After Peter Bosz was ousted on Sunday, two new Ligue 1 coaches were sacked within hours. Michel Der Zakarian (Stade Brestois) and Jean-Marc Furlan (AJ Auxerre) have already achieved disappointing results after ten days. But is it really a good idea to replace them now?
After the predictable end of the adventure between Bosz and Olympique Lyonnaisthere was a second explosion in our dear Ligue 1 with the resignation of Michel Der Zakarian and his two assistants. The snowball effect doesn’t stop there, because Jean-Marc Furlan jumped just a few hours after its counterpart in Brest.
fingers in the door
Der Zakarian, weakened by his red lantern spot (20e, two points behind the first non-relegation players) and seven games without a win, leave the Brest ship with a taste of unfinished business. Arriving last season, he had completed his first practice at the head of Stade Brestois with a fairly convincing 11th place and hopes to install the Ty’Zefs in the top 10. The recruit of Grégory Lorenzi (sexy on paper: Lees -Melou, Dembélé, Pereira-Lage, Dari, Camara, Slimani) had a hard time getting onto the field and the results only got worse after the blow to Montpellier in Le- Ble (7-0). Another defeat the Breton derby against Lorient (1-2)and the words of Gérard Le Saint, Co-President of SB29, at the microphone of France Bleu Breizh Izelwill have condemned him: “Of course it started to get complicated. When you see the results… Today I think there must be osmosis between the different parts of the club. That’s life, the club goes on. »
The eviction of Jean-Marc Furlan, he the former Brestois, is even more surprising. With the club since 2019, he had managed to bring the club back into the elite after an epic barrage against Saint-Étienne. The start of the championship had previously been good for a series of setbacks against the “big boys”. Nothing to panic about, especially if you lose successively to teams like Lyon, Marseille or Rennes. Three games and a small point in the bag later, the middle finger addressed to Clermont supporters certainly sealed his fate. The management of the Burgundian club (16e of Ligue 1) declared in a statement “regret his coach’s gesture” . Tensions are not new between the man in the cap and the plate, especially with regard to recruitment. The former Brest coach, who was informed of his dismissal on Tuesday, did not hide his disappointment with the method the Burgundian club used to say goodbye to him: “The leaders are using the pretext that I had this gesture of humor in Clermont, which I deeply regret. »
The only lever, really?
Whether it’s Der Zakarian or Furlan, the question now is who will replace them? The game of musical chairs is a very French specialty, but the question of its importance arises. To date, there seems to be no real successor pointing the finger to take over the leadership of these two formations. For Stade Brest, the triumvirate Bruno Grougi, Julien Lachuer and Yvan Bourgis temporarily replaced the Franco-Armenian. The former number 6 of Ty’Zefs seems best placed to take over the interim, but several pitfalls stand in his way: The current National 3 head coach has been suspended after a red card he received on the bench this weekend this Sunday in Nantes, and he doesn’t have all the qualifications to lead an L1 team. Moreover, it seems premature to throw this club legend in the deep end. On the side of Auxerre, the names of Patrice Garande or Sabri Lamouchi are circulating, but for now it is deputy Michel Padovani who should be at the helm. Another option, David Carré, the B coach, has the credentials to train the pro group and has already taken on the role of firefighter on duty at the club.
With 28 games and 84 points to go, pushing the eject button seems early, especially without a plan B. These clubs certainly didn’t think they were playing against Europe at the start of the season and such a drastic decision names when the top 10 seems rushed just 4 or 6 points away. The question is whether the clubs have this means only to rectify a complex sports situation. If the process is common in Ligue 1, it has rarely paid off in the past. Of the last 11 clubs relegated to Ligue 2, four have chosen to sack their coach after 10 days or less. So we are far from the miracle solution.
By Thomas Morlec