“We are programmed to make a top 8-top 10, with the internal ambition of going to play Europe or getting closer to it. We weren’t initially scheduled for the Champions League, “said Franck Haise, the coach who arrived on the RC Lens bench in February 2020, when the artesian club was still in Ligue 2.

The Lensois Franck Haise was for the first time elected best coach of Ligue 1 by his peers, rewarding his very good second place behind Paris SG, Sunday May 28, during the ceremony of the UNFP Trophies (National Union of Professional Footballers), at the Gabriel pavilion, in Paris. He is the third Sang et Or technician crowned after the legendary Daniel Leclerc, who in 1998 led the club to its only French championship title, and Joël Müller, who, in 2002, also finished second, behind Olympique Lyonnais. .

“It’s the recognition of a club, of a collective, that will always be the most important,” said Franck Haise on stage, praising his “exceptional group, sometimes with music a little loud for the ears, an exceptional group for three seasons”. “What I’m going through, what we’re all going through together will be unforgettable. We all know, me first, what football is, the lifespans of coaches are getting shorter and shorter,” added Franck Haise.

“The love story, the real one, is with my wife of thirty years, who is here, and my children, who are here tonight too. But I’m lucky to have a great love story with RC Lens,” he concluded.

A professional player mainly in the second division, in Rouen or Laval, Franck Haise never played in L1, but in Mayenne, he began to take an interest in coaching, under the direction of Denis Troch. RC Lens reserve coach from 2017, he took charge of the first team in February 2020, after Philippe Montanier was sidelined in L2. The club moved up to L1 shortly after, following the end of the championships in the midst of a pandemic.

Under his leadership, the club finished 7th in 2021-2022, up to second place this season, which allowed him to return to the Champions League twenty-one years after his last participation.

“I will still be here next season”

Kylian Mbappé was voted the best player in Ligue 1 by his peers for the fourth consecutive season on Sunday. Crowned in 2019, 2021 and 2022 (there was no edition in 2020, Covid year), the captain of the France team and Paris Saint-Germain overtakes Zlatan Ibrahimovic, three times crowned with this prize awarded by the players’ union (UNFP) since 1994.

After receiving his trophy from coach Didier Deschamps, he wanted “above all” to send his “dearest thoughts” for Sergio Rico, victim of a serious horse accident on Sunday morning. “There are much more important things than football, the whole club is with him, I wanted to have a sense of priorities by talking about that first,” he added.

Champion of France for the sixth time after PSG’s draw in Strasbourg (1-1) on Saturday, where he served an assist to Messi, Mbappé, 24, carried his team. Author of 28 goals in L1, he also scored 7 times in the Champions League and signed a quintuple in the Coupe de France against the amateurs of Pays de Cassel. With the Blues, he has managed 11 goals since September 2022.

Mbappé praised the other players, including “the Lensois, who had a great season”, “and Leo [Messi], who also helped me” but who was absent from the ceremony. “It’s a privilege to play with players like that. As for the record of four consecutive titles, “it’s a pleasure, I always wanted to win, to leave my name in the history of the championship. But even with all the ambition I have, I didn’t expect to win so quickly.” Asked about his future, he assured: “I will still be here next season. »