Lyon likes Juventus Manager Didier Deschamps

By: Inara | April 30th, 2007

Not only do the French press think that Lyon’s entire senior team will leave this summer, but they are also absolutely convinced that manager Gerard Houllier will leave as well.

Jean-Michel Aulas keeps insisting that Houllier will be at the club next year, but the French Football Federation has been batting their eyes at Houllier for the position of technical director. Aulas has hit back, saying that Houllier is under contract. Bad enough that everyone wants to steal his players, but now the FFF wants to steal his manager.

Of course, Aulas wouldn’t be the smart man that he is if he didn’t have a Plan B, except it really should be called Plan DD.

Deschamps

Deschamps back to France?

According to the latest issue of France Football (generally a reliable source), Aulas has a shortlist of managers in case Houllier leaves, and at the top of the list is current Juventus manager Didier Deschamps.

This rumor nicely coincides with the fact that things haven’t been exactly smooth between Deschamps and Juventus management, particularly his relations with their sporting director, Alessio Secco. There have also been reports of bust ups with the players earlier in the season.

Though Deschamps stated that he wants to stay until the end of his contract, Juventus also seem to have a Plan B, called Plan Marcello Lippi, though the World Cup winning manager was quick to dismiss the rumors.

I’m not sure how much of this is truth and how much of this is speculation. It’s actually kind of eerie at how similar the situations at both Lyon and Juventus are.

Both managers are “successful” in that one has won his domestic league while the other has basically sealed promotion back into Serie A. But the two managers are criticized because many people feel they aren’t the right men for the job. And they are both in conflict with their sporting directors.

Weird, right?

deschamps1 First of all, it would be really unfair for Juventus to sack Deschamps (or force him to resign). He’s only been there for one season in Serie B with a diminished squad. When everyone else jumped off the sinking ship that was Juventus, he came in and agreed to help the club win their promotion back as quickly as possible. So to fire him after he achieved that goal because his team wasn’t flamboyant enough is cruel and very disrespectful.

And I don’t see why Deschamps would even want to come to Lyon unless he has no other choice. He played for Nantes, Marseille, and Bordeaux (and Juventus duh), later managing Monaco. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that he’s one of those guys who hates Lyon’s hegemony in France.

He’s managing one of the best teams in the world, and once they are back in Serie A, he’ll have a wonderful challenge ahead of him as he tries to qualify them for the Champions League. He’ll also have a far more star studded squad (Juventus has a very nice transfer kitty for the summer) than Lyon will have in a long time.

Worse, he’ll have the same problems at Lyon that he’s currently having at Juventus. If he thinks Secco is annoying, just wait until he meets Bernard Lacombe. Lyon’s sporting director has even more sway over decision making – something that pisses off Houllier on a daily basis. Deschamps is also going to have to consistently deliver beautiful football both in Ligue 1 and in the CL, and he’ll be expected to haul Lyon further into Europe.

Being a Lyon manager is not easy, despite what the ignorant think.

I understand why Aulas likes him (very successful as a player, managed Monaco to the CL finals, knows how to handle big egos, is French), but if I had my pick of the dozen managers linked with Lyon, I’d prefer Alain Perrin, who would have an easier time accepting a more restricted role at the club. He also understands that Lyon managers have very little say in player transfers. Their job is only on the pitch. Not off it.

I hope Deschamps won’t be coming back to France anytime soon. It’s not in Lyon’s or his own best interests.