There is a very sad reality for the French Football Federation (FFF). Some of the country's former football stars have chosen not to seek coaching certificates in their home country. They took it through the Football Association of Wales (FAW).
These include Patrick Vieira, Marcel Desailly and David Ginola. In addition, there are former France U21 coach Thierry Henry and current assistant coach of the team, Gael Clichy.
BEPF (or equivalent degrees awarded elsewhere) are a prerequisite for any coach who wants to take over a team in Ligue 1, Ligue-2 or the national third division.
French clubs pay 25,000 Euros per match to hire an unqualified head coach. Most recently, the cases of Will Still (Reims) and Didier Digard ( Nice). Both were not qualified when they were first recruited by these clubs.
If you are a young coach and want to work in France, you almost have to work abroad or have foreign nationality to accumulate experience.
Will Still was born in Belgium to British parents and is currently the head coach at Lens. He was only 30 years old when he took over Reims in October 2022. Francesco Farioli (Italy nationality) was 34 years old when he was appointed by Nice in the summer of 2023. Liam Rosenior of Strasbourg and Martinez Novell of Toulouse are now 40 years old.
According to Reims CEO Mathieu Lacour, who gave Will Still a job opportunity, becoming a qualified BEPF coach in France before the age of 40 or 45 is almost impossible.
The strictness in FFF's coaching process will give rise to quality names, but on the contrary, it is making it more difficult for the French.
"In France, the coaching process is very long, so it has caused difficulties for us. Many foreign coaches have degrees at a very young age, some of whom have never been professional players. In France, foreign coaches are present everywhere and they have a very favorable start.
They have been coaches since the age of 27. 28. Meanwhile, in France, you need to have a professional football career and all kinds of degrees. By the time you have all the degrees, your age may be 38 - 40 years old.
At that time, you start your coaching career. About 10 years later, when you reached the age of 50, many people considered you outdated. That's the problem," Mathieu Lacour said.
The current French coaches are no longer able to maintain the bold attacking philosophy of the last decades of the last century. Two of the most successful people in recent years, Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane, are in favor of the practical school.
While Italian coaches are famous for their tactical discipline, Spain is the way of controlling the ball, Germany is the high-speed counter-attack, and French strategists do not have any specific schools.
Former French players who have been very successful such as Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira are struggling with their coaching careers. One of the biggest disadvantages is poor foreign language skills. In addition, these people also do not have any impressions in the media.
"They are not dynamic enough and don't speak English as well as they think. Many of them are not like media figures.
In England, coaches are sometimes the only one of the club to speak in public. Meanwhile, in France, sporting directors and presidents are almost doing this job.
French coaches are not dynamic, sometimes it is acting skills like their colleagues in England, that is what fans still expect from them" - Mathieu Lacour shared.
