New Ligue 1 Season Lacking Excitement? French Media: No Problem Without Mbappé! Many Excellent Coaches in Ligue 1

The French media outlet GFFN has published a dedicated article pointing out that while the talent drain in Ligue 1 is indeed very serious, the new season of Ligue 1 is not short of excitement. One of the main attractions is a group of excellent coaches.

The report highlights that the loss of talent is a well-known and widely accepted operating model for Ligue 1. Dubbing itself the “talent league,” Ligue 1 has always played the role of a “farmers’ league,” nurturing batches of top players each season, only to sell them to leagues with greater spending power. This typically happens in January and July, representing the league’s harvest periods.

This year’s Ligue 1 harvest has been particularly rich, with departures including Kylian Mbappé, Marcus Thuram Jr., Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Youssouf Fofana, Alexandre Lacazette, among others. Players like Boubakar Fofana, Rayan Cherki, Warren Zaire-Emery, Jean-Clair Todibo, and Jonathan David are likely to leave before the transfer window closes. How to fill the void left by these departures? Clearly, it is not by splashing large sums on big-name stars but rather by attracting or retaining excellent coaches.

In recent years, player development has been a top priority for many Ligue 1 teams, serving as a vital guarantee for most clubs (at least financially), while coaches have been somewhat dispensable. Last season, five out of the top ten teams in Ligue 1 changed their managers. However, this summer, things have shifted; bringing in or keeping the right coach and building plans around them is now a priority, rather than dealing with issues after they arise.

For the current season, none of the top three teams have changed their coaches. Paris remains under the guidance of Luis Enrique, Monaco still has Marco Rose, and Stade Brestois continues with Michel Der Zakarian. Additionally, there are some new faces, such as Jean-Marc Furlan, who led Le Havre into Ligue 1 with an extremely low budget last season. The solid, compact defense he built was particularly impressive. New coaches like Jacek Elsner, Bruno Irles, and Bruno Irles are making names for themselves in Ligue 1, indicating a shift: experienced, old-school coaches are no longer the first choice.

The most notable appointment currently is Roberto De Zerbi taking over at Marseille. Maintaining a consistent head coach has always been a challenge for Marseille, with the likes of Jorge Sampaoli, Igor Tudor, and Unai Emery coming and going, leading to constant turmoil. The appointment of De Zerbi this summer signifies a significant investment, one that the club has been reluctant to make in the past. A high-profile coach like De Zerbi choosing to join a team outside of Paris is a rare occurrence in recent years, indicating that despite the severe talent drain in this season’s Ligue 1, there are still considerable points of interest.