With ten coaches sacked at the dawn of the 23rd day, the benches of Ligue 1 take on the air of musical chairs.
Despite a season of all dangers with 4 relegations, some clubs trust men with very thin CVs, and who are sometimes the age of their players.
Paid choices, as with Didier Digard in Nice or Régis Le Bris in Lorient.
What is their background?
What have they achieved so far?
Presentation of the coaches who rock Ligue 1.
To discover
Calendar and results Ligue 1
League 1 standings
Franck Haise, 51, RC Lens
His background:
A solid former Ligue 2 player (Rouen, Laval, Beauvais, etc.), Franck Haise launched his career as a coach with a number 1 position, a rare enough fact to be mentioned.
At 32, he was appointed to Stade Mayennais.
He spent three seasons there in National 3 (ex-CFA 2).
Six years followed in Rennes, to train young people, then four years in Lorient, first to manage the B, then as assistant to the first team.
He arrived in Lens in 2017 as coach of B. Promoted in February 2020 after the dismissal of Philippe Montanier.
Read alsoLigue 1: Franck Haise (Lens) regrets “fatigue and sores”
His prowess:
If he had almost nothing to do with the climb (two matches before the Covid-19 pandemic which froze the ranking), Franck Haise is the engine of the current 3rd in L1.
Two seasons in a row in 7th place, as if the Sang et Or had been in the top flight for a decade.
Players are revealed (Badé, Clauss, Medina, Sotoca, Seko Fofana…).
In October 2022, Haise became general manager of RC Lens, a rare position in France but common in England.
SEE ALSO –
Thomasson's goal during Brest-Lens in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France on January 22 (1-3)
Régis Le Bris, 47, FC Lorient
His background:
After a brief start with the youngsters of ES Wasquehal in 2003, Régis Le Bris returned to Rennes.
Returns, because he played around thirty matches in D1, in a short career stopped at 27 years old.
He led the U16s and U19s there, between 2004 and 2012. There he met a man who would become his friend, a certain Franck Haise… Le Bris went to Lorient, where he worked with the U17s (2012-15) then with the B (2015-22).
Appointed last June at the head of the first team in place of Christophe Pelissier.
Read alsoLigue 1: Lorient has “body and consistency”, salutes Le Bris
His prowess:
16th the last two seasons, Lorient once again seemed to be on the way to maintaining.
Who would have thought to see the Hakes on the podium after 12 days, and still 7th after 22 days?
It is not a flash in the pan that lights up the Moustoir, carried by the magician Enzo Le Fée, and boosted by the two attackers who left this winter, Dango Ouattara (Bournemouth) and Terem Moffi (Nice).
Unbridled, Lorient has almost already ensured its maintenance, and can boast of having beaten Lyon, Lille and Rennes twice.
Read alsoLigue 1: La Meinau expansion work delayed for at least a year
Didier Digard, 36, OGC Nice
His career:
Former international hopefuls trained in Le Havre, Didier Digard had an eventful life as a player, between frustration at PSG, a big stint in Nice and experiences abroad (Middlesbrough, Real Betis, Osasuna).
He made his conversion in November 2019 with a return to Nice, as assistant coach of the U17s.
The ex-defensive midfielder is entrusted with the B team of the Aiglons in the summer of 2021. He is promoted to assistant to Lucien Favre in November 2022, two months before succeeding his Swiss colleague, officially on an interim basis.
Read alsoMercato: Nice breaks the piggy bank for Terem Moffi de Lorient (official)
His prowess:
His first match, a festival of goals against Montpellier on January 11 (6-1), set the tone.
From his speech to the face of his team, Didier Digard seduces after only 6 L1 matches including 5 victories.
“
We are going to lose matches, but I would like us to go home having tried things
”, he developed following a success in Lens on February 1 (0-1).
“
My team is prepared to concede goals but I want us to keep in mind to attack and believe in it until the end
”, he abounded after a big blow struck in Marseille (1-3).
What if he was more than a temp?
Didier Digard brings a breath of fresh air to Ligue 1 at the start of 2023. Norbert Scanella / PANORAMIC
Will Still, 30, Stade de Reims
His background:
he is not yet 18 but Will Still has decided, what he wants to do in life is train.
Born and raised in Belgium by British parents, this "Football Manager" video game addict plunged into the deep end at English club Preston North End, leading the U14s in 2011. Many experiences followed in Belgium as an assistant, video analyst and even coach number 1 in Lierse, in 2017, when he was 25 years old.
He becomes assistant to Oscar Garcia in Reims from June to October 2021. He returns there in the summer of 2022. Promoted in place of the Spaniard after 9 days of L1, although he does not have the diplomas required.
Because of this, Reims is fined 25,000 euros per match he coaches.
Read alsoCoupe de France: Lyon dismisses Lille, Toulouse dominates Reims, Rodez creates a surprise
His prowess:
14 matches, 7 wins, 7 draws and above all 0 defeat.
Reims had not known such a series in L1 since… 1959!
Will Still has solidified the foundations of a team with limited attacking means (five 0-0 in these 14 matches).
This did not prevent him from knocking down Rennes (3-1 on December 29) and Lorient (4-2 on February 1), and from hanging PSG twice (0-0 on October 8, 1 -1 on January 29).
10th in the standings, Reims has already taken a big step towards maintaining it.
