The decision to extend Pierre Sage as Lyon coach will be taken at the end of the season, OL sporting director David Friio said on Monday. The 44-year-old tactician took over from Italian Fabio Grosso on November 30.
He is the 3rd coach of the season after Grosso and Laurent Blanc who started the championship, if we except the short interim of Jean-François Vulliez, the space of a match against Le Havre (0-0). “For Pierre, we will make a decision at the end of the season. The club will sit down and study the best thing to do,” underlined David Friio on OL Play, the Rhone club’s web TV.
“When he arrived, it was the match. He wanted to help the club and we had targeted that he would be the one to take charge of the team but we didn’t have the long term idea. Now it is installed. He totally rocked with a coaching costume,” continued the manager. Lyon, winner of Toulouse (3-2) on Friday, moved up from last place in the ranking to 10th with 34 points. With Pierre Sage on the bench, Olympique Lyonnais took 27 points in twelve matches compared to only seven in the first fourteen days. The Lyon technician had set the number of points necessary for maintenance at 35.
“Pierre is a calm and very intelligent person. Of course he didn’t have the high-level experience of managing a group like Number 1. We talk to him daily. He is very receptive and very intelligent. He hits it right away and progresses day by day. His speeches are no longer the same as at the beginning. And it’s really encouraging,” said David Friio. Pierre Sage must nevertheless now pass his Professional Football Coaching Certificate (BEPF) which is compulsory to manage a professional team (L1, L2 or National) without which OL is subject to a fine of 25,000 euros per match played without being in compliance. .
“OL fully supports this initiative and it was logical. From the moment we got involved with Pierre at the end of the season, it was natural to also get involved alongside him and push to enroll him in training to obtain the diploma. The club fully supports him in his approach,” added David Friio.