By thanking Laurent Blanc, John Textor put an end, Monday, to an unsuccessful collaboration marked with the seal of his predecessor, Jean-Michel Aulas.
A story sewn with white thread. By ending the mandate of its coach, Olympique Lyonnais marked, Monday September 11, the end of a rescue mission which turned sour. Red lantern in Ligue 1 with only one point taken in four games this season, the club led by John Textor seemed to have no other option than to part ways with Laurent Blanc during this international break.
Appointed in October 2022 by Jean-Michel Aulas at the time when the latter was still president of OL, the Cévenol had the task of righting the helm of a boat, which the Dutchman Peter Bosz was no longer able to keep at bay. waves. “The situation is complicated and certainly not easy. There is an urgency for points”, had thus recognized the newcomer during his presentation while Lyon was in ninth place in the championship. Eleven months later, the impression is finally that of a return to the starting point.
Results at half mast
When the 57-year-old tactician landed between Rhône and Saône, many saw it as an attempt by Jean-Michel Aulas to make up for lost time. After Sylvinho’s dismissal in 2019, the manager had already hesitated between the 1998 world champion and Rudi Garcia to take the reins of the team, finally leaning for the second. “A choice from Juninho” according to the words of “JMA” when Laurent Blanc arrived. Enough to clear a decision that turned out to be unprofitable and scratch in passing his former sports director, who left the club angry.
Betting on Laurent Blanc, however, remained a risky bet, the latter having not trained in Europe for six years and his departure from PSG. If he asked for patience, especially until the truce of the World Cup, it never paid off in the end. On paper, OL’s third place in Ligue 1 during the return phase last season slightly improved their record, but the former coach’s mandate remains marked by a seventh place, non-qualifying for Europe. .
Even when OL experienced rare bursts in 2023, during their victory at the Parc des Princes against a moribund PSG or during a spectacular comeback in the 5-4 against Montpellier, these were put to the credit of Bradley Barcola and Alexandre Lacazette, more than that of Laurent Blanc. Especially since these successes were followed by great disappointments like the elimination in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France in Nantes, while the club is still chasing a major trophy since 2012.
The DNCG did not help
If he has the second worst points average in the history of the club (for coaches with more than 30 matches under their belt), Laurent Blanc will not however have been helped by the context, as he has often tried to repeat it, recalling that the Lyon transfer window was not conducive to performance. From the winter, the former Bordeaux coach called for immediate reinforcement to counterbalance the youth of the squad played by Rayan Cherki. Apart from perhaps Croatian defender Dejan Lovren, no signing has fulfilled this criteria.
“I’m not saying I’m responsible for anything but I’m not responsible for everything.”
Laurent Blancafter the defeat against Montpellier, on August 19
Then this summer, Lyon was disturbed by the decisions of the DNCG – the financial policeman of French football – regulating its payroll and preventing it from recruiting as it wished. All while several young people from the training center – Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Castello Lukeba (Leipzig) and Bradley Barcola (PSG) – left the club, without really being replaced by players of the same potential.
The choice of Jean-Michel Aulas
Still, this end of collaboration between OL and Laurent Blanc seemed inevitable. The native of Alès pays the price of being one of the last pieces of the legacy of Jean-Michel Aulas, to whom John Textor and Eagle Football notified the cessation of functions last May, after 36 years of presidency. While the last two cities were engaged in a media battle this summer, Laurent Blanc increased the number of ironic outings on the critical situation of his group. “We need to change the coach”he notably responded to a journalist from Prime Video asking him what needed to be done for the team to perform better after the slap received at Groupama Stadium against Montpellier, mid-August (1-4).
Enough to further annoy the supporters, already irritated by his detachment displayed when meeting coaching friends – Antoine Kombouaré like Patrick Vieira – despite poor results. But also John Textor, who criticized him for his communication. “I just asked him to stop his games with the media and the controversies, to moderate himself and ensure that his work speaks for him”explained the American to several media including The Team end of August.
The last defeat against Paris Saint-Germain with four goals behind at half-time (1-4), unprecedented for OL at home, finally sealed their fate. Laurent Blanc will remain the 19th and last coach of the Jean-Michel Aulas era. A period that John Textor is definitely trying to close.