- It's now official: Patrice Garande (59) signed up for two years with the TFC, most likely relegated to Ligue 2.
- The former coach of Caen will have to carry out a lift operation, as he did in Caen.
- Its ex-president Jean-François Fortin and the defender Emmanuel Imorou paint a portrait of an uncompromising technician.
It's official since Monday. Patrice Garande (59) signed up for two seasons with the TFC, a very likely Ligue 2 resident in 2020-2021. The former coach of Cherbourg and Stade Malherbe de Caen arrives at the Stadium with his loyal assistant Jean-Marie Huriez (49), to succeed Denis Zanko. The objective is clear for the Violets, about to be taken over 85% by the Americans from RedBird Capital Partners: the immediate recovery in L1, where the club has been evolving with more or less happiness since 2001.
#Officiel ✍️
Patrice #Garande is the new coach of the TFC professional group.
Welcome Coach!
→ https://t.co/j3cFh23GDG pic.twitter.com/aXcXuWQIq6
"An opportunity like the TFC can suit him," said defender Emmanuel Imorou (31), who played under Garande à Malherbe from 2014 to 2018. He has already experienced climbs with teams with limited means. The former international striker (a selection in 1988) gave Cherbourg access to the National (2002) and, above all, Caen to the L1 (2014), before obtaining four contenders in a row.
"What he achieved, he had to do! enthuses Jean-François Fortin, its president in the Calvados club, which he left at the same time as Garande, in 2018. The objective was not to play Europe every year, but with our budget, to stay in the elite. If the club had continued with him, I'm sure he would still be in L1 [Caen went down in 2019]. "
"He is not shy, but he has a form of modesty"
But the 1984 Olympic champion, alongside José Touré and Daniel Xuereb, left at the end of his contract, before crossing the desert for two years and, therefore, this signing in Toulouse. “Compared to other coaches, it will not sell, says Fortin (73) to explain this slump. He is not shy, but he has a form of modesty. And, above all, quite a requirement.
“Garande knows where he wants to go and with whom he wants to go, says Imorou, today in Thonon-Evian-Grand Geneva (National 3). He has a grip. He tends not to delegate too much unlike other coaches. For example, it is often he who animates the training sessions. Jean-Marie [Huriez] is further back, even if he gave us the briefings to present the opponent of the weekend. "
A quick tour and then goes away ... Jean-Marie Huriez will not be the coach of @ASTourlaville (R1). The technician will again become the assistant @patrice_garande who will engage with @ToulouseFC Hakli Dahmane (ex-Grand-Quevilly) is strongly expected to succeed him in Cotentin pic.twitter.com/3SsReIQhMe
- FOOT NORMAND (@FOOT_NORMAND) June 22, 2020“Patrice Garande comes from a very modest background, I knew his dad who is now deceased, explains Fortin. He received an education where you had to be rigorous, hardworking. His assistant Jean-Marie Huriez is of the same barrel. They are excessively demanding types. "
Frictions and beautiful game
To the point of causing friction with certain players. “As of the second half of the 2015-2016 season, it started to be complicated, but with the good results, it was fine, remembers Imourou. The next two seasons were more difficult, with two stalls. In 2017-2018, there are really players with whom it was no longer happening. "
An interview at Ouest France in May 2017, in which the technician criticized many executives (Julien Féret, Damien Da Silva, Ronny Rodelin, Rémy Vercoutre, Alaeddine Yahia and… Imorou), aggravated the divide. "He can sometimes have hurtful words," observes the Beninese international. Once again, Fortin comes to support his ex-coach. "When Patrice Garande is convinced that a player has the skills to make a decent career, and when he sees that he is not doing the right thing, it annoys him. He reasons a bit like a dad with his sons. "
From now on, the "fistons" of D1 comeback scorer in 1983-1984 (24 achievements with Auxerre, like Toulonnais Delio Onnis) will wear a purple jersey. And spectators at the Stadium can cherish the ambition to see (finally) the game. "In 2015-2016, we finished seventh in Ligue 1 [second best ranking in the history of Caen] with a team that was fun to watch, evolves into rapid attacks, remembers Imorou. Already, the season before, we finish with the fourth best attack in L1 [54 goals] when we are last in the break. A feat ! "
"Garande offers rather offensive football because he is a former attacker," analyzes Fortin, who finishes painting the hagiography of "an extremely hardworking and honest type": "He is someone with whom a president can work in total osmosis, on a medium or long term strategy. Damien Comolli, future strong man of the TFC, probably asks for that.
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