October 9, 2022
The brief from today:
Managerial shuffle at Lyon
Following the difficult start to the season for Ligue 1 side, Lyon, the club’s top brass have decided to relieve Dutch manager, Peter Bosz, of his duties. Lyon haven’t been able to win any of their last five matches, and the latest draw this past Friday against Toulouse was the last straw for club president, Jean Michel Aulas. The club haven’t made a formal announcement yet, but well known publications in France are reporting that the decision has been made. Assistant coach, Claudio Cacapa, is expected to be the interim manager until all the changes are final. Among the other pieces that need to be sorted are who will be the long-term replacement, and it seems as though the club have already been proactive with that decision. Former France international, and ex-PSG coach, Laurent Blanc, is expected to be the new manager with reports suggesting discussions commenced a week ago. The preliminary talks have proved to be fruitful, and with the vacancy now appearing to be a reality, final negotiations with Blanc will likely transpire within the next week. In addition to Blanc, it is expected that his assistant Frank Passi, will be part of the new staff, while physical trainer, Philippe Lambert, will likely join as well. Blanc will have his work cut out for him as the substandard form isn’t the only area that needs improving, it has also been widely reported that there was a fracture in the dressing room between Bosz and key players like: Alexandre Lacazette. Lyon are banking on Blanc’s pedigree as a manager after winning Ligue 1 three times with PSG, but he hasn’t coached anywhere in Europe since he left the capital in 2016. His most recent post from 2020-2022 was with Qatari club, Al-Rayyan, so he will need to get back to a more competitive level as quickly as possible.
Lyon are looking to make changes at the coaching level
Super League backers persist
Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, gave a speech last week that included his ongoing reasoning for the need of a Super League, and today it was Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, speaking his mind. In the case of Perez, he believes that “football is sick” and the sport needs an overhaul. His main gripe is that out of the most valuable sports franchises, football teams don’t feature, and he he sees this as an indicator that the current system is deficient. He also championed the need for more frequent matches between the “big” teams in Europe, and his argument was that tennis greats, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, played each other up to 60 times, and the appeal of those matches never waned. In his opinion, having elite European clubs compete against one another would also generate similar interest and revenue for the teams involved. Laporta has now chimed in taking specific aim at state owned clubs like PSG and Manchester City. His argument is that the seemingly limitless funds behind these types of teams is far too difficult for the rest to keep up with, and the solution is to have a Super League. Speaking to Barcelona’s General Assembly, Laporta said:
The financial situation of football clubs is very worrying. The clubs assume all of the costs and all of the risks. 38 clubs from the Spanish league have had to mortgage their future. These clubs [PSG and Manchester City] are financially doping with support from outside [their governments]. That means that clubs like ours have to choose between having stars or suffering economically. It is for that reason that we want to support the Super League, a more equal competition that will help confront these problems.
The third team still in support of the Super League is Juventus, and while chairman, Andrea Agnelli, hasn’t been quite as vocal the aforementioned two, he is certainly in one accord with both. The breakaway league issue still rumbles on since the disintegration of the proposal last year, and whether these three will eventually get their way is something to monitor.
From left to right: Laporta, Agnelli, and Perez still harbor hopes for the launching of a Super League