Remi Garde: Reclaiming The World - THIS STORY WILL NOT GO ANY FURTHER

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Having spent 4 hugely successful seasons at Lyon I was wondering whether things were getting a little bit stale and as a Frenchman it is my dream to manage the national team if I ever had the opportunity.

Following the European Championships that were held in France this summer and a below par performance from many of the top nations, a large number of managers stepped down. Germany scraped past Ireland in the final 1 – 0 and that was a shock. Spain’s manager stepped down, Didier Deschamps left his role as France manager and Italy’s manager decided it was time to move on.

This opened up a world of choice for me to go for but the truth is I only saw my eyes and heart go in one direction and that was to submit an application to the French FA for the national job. Many journalists and pundits were shocked when news broke and were wondering whether I was about to step down from Olympique Lyonnais as I took this job on but in reality I could never leave club management behind and I am confident I can handle both, if given the opportunity.



3 days later the FA responded to my application and they were just as surprised as the rest of the footballing world but they were itching at the chance to give me the job and I took it with both hands and both feet! The next day I gave a press conference as the new France manager and ensured the fans that my job at Lyon won’t get in the way of my national duties and my national duties won’t get in the way at Lyon.

The shock was though France’s lowly world ranking. Following the poor European Championship, France fell 13 places to 28th in the world and it is now up to me to ensure they climb in to the top 10, then top 5 and finally get that number 1 ranking that has eluded the French for so long.

I have reclaimed France but it is time to reclaim the world.

Excited to see France to the top! they get amazing regens

Ah, I wondered why you'd renamed the title. Good luck with France mate, International management's a challenge but it's a good one

I was scared for a moment that you'd left Lyon!

First France, next - the world

I am not surprised for the Champions League victory... I don't know why!

Well done with your wondeful job so far mate! And you made the right decision to join France: I am waiting too for a call for an international job... I hope to have one after the next world cup!

Inquisition: They do mate but as I'm only in 2016 a lot of the players in the squad now are still real but some of them are class as you'll see in my next update!

Rabs: Haha well after taking over France I couldn't keep the title the same!

Louis: Never! Well maybe not yet anyway :p

Glenn: France was the easy one now the challenge starts! First with the 2018 World Cup!

Gambit: Haha the game was much easier than I expected! I applied for the France job as soon as it became open. I was waiting for an offer from anyone but it didn't come so I made the move

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With the staff depth very shallow I decided it was time to add to the French team and bring in 3 new coaches who would be able to improve the squad. First in was Nigerian legend Jay-Jay Okocha. Having been capped 74 times he has shown he has exceptional coaching quality and will have a big role in coaching the younger members in the team.



After Okocha, Xavi Molina followed quickly with some excellent attacking and defending coaching attributes. I felt despite being weaker in other areas he would definitely add great value and coaching for the whole team.



Giambattista Venturati was the 3rd and final choice I decided to add to the national set up. The Italian has decent technical skills but he will have a good input in the fitness side of the game so I hope to see some improvements in the team over the next 6 months.

Nice to see you taking charge of a national team. This is still a great story.

I was afraid you'd left Lyon!

2013-07-09 19:16#119013 k1rups : Louis: Never! Well maybe not yet anyway :p

I'm worried...

Wellsy: Cheers mate! Was getting a bit bored so will be good to spice things up

neal: Haha it won't happen just yet!

JL00: Why? I haven't left yet

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Taking over the managing role of any country is a massive deal whether it is Tahiti or France and there is a buzz of expectation now I am the dual manager. It is something that is definitely considered unnatural but I believe I am best placed to ensure success for both Olympique Lyonnais and France.

The French have been lucky to have produced amazing talent. There was Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera, Lilian Thuram, Didier Deschamps, Laurent Blanc and many more. Looking at the current squad and pool of players out there it seems there are more and more great players emerging.

I will do a quick overview of the 4 players I believe to be key to our fortunes going forward; 1 goalkeeper, 1 defender, 1 midfielder and 1 striker.


Hugo Lloris has amassed 52 caps for France, battling it out with Steve Mandanda for the number 1 spot but in my eyes Lloris is firmly the number 1 choice. Ever since his move from Lyon to Tottenham he has grown bigger and better. Still not the world’s best aerially or distribution wise, he has excellent handling and shot stopping ability and he has the chance to make a real difference for this team going forward.




After joining Newcastle, Mapou had 3 average seasons but then secured a €24 million move to English champions Manhcester City. Since then he has developed in to a physical, battling centre half with excellent defensive skills and has edged out Raphael Varane, Mamadou Sakho and Samuel Umtiti in the key defensive role. Sebastien Corchia will no doubt be an excellent player for France and I believe he will have a big role to play.




Paul Pogba started out as a budding wonderkid at Manchester United but got frustrated with the lack of first team opportunities and moved on to Juventus. 3 seasons on he made a €20 million move where he almost exploded on to the footballing scene again as his time at Juventus was less than satisfactory. A talented passer with a great eye and technique, Pogba is definitely going to be a key playmaker in the middle of the park and will grow exceptionally if given the right opportunities.




When I took over at Lyon I had Alexandre Lacazette, Lisandro Lopez and Bafetimbi Gomis at my disposal. Yassine Benzia was a young 17 year old who didn’t look confident or positive. 5 years on he is one of the best players at the club after slowly growing in to his role and outperforming his teammates. Not only that he is the best striker in the French team and one of the best in Europe. At only 21 he has years ahead of him as a top striker and will no doubt become one of the world’s best.

Benzia has become a beast I think he can be of great service for atleast another 10 years.
As the manager of France i guess you'll have quite a headache with all the options you have at your disposal. Looking forward to the results and the complete team.

Great players.. I was afraid of a potential club change when I saw the new title!