Must Canadian players and coaches speak French?
Posted at 8:20 a.m.
The question came back into the news this week after the appointment of Nick Suzuki as captain. The Habs forward, who acquired basic French in high school, has been taking lessons since the summer to speak it better. A great mark of respect for the French-speaking public.
As I have often spoken on the subject, I will not repeat the debate for a forty-second time. On the other hand, there is a tenacious myth which deserves to be deconstructed. That the language debate is unique to Montreal.
Mama Mia!
Where to start ?
This way. It is true that in the other National League markets, language is not a concern. The reason is very simple: hockey is a sport practiced in large majority by English speakers, in English-speaking markets. Even in the QMJHL, the working language is English, to prepare French-speaking and European players for a career in an English-speaking city.
But in more diverse sports, notably soccer, the language of players and coaches is often a hot topic. Both for practical and political reasons.
At FC Barcelona, it is expected that the stars of the club speak a minimum of Catalan. It was also written black on white, in Neymar’s contract. ” [Il] must make a great effort to integrate into Catalan society, to respect and assume cultural values, in particular by learning Catalan, a fundamental vector for integration. »
Bayern Munich also have expectations of their players. “The main language in the locker room should be German,” the club president decreed in 2017. “It’s not a good thing if you can’t take part in conversations. If you want to join a club, you have to learn the language. Otherwise, it’s a signal that you’re only using the team as a springboard. [pour ta carrière]. It hasn’t been given enough importance lately. »
Then Uli Hoeness added: “It should be a rule that the players speak German. Otherwise, they have to pay. »
Pep Guardiola understood this well. Before joining Bayern as head coach in 2013, he took German lessons. Three hours a day, for months. “After two months, he told the BBC, I said to myself: I will call them back, and break my contract. Even for children, it is a difficult language to learn. Can you imagine what that means to a 41-year-old man? But I’m stubborn. »
When he showed up at his first press conference, he was speaking German. Very well even. To the point of slipping in complicated words, like herausforderung (challenge), says his biographer Martí Perarnau, in Pep Confidential. “The German press has made a big deal out of his mastery of the language,” he underlines.
Pep Guardiola’s successor in Munich, Italian Carlo Ancelotti, has managed teams in five different countries. Everywhere he learned the local language. “I want to speak the language of the country. Its very important. If you don’t, it can be seen as a lack of professionalism, ”he said on his arrival at Bayern.
Ancelotti deepened his reflection in his autobiography, Quiet Leadership.
I don’t understand a player who comes to a country and who, after two years, is unable to learn the language. Six months should be the maximum. If an old man like me can do it, the players should be able to too. I think it should be in their contract.
Carlo Ancelotti, head coach of Bayern Munich
In 2013, 13 foreign players arrived at the same time at English club Sunderland. Among them, several did not speak English. “It drives me crazy,” exclaimed their coach, the Italian Paulo Di Canio. Here, the issue was less identity than practicality. “When a British player tells them: ‘Do this’, the French or the Italian don’t understand. I have to stop the session. I ask them to learn some basic words. If they say these words to me in another language, I stop. You have to fight against that every day. […] If they have decided to come and play in England, they must speak English. »
His compatriot Fabio Capello just happened to speak very poor English when he became the head coach of the England national team, from 2007 to 2012. Guess what? He was nobody’s favorite. Especially not from the British media, who strongly criticized him for not mastering the language of the country.
“Having been paid £24million over the past four years, you would have thought Fabio Capello would have learned the language. But he wasn’t even able to do it,” complained a columnist for the Sun. “You could see his heart was never in it. He never understood English football culture. Besides, he never even understood the English language,” lamented a columnist for the Times.
When Antonio Valencia was made captain of Manchester United, he didn’t speak English. Eight years after he arrived in the city, that was still the case. His coach, Louis van Gaal, had ordered him and all the other Spanish players in the squad to learn English.
Alan Pardew, former coach at Newcastle United, had also forced his players to speak English. It was in 2013. That year, his club relied on 11 Francophones – the equivalent of a full training. Of course, with such weight within the team, these footballers spoke French among themselves. “They will have to learn English, had claimed Pardew, otherwise they will face punishment. » Read fines. “I will not say a single word in French to them. Not even yes. My job is to integrate them, and the way to do that is to get them to speak English as quickly as possible. »
The Toronto Blue Jays have asked Vladimir Guerrero Jr to improve his English in 2019 so that he becomes “a future leader of the team in all aspects of the game”.
So no, it’s not just in Montreal that the language spoken by players and coaches is part of the conversation. My wish ? Let it become a unifying subject here, rather than a divisive one. Yes, it is possible, as Portuguese coach José Mourinho explained so well to the magazine GQ.
“The more you know in general, the more it can help you. Even if you think these things will not serve you. As a coach, you have to be able to speak as many languages as possible. »
He himself speaks of six.
“Look, I don’t speak German. But I can say a few words. And these few words, they create empathy. It allows me to start a relationship. […] I can come to a press conference with a different sensitivity. I can answer questions more intelligently. Every gram of culture or knowledge you have… it’s not a burden. It’s an extra gram of knowledge. In the end, it will work in your favor, and improve your performance. »