Laurent Blanc, former coach of the Blues, having known six years without a leading club since leaving PSG in 2016, thanked the club of Jean-Michel Aulas for not having “forgotten” him by appointing him coach, in a environment where “over time, we forget you”. Appointed on Sunday to replace the Dutchman Peter Bosz, the 1998 world champion, aged 56, is facing a double challenge: reviving Olympique Lyonnais, current 9th in L1, in its objective of a podium, and relaunching his career as a coach, who has experienced many years of uncertainty since leaving PSG in 2016, despite a great track record, including four French championship titles won as a coach.
“The first years (after PSG) I needed to breathe, I recognized it”, explained in a press conference Laurent Blanc. “That’s where I had the most opportunities to come back to football, I didn’t take them, it’s a choice, you have to take it, I take it completely,” he said. – he says, while refusing the qualifier of “revenge”.