Finally, Puel Has Arrived

By: John | June 19th, 2008

After several weeks of waiting, one of the least suspenseful signings of the summer has been realized. Former Lille LOSC and Monaco manager Claude Puel is officially the new manager of Lyon. The contract is said to be for 4 years and JMA has agreed to a compensation package with Lille for the manager’s signature.

Puel joins his former players Mathieu Bodmer, Kader Keita and Jean II Makoun. JMA described the signing of Puel as a further step in the “Evolution” of Lyon, and the club’s quest for continued domestic and especially European sucess. During the press conference, JMA spoke of Puel’s position as ” Entraineur Generale,” -apparently it was one of Puel’s preconditions- vs. that of “Entraineur.” Aulas was quoted as saying: “Il sera le patron.” “He will be the boss.” Aulas went on to say that this new role offered Puel wider powers and more space to operate than his predecessors. Do my eyes and ears deceive me? Among these wider powers at Puel’s disposal are full recruitment(of players) and “control” of the youth academy. Also, Puel said that he was happy with the current staff, so no change seems emminent. Puel is already bringing along his long-time assistant at Lille, Patrick Collot.

I can’t/won’t comment at length about Puel’s attributes- maybe some of you guys can. I know very little about him, and my observations are that he has maintained a mid-level club at the top of League 1 for several seasons and taken them to the CL. I’ve heard others comment on his vast tactical knowledge. Also, that he has the ability to maximize players’ potential and- most interestingly to me- the ability to cultivate a cohesiveness in squads and work with young players.

I would like to see Puel excercise this last ability should Hatem Ben Arfa decide to stay, and also find a way to satisfy our surfeit offensive players. Interestingly enough, Puel touched on this subject the day of his signing in an interview with L’Equipe. Puel spoke of the balancing act he would be performing: “We must find an equilibrium in the squad, especially since there are so many offensive players. In regards to the group dynamic, there must not be to many players.” I’m glad he will be focusing on defensive aquisitions from now on.

Asked if there where any players he did not want, Puel replied that he ” wasn’t in the habit of revealing names” and would be meeting with all players. He went on to say that the players need to to be instilled with a “Lyonnais Spirit and a desire to continue playing for Lyon.” Asked about Ben Arfa directly he responed: “The point shall be made to each one of them[the players], including Ben Arfa.” It will be interesting to see what this attitude and Puel’s new powers as “Entraineur Generale”bode for some players.

As the reporter in the L’Equipe interview pointed out: Puel’s predecessors lasted 3, 2, and 1 year respectively on the job. Hopefully Puel will not follow the trend and Lyon finally have the right captain at the helm of the ship.