The topic of the possible appointment of Rudy Garcia to the Russian club seems to be not continued.

He revealed Azar, outwitted Guardsol, smashed Slutsky and lost Semak. Garcia could come up Spartak

From a dream to become a journalist to a golden double with Lillem

Rudy Garcia was born in a football family, which moved from Spain during the civil war. The father of the future coach – Jose Garcia – played for the sedan and Dunkirk, and then became a coach. Rudy took the first steps in sports under his beginning, but, looking at his father, did not want to follow in his footsteps. Garcia Jr. at the end of his playing career saw himself a sports journalist, and, it seems, he could have succeeded. At least, at the same time studying at the coach, he received a good experience on television, where he not only acted as an expert, but also interviewed the edge for Canal+.

The coaching work began at the headquarters of St. Etienne, where he began as a specialist in physical training. Then he became an assistant, and when the club fired the famous John Toshak, rushed into the pool in an attempt to save the green from the departure from the league 1. The situation was hopeless, and 10 points in twelve final tours could not fix it. However, this was the very turning point that Garcia made a coach. And the first success was to exit with Dizhon into the second French division.

This was the first application for a pass to the High Society, where Rudy was invited after work at Le-Man. Probably, there was even something symbolic in the fact that in League 1 Garcia accepted Lille, for which he played the best five seasons in his career. “Dogs” under his beginning were constantly progressed, although some were not enough for some. The Board of Directors at some point even wanted to dismiss the coach, but he was defended by the president of the club Michelle Seyd.

And it was a hit in the “top ten”, since in the third year in Lille Garcia made the impossible. In the 2010/11 season, he first won the first Cup of France for the club for 56 years, and then the championship title, which the fans of the Dogs have been waiting for since 1954. It was in that golden team that the star of Eden Azar truly flashed, and the trio of forwards, where the Belgian played with the Belgian and the best sniper of the championship of Mousse Suh, terrified rivals.

Rome's love and Lyon hatred

“Rudy Garcia taught me the fact that football is a game not only with the ball, but also without a ball. It was he who began to release me in the main composition of Lille, we began to regularly win, and I – to score goals. I was lucky enough to win two titles with this team, and I will always be grateful to Garcia, who owes his career, ”said Azar later.

And this is far from one flattering review of the coach from world -class stars. For example, Francesco Tentti admitted that after the appointment of the Frenchman at first he thought that the leadership of Roma again decided to play the Russian roulette, and as a result, the Wolves received a very good coach.“Garcia endeared himself from the first days of work in the team,” the Emperor later admitted. – This is an innovator who has a lot of ideas, and he can clearly explain them to the players. Plus, Garcia has proven that he can get along with anyone.”

An important moment for Spartak, if Garcia really leads it, is the ability of the coach to prove himself in different conditions. At Lille, he had a championship and a cup. At Roma, a record start with ten victories and two second places behind Juventus, unattainable at that time. Even with troubled Marseille, Rudy reached the Europa League final, where he lost to Atlético Madrid, and last year made a splash in the Champions League with Lyon, leaving Juventus and Manchester City out of work.

Working with the weavers, who in the last round of the French championship beat Monaco with ten men and can knock Alexander Golovin's team out of the Champions League three, is a separate issue. In Rome, Garcia was able to find a common language with tifozi, at the very first meeting with the fans, issuing a provocative phrase: “Whoever whistles is for Lazio.” In Lyon, the coach found himself in an atmosphere of universal hatred, as the fans were waiting for Laurent Blanc, but got a man who not only worked with the worst enemies at Saint-Etienne and Marseille, but also arranged picks with his new club.

We've been spit in the face! Lyon fans wrote in a petition against Garcia. The new mentor was called there a victim coach who always sees conspiracies against himself. There was some truth in these words, because, while still working at Lille, Rudy accused the judges of loving the weavers, and already at Marseille he said: Lyon should bless the league for not having entered VAR.

It was funny to hear how, after the memorable win against Juventus, Garcia, cursed by the fans, said that he was proud of the fans. But the highlight of the press conference was an appeal to friends at Roma, when the coach switched to Italian and shouted: “Guys, we did it!”

Not a dogmatist

The ability to call fire on yourself, criticizing the judges and prying opponents and their fans, is one of Garcia's chips. In this regard, he would be ideal for the current Spartak, but this is not a desire to be in the spotlight, but one of the ways to relieve pressure on the team. The recipe worked great in Roma, about which Rudy said that at the time of his arrival, the psychology in the team was destroyed. The same step gave a result in Lyon, which failed the season, which, if not for the pandemic that stopped the championship, would never have been left without European cups.

In terms of style, Garcia has long been considered a limited specialist who loves dominance, but is not able to find a plan B with class equals and favorites. However, the previous Champions League destroyed this stereotype. The coach tried a hybrid scheme with three central defenders in the national championship, and in the main European Cup she helped to beat both Maurizio Sarri and Josep Guardiola himself.Many believe that Pep outwitted himself by coming up with an overly complex scheme, but Garcia was also good, talking about a tactical plan to neutralize De Bruyne.

From the signature variations of 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, where, as in the case of Totti at Roma, a variation with a “false nine” was used, the coach moved on to 3-5-2, which are transformed in defense at 5-3-2. At the same time, on one of the flanks, Garcia periodically used not the lateral, but the winger Cornet. Aggressive edges are as much a coach's trademark, as are high pressure and the desire to dominate through ball control. Hazard, Gervinho, Florenzi, Salah, Thauvin, Payet, Depay. Someone Garcia brought to a new level, someone's career was able to restart after the crisis. The main thing is that the system has always worked, and now the coach also skillfully juggles schemes.

Congrats to @MarceloGuedes02, @Memphis and @RudiGarcia on making it into @LEquipe's latest Team of the Week after #ASMOL! ? pic.twitter.com/fEhzC5Pb4H

— Olympique Lyons. (@OL_English) May 3, 2021

Three duels with RPL

It is worth recalling that 57-year-old Garcia visited Russia several times. After a historic triumph with Lille in the group stage of the Champions League, the dogs became the rivals of CSKA. At home, they missed the victory, conceding two goals from Doumbia (2:2), but in Moscow they beat the team of Leonid Slutsky with a margin (2:0). True, this did not help the French: they finished fourth in the group, while the army team advanced to the playoffs from second place.

Three years later, already at the head of Roma, Garcia at the same stage in the first round staged an execution for CSKA in Rome (5:1). It was a Roman record, but the coach of the winners was modest, saying that it was his team that played well, and not the opponent – badly. But Slutsky was self-critical: We were absolutely not ready for this level.

The Wolves could also have won in Khimki, but Vasily Berezutsky brought a draw at the last minute (1:1). Finally, the last crossing of Garcia with the RPL took place last season. After working for a month in Lyon, he, without Depay, who was injured in the national team, lost in St. Petersburg to Zenit Sergei Semak (0:2). The theme of revenge, if it came to the appointment of Garcia, would have been beaten more than once, but it seems that the French coach and Spartak will go their separate ways.