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With Fabio Grosso sacked, Pierre Sage took it upon himself to take over the dreams of Olympique Lyonnais. Appointed on an interim basis, the 44-year-old coach will take over the No. 1 position of a professional team for the first time. Three things you need to know about Pierre Sage.
Une grande expérience dans le football amateur
Little known to the general public, Pierre Sage is, on the other hand, known in the Rhône-Alpes region. After working as a recruiter in Châteauroux in the early 2000s, he earned his reputation in Bourg-Péronnas, between 2007 and 2012. In his last season, the team even reached the round of 16 of the Coupe de France and lost to Didier Deschamps’ OM (1-3). After this fruitful experience, he had several adventures in Chambéry. and Sedan, as Team Manager to design the clubs and then get a little closer to the field.
In 2018, Karim Mokeddem, coach of Lyon La Duchère in Nacional, chose him as an assistant coach. After a finished season, it was Olympique Lyonnais who took notice of him and entrusted him with the dreams of the U-16s. Then, in January 2022, it was Habib Beye, director of Red Star at National, who furtively hired him as an assistant. The experience was once again conclusive and the man, now 44, was called back through OL last summer to take over the school.
Mental preparation at the heart of your project
In recent years, the OL academy has undergone several changes, some of which were promoted by Pierre Sage, a great fan of the intellectual preparation of players. “In a group, some are 20 years old, others 30 years old, so other problems we have to manage to individualize the appointments and the way of training, maintaining a collective identity,” the coach explained to Olympique-et-Lyonnais in 2022.
READ ALSO. OL. Bruno Genesio is reportedly fit to return to Lyon to succeed Fabio Grosso
Mind paintings will be of great importance in your project to keep the OL alive. “You have to be confident and take the initiative. These two things are linked. We’re going to have to put the players in a position to do well in training. The setting is special [. . . ] The players were not happy, we have to make them smile, the idea is not to get depressed,” explained the paint addict in his first press conference on Thursday.
A follower of Bielsa and Guardiola
Comme beaucoup d’entraîneurs et formateurs, Pierre Sage se revendique de l’école de Bielsa et de Guardiola, ce qu’il démontre souvent par ses publications sur les réseaux sociaux. Des idées mises en application à l’Académie de l’OL où jeu offensif et possession du ballon sont les mantras. « Mes convictions sont simples : j’aime bien quand l’équipe a le ballon. Ça se retrouvera dans l’orientation qu’on va prendre. L’idée sera de jouer le match samedi (contre Lens), à tous les niveaux », a affirmé Sage en conférence de presse.
Pour autant, le technicien a peu de temps pour imposer ses idées et la situation critique de l’OL pourrait le pousser à privilégier le résultat brut avant tout. « On a deux séances d’entraînement, c’est peu pour beaucoup travailler. On a plein d’options. Il faudra faire des choix. Je suis venu avec des idées, et je m’adapte au contexte de l’équipe et de l’adversaire. L’idée est de répondre à une exigence, pas de me faire plaisir », a-t-il assumé en ayant conscience de ne pas pouvoir tout révolutionner.