Arsène Wenger has said that he believes that are currently too many foreign managers in Ligue 1. Over half of the clubs in France’s top flight are currently managed by non-French coaches.
There are significantly fewer French coaches in Ligue 1 this season. Christophe Galtier was replaced at Paris Saint-Germain, Didier Digard is back with OGC Nice’s Groupe Elite having taken interim charge of the first-team, Laurent Blanc was quickly replaced at Olympique Lyonnais and Philippe Montanier was harshly sacked at Toulouse FC.
All of the aforementioned clubs brought in foreign coaches. There are currently 10 foreign managers in Ligue 1: Luis Enrique (PSG), Francesco Farioli (Nice), Adi Hütter (AS Monaco), Paulo Fonseca (Lille OSC), Will Still (Stade de Reims), Luka Elsner (Le Havre AC), Gennaro Gattuso (Olympique de Marseille), Laszlo Boloni (FC Metz), Carles Martinez Novell (Toulouse), Fabio Grosso (Lyon).
Despite managing Arsenal between 1996 and 2018, Wenger believes that there are currently too many foreign managers in France’s top flight. “I don’t think the proportion is fair currently, it is a bit too high in France. That there is a share of foreign managers is normal because they bring fresh ideas. But now, there is a reciprocity in the acknowledgement of coaching degrees in Europe, there is nothing to restrain this trend,” commented Wenger during a conference at Clairefontaine.
He added, “What I want to say above all, is that it isn’t linked to the quality of French managers, but rather to the identities of the owners of the clubs.”
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
