Blanc leaves PSG post
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Leaving the gaffer spot Blanc... PSG manager Laurent Blanc has decided to resign from his current job, claiming the club were "never his dream".
PSG manager Laurent Blanc has today announced his resignation from the French club after a successful single season in charge of Les Rouges-et-Bleus. People linked to the newly vacant post include Antonio Conte and Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Prior to his shock resignation, Blanc had won Ligue 1 and Coupe de la Ligue in the 2013/14 season, leaving him with no real reason to quit his job, where he had things going well for him, with fantastic finances, a super squad and support from the fans.
Rumours were circulating that the 48 year-old had signed a new contract, keeping him at the club until 2016, but evidently this was not the case. Blanc denied that he was persuaded by any other club, but instead he said that managing Le PSG was "never his real dream".
"I am still young in management terms, and I want to experience a lot by the time I am in my sixties and seventies," he stated, "PSG were never my real dream, they were an opportunity that arose, and I decided to take it."
"PSG is an excellent club, and I'm glad I had the chance to manage them, but over the last few weeks, I have just decided to move on. I haven't left them with nothing, I'd like to say I've left whoever will succeed me with a great squad who will be on the high of winning a second consecutive Ligue 1, and that's a good thing."
"So no, my decision to leave wasn't at all persuaded by any other club attempting to approach me, not that anybody has in the first place. Who knows what will come for me in the future, but I do know that it will not be PSG."
Despite what Blanc said in the above interview, there were strong rumours that he was going to leave the Paris club in order to join Barcelona, who lost recent manager Gerardo Martino due to resignation.
But with Luis Enrique's appointment as Barça manager, those rumours were killed, and football journalist Stephen Matthews decided to speculate about the Frenchman's next destination.
"Blanc's departure from Parc des Princes was a strange one, because he had a lot going for him there," Matthews began, "And now the question is where he will end up next, and there are many possibilities."
"There's a chance he'll go to Juventus, who are managerless with great potential to go far in Europe, and honestly, I could see that happening. However, there are more possibilities than meets the eye."
"Despite Louis van Gaal being the scorching favourite, there could be a twist in the tail, and Blanc could end up at Manchester United, which would be a fantastic challenge and opportunity for him to handle after the Moyes disaster."
"Then there's the small chance he'll go to Turkish giants Galatasaray, but I'm not sure if I can see that one actually happening. The other option for him is Spurs, which may be another long shot, but after Sherwood, anything's possible."
"The most likely from those choices has got to be Juventus, but at this early stage, nobody knows what's going through Blanc's mind. It's down to time."
Blanc said nothing about a new contract offer from chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi keeping him at the club until 2016, but that's no confirmation that an extension wasn't about to happen. Many theories are arising about how a disagreement about a contract lead to Blanc's resignation, but nothing is certain.
PSG will be hoping to have a manager in place within the next two or three weeks, so he is given time to prepare the squad for the upcoming season, as well as the chance to win his first trophy in the French Champions Cup. Some of those rumoured with the job are former Juventus manager Antonio Conte, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Cesare Prandelli, and even former Manchester United manager and flop David Moyes.
The Frenchman, who previously managed his home country from 2010 to 2012, won 4-0 against Montpellier at home in his final match as PSG manager, and had brought Les Rouges-et-Bleus three trophies in his season as manager: the Trophée des Champions, Ligue 1 and Coupe de la Ligue.
He did this despite the sales of Mamadou Sakho, Diego Lugano and Kevin Gameiro, and the retirement of legend David Beckham, but replaced these losses with signings such as Edinson Cavani, Lucas Digne, Marquinhos and Yohan Cabaye, and with these players, topped the league with 89 points, 9 points ahead of 2nd placed AS Monaco.
This meant that PSG qualified for the Champions League for the following season, something that surprised very few people, if any at all. Defender Thiago Silva admitted that he is shocked by Blanc's departure.
"I don't think anybody saw it coming," the Brazilian said, "It was a complete shock, as I was saying to Marco [Verratti] and Blaise [Matuidi], and it's such a shame because we had something very great and I honestly believe we could've dominated the world in the next few seasons."
"But I do understand why he did what he did. I don't blame him for wanting to experience it all, I'm personally not like that, if I find somewhere I like, I will stay there as long as I'm wanted, but everybody's different. I look forward to a new era with somebody new at our realms."
Blanc's managerial career began in 2007, four years after his retirement, at French club Bordeaux. He lead his club to a second place finish in the league in his first season, winning the Manager of the Year award, before winning Ligue 1 in his second year. His side were successful in the following Champions League, reaching the quarter finals.
The 48 year-old then moved to manage his home nation France after the 2010 World Cup. He suspended all 23 players from the squad after an abysmal display, and success soon seemed to come. However, in the 2012 EUROs, France were eliminated in the quarter finals and he resigned.
Laurent Blanc resigned from PSG, claiming he wanted a change in scenery and that PSG were never his dream. This shocked many people, and a journalist decided to think about his possibilities, ranging from Juventus to Tottenham. The players of PSG then expressed their surprise, but look forward to their new era under a new manager, rumoured to be Antonio Conte or Luiz Felipe Scolari.
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