into the best situation with the club, but the underperforming Lyon, if managed correctly can be a great opportunity for the French coach to re-establish himself.