INTERVIEW LAURENT BLANC:The former France captain has pepped up not only Bordeaux but also Ligue Un
Lyon's defeat by Manchester United in the Champions League was a major disappointment for the French champions, but their season could get a whole lot worse tomorrow when a Bordeaux side revitalised by Laurent Blanc visit Stade Gerland hoping to upset the balance of power in Ligue Un.
Title-winners for the past six years, Lyon have been so dominant in the last three campaigns the championship race has been over by Christmas, and they have not had any genuine competition since Monaco's brief emergence in 2003. Few expected Bordeaux to challenge this year, yet Blanc, in his first season as coach, has transformed the club's fortunes to such an extent that Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas is describing the visitors as favourites to win tomorrow's crunch match.
A victory for Bordeaux would bring them level with Lyon at the top and fuel belief the title could be leaving the Rhone Valley for the first time since Nantes were crowned champions in 2001.
The man responsible for Bordeaux's rise has been keeping a typically low profile this week, speaking out only to express his support for Lyon against his former club United. If Blanc was known for his class, elegance and poise during his illustrious playing career, the former France captain has continued in the same vein since he switched to the dugout, remaining calm during matches and keeping to a minimum communication with the media.
"I don't see the point of talking for talking's sake," Blanc says after agreeing to a rare interview. "At the moment, Bordeaux's results are positive and everybody wants to say nice things about us. That's great, but fortunes can change quickly so I don't want to say too much. We're doing well, but we're still looking over our shoulders as much as we are look up at Lyon."
Formerly a world-class centre half famed as much for his ball skills as his excellent defending, Blanc won trophies with Montpellier, Barcelona, Auxerre and Manchester United, as well as lifting the World Cup and European Championship with Les Bleus. His aura of authority earned him the nickname "le Président" during a spell at Marseille in the late 1990s, and the monicker has stuck.
Intelligent and well spoken, the Frenchman was being widely tipped for a career in coaching from the moment he retired in 2003, yet Bordeaux were the first major club to offer him an opportunity.
Blanc had been determined to start at the top and was growing increasingly frustrated after being overlooked by Marseille, Monaco and France, all of whom expressed reservations about his lack of experience.
"It was becoming difficult," the 42-year-old admits. "I'd been out of the game for four years . . . and I don't know how much longer I would have waited.
"It's hard to accept when people keep telling you that you don't have enough experience. How are you supposed to get experience if nobody gives you a chance? Fortunately, Bordeaux decided it was a risk worth taking."
Blanc was hardly jumping in at the deep end. He had played under some of soccer's finest tactical brains - including Guy Roux (Auxerre), Aime Jacquet (France), Bobby Robson and Jose Mourinho (Barcelona), Marcello Lippi (Inter) and Alex Ferguson (United) - and spent much of the last four years completing what is probably the most thorough training programme in Europe.
France's esteemed coaching academy in Clairefontaine, set up by Gerard Houllier, continues to churn out exceptional trainers. Indeed, the idea of France one day following the lead of Ireland or England by hiring a foreign coach seems implausible given the abundance of homegrown talent.
Like Didier Deschamps, Paul Le Guen, Jean-Pierre Papin and Claude Puel before him, Blanc spent three years at Clairefontaine studying courses that range from accountancy to communication skills and training-ground techniques. He describes the comprehensive education as "invaluable", saying: "Making the transition from player to coach is not easy because there are many different aspects to the job. It's vital to be well prepared."
As a player, Blanc initially struggled to fulfil his obvious talent during spells with Montpellier, Nimes, Saint Etienne and Napoli, but he finally established himself during an outstanding double-winning season at Auxerre in 1995/'96. Moves to Barcelona and Marseille followed, and though he says a managerial career was always in the back of his mind, it was not until he joined Inter in 1999, then United in 2001, that he began paying particularly close attention to the coaching side.
"It's only when you get older that you learn to take a step back and you see things from a different perspective," he explains. "My experience as a player has helped but I don't try to copy one individual. For me, a good coach is somebody who gets the best out of the players at his disposal, and in this respect I'd say that Lippi and Ferguson are the best around."
Ferguson made a lasting impression, having talked Blanc into staying at United for a second season and thus extending his career until the age of 37. While he barely featured in the second half of United's triumphant 2002/03 campaign, Blanc does not regret the choice. "The opportunity to play for a club like United for another season, and to continue learning from Ferguson, was too good to turn down.
"My time at Old Trafford helped me understand the importance of communicating and building relationships with the players," Blanc continued. "That's the hardest part of the job and Ferguson has mastered it . . . He had total control and when he spoke the players listened."
Blanc has quickly earned similar respect from his Bordeaux players. Defender David Jemmali says: "When Laurent Blanc talks, his words carry weight. You automatically respect somebody who has achieved so much. But he doesn't rely on his past to get his message across. He chooses his words carefully and tries to put himself in the place of the players."
Blanc's arrival has been a liberating experience for the Bordeaux players after two years of dour, defensive soccer under Ricardo. The Brazilian coach, now at Monaco, had steered Bordeaux to second place two seasons ago, albeit 15 points behind Lyon, yet the club was stagnating, players were growing disillusioned and attendances were on the decline.
Blanc's task looked formidable when French internationals Julien Faubert and Rio Mavuba left in the summer, but he bought cleverly, notably luring Alou Diarra from Lens and signing David Bellion from Nice. Bellion was a revelation in the first half of the season, scoring 11 goals before Christmas, while the Argentinian forward Fernando Cavenaghi has woken from his slumber to become the league's most dangerous attacker this year.
The return to form of the mercurial playmaker Johan Micoud has been another highlight of Blanc's tenure, the former international turning in a mesmerising display in last month's 6-0 victory away to Ricardo's Monaco.
"The number of goals we are scoring is a big source of satisfaction," Blanc says. "A coach is judged on results, but above all I want my teams to be positive. I don't think it's impossible to play attractive, attacking football and to remain efficient at the same time."
Such a refreshing approach has seen been welcomed by regular followers of Ligue Un, and every neutral in France will be supporting Bordeaux tomorrow, hoping the emergence of a potential rival to Lyon gives a French game a much-needed fillip.
"Lyon's domination has become dangerous," Blanc says, "because when a league is so one-sided it loses its appeal. They've been managed intelligently for many years and they've created a gulf between themselves and the rest. But hopefully now we can start to move a bit closer to them."
Tomorrow will offer a useful indicator of how close Blanc and Bordeaux are getting.
Laurent Blanc Factfile
Born in Alès, South West France
Capped 97 times by France, scoring 16 goals
Made international debut in a 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland at Dalymount Park in February 1989.
Famously missed two of the biggest games of his career: Bobby Robson left him out of the Barcelona team that won the European Super Cup, and he missed the 1998 World Cup final having been controversially sent off in the semi-final against Croatia
Was an integral part of France's Euro 2000 triumph
Was nicknamed "le Président" by Marseille fans
Played 318 games in French top flight and 818 club games in all, a French record.
Ball skills and spot-kick prowess are reflected by haul of 76 goals in 243 league games for Montpellier
Won Cup Winners Cup at Barcelona in 1997
Won French Cup with Montpellier (1990), domestic double with Auxerre (1996) and Premier League with Manchester United (2003)
