Managerial Prospects: Pick Your Poison (Poll)

By: Inara | May 31st, 2008

Yesterday I wrote about how Alain Perrin will probably be sacked. Today, let’s go over the possibilities for the guy who will be Lyon’s ninth manager in the Aulas era.

For some odd reason, Lyon struggle to attract the kind of coach that match their ambitions. As attractive as Lyon might be, Ligue 1 itself was (and still is) considered relatively uninteresting. There is also the monetary issue - Lyon can’t afford the sort of big signings that the really good managers dream about. Another problem is the way that authority is distributed within the club - Aulas and Lacombe have the final say on everything, including transfers.

Aulas: See ya, and thanks for everything!

There is also significant amount of risk in managing Lyon. No one wants to be the guy who ends their title winning streak. And the manager must progress in the Champions League even though we all know that European progress is impossible to predict.

Still, within the last four months, ELEVEN managers have been linked to Lyon. I’ve listed the pros and cons for each of them, and at the bottom of this post, I’ve included a poll. Pick the coach of your choice (or just skip ahead if you already know who you want).

Didier Deschamps

Pros: He’s probably the candidate most wanted by Lyon fans. He’s accomplished what no coach has managed in 15 years - lead Monaco, a Ligue 1 club, to the Champions League semifinals. He’s also a charismatic man - a bold one in fact - who’s lead a very successful career as a player in several clubs. He also managed Juventus, so he knows how to deal with egotistical players.

Cons: Besides his run to the CL final, he’s been otherwise - dare I say it - mediocre - at Monaco and then at Juventus (they were in Serie B, so it’s hard to gauge how well he did). He is also sure to clash with Aulas and Lacombe. Could be a good thing or a bad thing.

Marcelo Lippi

Pros: He won the World Cup with Italy in 2006. With Juventus, he won several titles, including the Scudetto five times, and he led Juve to four Champions League finals, one of which he managed to win. He’s definitely the kind of guy that all players would respect, and he obviously has what it takes to play on the biggest stages. Plus, he would know how to get the best out of Fabio Grosso.

Cons: He doesn’t know French. While that in itself isn’t necessarily a big handicap, Lippi has often said that he would be hesitant about leading a non-Italian team because of communication issues. He has spoken with Aulas about Lyon, and while he hasn’t ruled out the possibility, he seems to be waiting for either a return to Juventus or to the Italian NT. Plus his wages will be very high.

Vanderlei Luxemburgo

Pros: I gotta confess that I didn’t know who this guy was. I had to look him up on wikipedia. He’s had a rather long career as a manager - over 25 years! But besides the 2004-2005 season, he’s spent his time in Brazil, where he’s coached dozens of clubs. I wouldn’t be far off the mark if I said he coached a different club every year. He also managed the Brazilian NT, and for some reason, Cris really likes him.

Cons: Despite accumulating so many titles, he doesn’t seem to do well in high pressure situations. His experience with the Brazilian NT didn’t yield anything besides one Copa America title, and all he could manage with Real Madrid was second place (he was sacked the following season). He also has a history of not getting along with key players. So you can imagine my surprise at hearing Aulas say that Bernard Lacombe is in Brazil sounding him out. Thanks, but I think I’d rather keep Perrin.

Raymond Domenech

Pros: He’s a Lyon legend, and he definitely has a personality. Plus he’s very familiar with many of the players, he knows how to work with youth, and he would make derby matches so interesting. Aulas said recently that he would like Domenech to return to Lyon - where he began his playing career and practically his coaching career as well - after his contract with the France Football Federation ends in 2010, though the media thinks that if France do poorly this summer, he might be at Lyon from this July. He’s also got a lot of experience in tough situations, he doesn’t care about the press, and Estelle Denis will be a frequent visitor at the Gerland.

Cons: Despite a distinguished career as a manager, he’s actually never won a serious title. Oh, there was the Division 2 title with Lyon back in 1989, and a couple of Toulan titles in the early part of the decade, but that’s it. He also said last week that he has every intention of honoring his FFF contract and hasn’t even thought about the Lyon coaching gig, even for the future. He’s also not known for his attacking style tactics.

Laurent Blanc

Pros: Along with Karim Benzema, Blanc is the revelation of L1 this year. He took a so-so Bordeaux side, made them into a genuinely threatening team, and brought back a title race that we all thought had become extinct along with the dinosaurs. Not only that, but his team plays neat, attractive, and attacking football. His relations with his players is also good, and he has the respect of his squad, his staff, and his president.

Cons: He’s currently tied to Bordeaux, and even though he said that one doesn’t refuse Lyon, he’s happy at his current job and has a lot to look forward to. I don’t see Bordeaux severing his contract until Aulas offers a lot of money (which he won’t - Aulas can be really cheap sometimes). For me personally, I would like to see Blanc stay with Bordeaux. It would keep Le Championnat interesting, plus, there really needs to be a limit of Aulas’s robbery, right?

Michael Laudrup

Pros: Like Blanc, a managerial revelation. He built up his managerial resume by being the assistant coach of the Danish NT, and then he stayed with Brondby for several years. Last season, he took an average Getafe side and had them punching above their weight all season. They played Lyon style football in fact, with lots of attacking and passing. He took Getafe all the way to the UEFA Cup quarterfinals (and thus almost equaling anything Lyon have ever achieved in Europe). He’s also one of the most distinguished players ever and could probably make Benzema and Ben Arfa become BFFs again if he asked. He’s got a lot of experience in different leagues, and he’s not at that point in his career where Ligue 1 might be considered beneath his notice. He was recently linked to the Benfica post but turned that down, so as of right now, he’s available. ~~Laudrup is also quite good looking.~~

Cons: I can’t think of any. Seriously. Except that Lyon haven’t been pursuing him as hard as they should.

Jose Mourinho

Pros: He’s The Special One. Enough said.

Cons: He already turned us down. He’d be hella expensive. He doesn’t like L1. Plus he doesn’t promote very attractive football.

Luiz Felipe Scolari

Pros: Another World Cup winner, this time with Brazil, right now he’s leading the Portuguese NT. His contract with them is due to expire this June, and as of this moment, he has no intentions of renewing it. His biggest quality is his personality - he’s known to be a very good motivator and knows how to get the best out of his players. He’s also known for fostering good team spirit in a squad (something Lyon desperately need). He’s also very expressive and won’t hesitate to express what he’s feeling. So he won’t be emotionless like Perrin and Houllier. Another good thing is that Scolari has expressed interest in managing Lyon.

Cons: Sometimes he gets a little too carried away. He was the guy who slapped an opposing player during a Euro 2008 qualifier. Also, his experience with club football is all in Brazil (though he’s won several titles over there). The Portuguese NT is the first European team he’s managed.

Claude Puel

Pros: He’s one of the most innovative and forward thinking men in French football. He also knows how to get the best out of the talent he has available, and most of the time, he’s known to be a great judge of talent. He’s done fabulous work at Lille and turned an average mid-table team into one of France’s sleeping giants. The football he employed at Lille might have been defensive, but that was because of the players he had at his disposal. When he was at Monaco, the football his team practiced was art. Just thinking about what he could create with all the resources Lyon have available is mind boggling. Puel has also made it clear that he wouldn’t mind the chance at managing Lyon one day, and that to him, Lyon are one of the best clubs in the world. Aulas must have heard because according to L’Equipe, Puel has been chosen as Perrin’s successor.

Cons: He’s tied to Lille on a long term contract, at least until 2010. He’s been at Lille since 2002 and has been steadily working on a project for galactic domination. A man of honor, it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll abandon his club, who would most likely collapse without him. Also of note is that Michel Seydoux, Lille’s president, quite firmly denied that Puel was going anywhere.

Jean Tigana

Pros: He’s managed Lyon once before, back in the mid-nineties. He took over from Raymond Domenech, and under his guidance, Lyon became genuine title contenders. He also spent several years at Monaco, where he launched the careers of some guys named Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet.

Cons: He has a very powerful and temperamental personality. He also didn’t get along with Lacombe back when he was at Lyon, and his relationship with Aulas wasn’t that cordial either. He also had a pretty tumultuous time at Fulham, and though he later had success with Besiktas, he left them too.

Luciano Spalletti

I’m not going to spend any time on this one because the rumors of him being approached by Aulas turned out to be just that - rumors. Lyon have not contacted him, and he’s quite happy at his current club. Though Lyon did send him a Christmas card. Just FYI.

Below, I’ve put up a poll with nine of the eleven managers I listed. I excluded Spalletti because it was just a rumor, and I’ve also dropped Mourinho because he’s already said no (and I doubt he’d change his mind).

My personal choice is Laudrup, and after that, Scolari. As much as I would love Puel or Blanc, for the good of L1, they need to stay right where they are. Good French coaches are rare enough as it is, and Lyon don’t need to monopolize that market the way they do everything else. Of course, that’s not likely to deter Aulas, and measly things like a long term contracts, loyalty, and honor won’t stand in his way.

Click Here for Poll