Mourinho : "Non à Lyon, oui au Barça" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/chelsea/article3459321.ece
Jose Mourinho turned down an offer to coach Lyon after leaving Chelsea, according to Bernard Lacombe, the advisor to the French club's president. Speaking in France Football magazine, former Lyon player Lacombe said club president Jean-Michel Aulas approached Mourinho after the Portuguese coach left Stamford Bridge last September, and after Alain Perrin had already taken charge of the French champions. 'I know that the president approached him (Mourinho),' said Lacombe. 'But the talks didn't go very far. Mourinho was in need of some rest.' Reports in the French magazine also suggest Mourinho rejected the move as a deal has already been done to take him to Barcelona next season. In a three-page report under the headline `No to Lyon, Yes to Barca' the magazine claimed Mourinho has held meetings with officials at the Catalan club, during which he received `dossiers' containing lists of players the club hopes to sign. i wonder if comes then gio will stay or leave
A guy like him would never work in Lyon. The Lyon president would never give him total control. Barca is a good place for him.
You don't know how it works in Lyon. The manager doesnt have final say in picking the players. Aulas would not let Mourinho sign who ever he wanted. There are limits and finanical concerns to be considered. At Barca he could sign who ever he wanted because there are different budgetary concerns than there are in Lyon. At Lyon the president is the spokesman for the club not the manager and I highly doubt Mourinho can be muzzled.
Well, the FF article was more oriented "Perrin will be kicked out" than "Mourinho could come to Lyon".
Imagine if Aulas and Mourinho are talking about a player and Aulas says to Mourinho "No you can't have him." That wouldn't go over too well I don't think.
lyon management is a team effort between JMA, lacombe and the coach, perrin at the moment. it works well, because roster building has to have a longterm plan, not be rethought season by season. i think mourinho would have accepted that, since his success at porto was based on keeping the group as stable as possible. i also think he understands the JMA method as concerns the press... the great one didn't just keep the spotlight on himself because of his ego; he did it to reduce the pressure on his players. that said, he's not a fit for lyon either as concerns playing style... or salary. btw, i'm going to move this to the OL forum as SB suggested.
I think Mourinho would have been detrimental to your side if he had taken over. He would have made your side tough to beat but the team performance would have looked very workman like. If I am not mistaken, Ligue 1 teams and thier supporters would rather want to display their attacking play and at the same time be strong at the back. A coach who can galvanise the side into a working system is what Lyon need imo. Lyon have lots of flair players who if can be efficiently utilised, would be a treat for anyone to watch. A manager of the mould of Del Bosque who is brave and less naive tactically would fit the bill. I dont think Perrin has done a lot wrong either.
Oh you have no idea. Goal fests in France are so rare that it's a source of pride. Games with more than four goals total are considered to be a success. I agree that Mourinho would be a poor fit for Lyon style wise and even financially. But it wouldn't have hurt the club's credibility if he had said that he "might be interested." Even if he didn't mean it, it'd do wonders for the ego. Simply put, it's not just hard to attract top players to France, it's also hard to get top managers. Our "biggest" one was Houllier. Still, I don't have a problem with Perrin's tactics, at least not anymore. I think he's getting used to the fact that it's okay to keep things simple and that it's also okay to trust your players to do their job on the pitch. What I do worry about are his man management skills. It takes a strong personality to keep a diverse group of players together, and while every club has its divisions in the dressing room, Lyon have been plagued by it more than usual, and worse, Perrin doesn't seem to have a handle on the situation. A coach that can't control his players isn't strong enough to coach a team aiming to win the Champions League.
"credibility" was the only reason the great one was ever approached in the first place. even if the cashitos were there (not), and mourinho was interested (not), JMA would never have signed him we just wanted his buzz, not his biz.
Dechamps appears to still be in the running for the job. It would be a great coup to get him. He seems that he would be easier to work with than a Mourinho but not a total puppet like Perrin. Seems like a good balance to me.
Uh, he dealt with that at Chelsea with Abramovich and Kenyon... I don't think he'd have to have 100% control over personnel moves, but maybe 50%.