10:45 p.m.
, May 8, 2021
On Wednesday, the discussion lasted nearly two hours and Claude Puel, 59, was ready to continue, he is so passionate about his job. Stranger to small polemics but talkative about the main directions to be given to French football. At ASSaint-Etienne since October 2019, he is the only general manager coach. This expanded role nurtures a singular vision, not so far removed from that expressed with noise a month ago by Pablo Longoria, president of an Olympique de Marseille which he receives on Sunday in the Cauldron.
Pablo Longoria says he chose a South American technician for his passion; implied, the French coaches would be boring. What do you think?
He is a very young leader, who discovered our football. For the show, you need high level players. Ligue1 is an educator, so our players are not ready. But the coaches put them forward because the economy of the clubs depends on it. What they do with the raw material is already very interesting. Without mentioning them, there are quite a few teams in our first two divisions which have a recognizable style.
He deplores the very individual training of the players. Is it a reality?
In Saint-Etienne, we incorporated among the pros some 17-year-old kids who had not yet evolved into reserve. We skip steps because as soon as a kid breaks out, he leaves. We saw it with William Saliba [vendu 29 millions d’euros à Arsenal en 2019] and Wesley Fofana [45 millions à Leicester l’été dernier]. We couldn’t do otherwise. Our players have a little individual touch because, at this age, we let them express themselves. They spend the stages later, abroad rather than here, where they represent assets liable to fill deficits. If there was a global problem with our training, there wouldn’t be so many opportunities in England, Italy or Germany.
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To compete with the four big championships, we will not succeed. The challenge is to better protect our training
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Can Saliba’s failure invite caution?
No, because it’s a coin toss. William missed his debut, not Wesley. The environments encourage departure, the clubs need it to get back on track. I would like leaders to ask themselves how to develop a team and not how to level the accounts. To compete with the four big championships, we will not succeed. The challenge is to better protect our training. The first pro contract is for three years, compared to five in England. It takes astronomical sums to keep them while we must continue to train them. So, from the age of 16, they are put up for auction.
Few French coaches move abroad. Why?
Already, foreigners know how to sell themselves better. Then, the European Cups reveal the coaches, but we do not go far enough. But can you name three English coaches who are soaring in the Premier League? If they were extraordinary, we would see them in Manchester City or Liverpool. Today, the clubs are bought by investment funds which arrive with a complete team, from the president to the person in charge of recruiting. The coach and his assistants are included in the package. We should open up to this mechanism where the backstage matters as much as real competence, if not more. I think we are not prepared for it. Going to Southampton [en 2016], I put myself in danger, but I was 54 years old. You have to leave your comfort at a younger age. In 2004, Porto had set its sights on me. But I wasn’t formatted to be a careerist.
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France is a laboratory which trains for its neighbors. And we would like to perform well in European Cups?
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In Ligue1, you are the only general manager …
Too bad. In Lille [2002-2008], starting from a blank page, I was asked to participate in training, in meetings of department heads. It was boring but it enriched me. This experience taught me not to ask for the impossible. Often, I left with novices, without means, but knowingly. There have been ups and downs, time to learn, but many future internationals have emerged. It is our model: to put the foot in the stirrup with the young people, who cost points but will end up ensuring the economic survival of the club. That’s how I started Fofana. He did some stupid things but after a year his transfer brought in 45million which did a lot of good. The problem in France is that we develop our players to sell them and balance the budget. Now that trading is breaking down, how do you do it?
The Ligue1 at 18 clubs?
It’s short term. We have been in an emergency for a year and a half, but we have not worked on the bottom. We are going to stick a patch, arrange between a few, when we could have put everything together. France is a laboratory which trains for its neighbors. And we would like to perform well in European Cups? We have the best players in the making, let’s protect them.
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Many leaders recruit names, precepts are secondary to them
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In the game, are we still innovating?
There always comes a guy who keeps him going. Guardiola transformed the game. In Barcelona, the risks his players were taking were no longer so harmonious. His strength lies in making the first attacker the first defender. For ten years, everyone has been inspired by its principles, adapting them. It was a revolution. At Manchester City, he was criticized in the first year. All of his players were magnificent except the keeper. In the offseason, he incorporated Ederson, who has hands instead of feet. Problem solved.
But Guardiola remained in his clubs for a long time.
This is the only way to put his foot down. And it’s interesting if the club continues in the same direction after you leave. Many leaders recruit names, precepts are secondary to them. Before, the clubs had a defined style, like Nantes. With the transfers and the new owners, this very high level technical football has been lost, it has become a struggle. In a club, we should have a unique identity, from training to professionals. But this is wishful thinking.
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Guardiola makes better already accomplished and very dear players
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After the victory at the Parc, he quipped about his “genius”. Beyond the result, what can we judge a coach?
To this: Guardiola makes better already accomplished and very dear players. I had Mahrez in Leicester: a phenomenon. City paid 80million and left him on the bench for the first six months, until he refined his game, figured out when to take a risk or drop the ball. His team exudes intelligence. The eleven players are custodians of the game. I heard that it would be easier for him, because he does not have the same individualities as PSG. Bullshit! All are out of the ordinary but at the service of a collective idea.
Guardiola has the ideas and the means. Would he have results at ASSE?
Not the same, but he would develop the players. When I accepted Leicester [2017], I told the leaders that there were only five elements at the level. Finally, I kept two. We were very irregular because we had recruited kids. They needed to mature. This is the same team that this season is fighting for the podium. Things are being built.