Laurent Blanc will probably no longer coach Olympique Lyonnais (OL). “It’s over,” the 1998 world champion’s entourage confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday, September 11. The fifty-year-old, who arrived on the Rhone bench in October 2022, is paying for the club’s catastrophic start to the season, dead last in the Ligue 1 championship after four days. The Lyon club did not communicate on the fate of its coach.
The former coach of the France team had previously been laid off, according to L’Equipe, which has been writing for several days that OL is looking for a successor in view of the next match, and Sunday evening’s reception at Le Havre. According to the sports daily, Tuesday’s training will be led by one of Laurent Blanc’s assistants, Jean-François Vulliez, assisted by former club scorer Sonny Anderson and former defender Jérémie Bréchet. There is no training on Monday, said OL
The new American owner of the Lyon club, John Textor, is looking for a successor to Laurent Blanc. The names of the Italian Gennaro Gattuso, the Austrian Oliver Glasner and the French Habib Beye have notably circulated.
Settling scores
The 1998 world champion replaced Dutchman Peter Bosz in October 2022 and signed a two-year contract. He had straightened out the club’s sporting situation, OL finishing third in the second leg but failing to qualify for a European Cup, for the second consecutive season, a heavy financial and prestige loss for a club accustomed to European competitions and semi-finalist of the Champions League in 2020.
In addition to the disastrous sporting results, the start of the OL season is marked by the settling of scores between old and new managers. A few months after selling the majority of his shares, the historic boss Jean-Michel Aulas – ousted from management in May, but still director and honorary president today – is directly opposed to the American owners.
A struggle for influence which further hampers the reconstruction promised and hoped for by supporters after a decade of disappointing seasons, following the glorious 2000s. The season had barely started, Laurent Blanc already seemed disillusioned at the beginning of August. Asked what needed to change in Lyon on the Prime Video channel, the coach replied ironically: “The coach. »