22 years old. It was at this age that Louan Schlicht became CF Montreal’s video analyst. And he’s not intimidated by the challenge.
“There is no: you are of age or you are not of age, that doesn’t mean anything. If you are good, you are on the ground, you assume. If you are not good, you shut up and you stay on the bench and you watch the others, ”said French star Kylian Mbappé. Schlicht has somewhat made it his mantra.
“Yes, I’m 22, but ultimately I want to be treated like the video analyst. If I screw up, I don’t want people to say it’s no big deal. I work in a professional team,” he says in a long interview with The Press in a classroom at Center Nutrilait.
And how he got that role is particularly interesting.
Beginnings as an amateur analyst
A keen soccer player for as long as he can remember, Schlicht has been discovered by football enthusiasts thanks to his tactical analyzes on a specialized site, his accounts of the performances of CFM players on Twitter – we will come back to this – and his chronicles at Génération Soccer at RDS.
Schlicht began his career in the world of high-level soccer as a coach. After his playing career, a former coach offered to help him lead the U-14s of Celtix du Haut-Richelieu. As he quickly made his mark, he was offered the position of video analyst for the senior team, which plays in the best league in Quebec, the PLSQ.
Along with David Sauvry, now video analyst for the Los Angeles Galaxy reserve team, he worked hard to help the club succeed. Celtix finished third, and their respective efforts were noticed.
[Sauvry et moi], we spent far too much time working at the club compared to our salary. We weren’t making a penny on that.
Louan Schlicht, CF Montreal video analyst
Then, when the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, which was the reigning Canadian university champion, introduced a video program, who did it turn to to kick off the program? Towards a young Louan Schlicht, who had also been entitled to favorable opinions from players directed with Celtix.
Incidentally, he says he has read “a hundred books” to perfect his knowledge of the world of soccer. Even though he was in “sponge mode”, his wealth of knowledge and his track record were becoming increasingly attractive to a future employer.
Then, magically, last year, it appeared on the radar of CFM video analyst Maxime Chalier. The latter was entitled to a little more budget and could afford to recruit an assistant. And who better than Louan Schlicht, who rose through the ranks of the small world of Quebec video analysis at breakneck speed?
“In three weeks, it was settled,” recalls Schlicht. After a few meetings with Chalier, he spoke with the head coach at the time, Wilfried Nancy, then with the vice-president and chief sports officer, Olivier Renard, and they were all on the same length of wave. Then begins his career in the big club.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
CF Montreal video analyst Louan Schlicht
It also meant the end of another chapter for Schlicht. He put an end to his bachelor’s degree in journalism to take the plunge and finally work, full-time, in the environment that fascinates him.
It’s good. Very well even. But then you have to stay there. The departure of Nancy, Chalier and several members of the coaching staff during the off-season for the Columbus Crew created a blur around the role that Schlicht would have during the next campaign. In fact, he had no more guarantees.
Eventually, the new CFM head coach, Hernán Losada, decided not only to keep Schlicht at the club, but also to offer him a promotion by making him the Montreal XI’s sole video analyst.
“I am lucky and grateful that the club decides to trust me after only one year in the professional world, he launched. After a season as an assistant, he gave me the reins of the position of analyst. »
Unlike last year, Schlicht will be on the road with the club this season. Even if he will sometimes be supported by Hervé Diese, assistant coach, the person responsible for the video and the datait’s him.
“Working for my club”
Born in France, Schlicht instantly encouraged the Impact when he arrived in Quebec in 2011. But starting to manage the club he was watching also came with doubts, explains the former season ticket holder.
“When I arrived, I was perhaps a little afraid of the opinion of certain players. I write stuff on social media and even though players say they never watch it, most do…”
So initially I was like, ‘Does the little 21-year-old, who makes comments on social media, really have the shoulders to say something to Victor Wanyama, who was on the bench during a Champions League final?
Louan Schlicht, CF Montreal video analyst
Although he never doubted his tactical knowledge, little by little Schlicht proved to the players that he deserved their trust. One of the examples that best illustrates this is that after a meeting, Kei Kamara, who is among the top 3 of the oldest players on the circuit, asked Schlicht to review the game clips with him. How we can always learn. And that you’re never too young to teach.
“When I think about it, I’m 22 years old and I live from my passion. It’s weird to say, ”he says simply. It’s a safe bet that he will have to continue to pinch himself, because it should be his daily life for a good number of years.