Lille (AFP)

Inducted Chairman and CEO of Lille on Friday after the change of shareholder, Olivier Létang will experience a special baptism of fire on Sunday (9 p.m.) against Paris SG, the club of his ex-accomplice Leonardo, where the Sarthois was a leader for five years (2012-2017).

Was there a first more symbolic opponent for Olivier Létang than PSG, a club where he revealed himself as a leader?

Létang in Paris, five years spent always on the go, to the point of launching, in unison with his former mentor Leonardo: "We are crazy".

A "form of madness", in his words, which pushed him to be connected "permanently, twenty-four hours a day", to take care of "the smallest detail".

Arrived in 2012 to support "Leo" as assistant sporting director, the former player and then manager of Reims puts his go-getter qualities at the service of a Paris SG which has changed in scope by passing under the Qatari flag.

He himself took off at the same time as the club, especially as he was promoted to full-service sports director after the Brazilian's departure in 2013, even if he only officially became No. 1 after three years of vacancy of the post.

He will slam the door in April 2017, a few months after the recruitment of Patrick Kluivert to a post of director of football with very broad prerogatives, and for which the Dutchman had no experience.

- Network -

"It was a great experience, of course," Létang told the daily Ouest-France in December 2017.

"Has that changed me? I don't know. Once again, we all progress if we question ourselves. What PSG has given me the most is a network. Obviously since you connect with everyone. Big clubs, agents everywhere. "

It is this network that he will then put to good use in Rennes (2017-2020), returning colors to the Breton club with the peak of the Coupe de France, the first trophy for the Breton club in 48 years, won in April 2019 against. .. the PSG.

But Paris, these are also cases that come back to haunt the Sarthois: at the end of 2018, he was implicated in the scandal of the "ethnic registration" of young players at PSG, at the time when Létang supervised the Parisian sports sector.

Auditioned, he is ultimately not sanctioned by the disciplinary committee of the League (LFP).

From now on, Olivier Létang's future is being written with Lille, where the manager has the difficult task of maintaining the good sporting dynamics of the team despite the sudden change of owner of the club.

Sunday on his lawn at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium (9:00 p.m.), the new Losc, that of Létang and Merlyn Partners, investment fund which bought the club from Gérard Lopez, will try to keep his chair as leader of Ligue 1 against his Parisian runner-up, triple title holder and big favorite to his own succession.

- "Good dynamics" -

"My intention is for the club to reach its full potential and I will ensure the good management of Losc on the sporting and financial levels (...) with football at the heart of the project," said Létang.

The DNCG also indicated in a statement on Saturday that after hearing Gérard Lopez and Merlyn on Friday, it would receive the new leaders of the northern club on January 4 for the traditional mid-season hearing.

Captain José Fonte revealed that Olivier Létang had met the group for the first time on Saturday: "The president told us he was very happy to be here, he wants to do the best he can and continue to win, it that's the most important thing. We had a meeting this morning, he spoke five minutes before practice and it went well. "

Asked at a press conference on Saturday, Lille coach Christophe Galtier did not wish to discuss the club's new situation.

"Regarding the new governance, the takeover of the club, the president will surely speak during the week. The players are very focused (...) We are on a good dynamic, the players are focused on the match, the stake of match, the exhibition of the match and us, the staff, we are preparing for this meeting because it is a great meeting. "

Curiously, the technician clarified not to have pronounced the sentence attributed to him on Friday by the press release officializing the change of shareholder.

Anyway, a victory against PSG on Sunday would allow us to evacuate the jolts of a hectic week behind the scenes.

And to launch the mandate of Olivier Létang in Lille under the best auspices.

© 2020 AFP