World Soccer - UK (2019-09)

Sylvinho

(Lyon)

T

he first non-Frenchman to lead Lyon

since Jean-Michel Aulas assumed

control in 1987, OL’s new Brazilian

coach has quite a task in front of him.

The hardest of taskmasters and a prolific

source of in-house chat on social media, Aulas

can be a difficult man to get along with at the

best of times – and it’s fair to say Sylvinho’s

appointment left a large number of Lyon fans

distinctly underwhelmed.

When previous incumbent Bruno Genesio

was fired at the end of last season, it was

believed that the club would seek a high-profile

replacement such as Jose Mourinho or Laurent

Blanc. Instead, the job went to a 45-year-old

ex-Brazil left-back who had never been in sole

charge of a professional side before.

It has also come to light that Sylvinho was

not even top of the OL headhunting list. Newly

installed director of sport Juninho – a brilliant

midfielder for Les Gones in the noughties – had

hoped to recruit former Chile and Argentina boss

Jorge Sampaoli, who is currently at the controls

of Brazilian side Santos. But with Sampaoli

unavailable, Lyon had to switch to Plan B.

Aulas would no doubt vehemently deny the

accusation that he brought in a wet-behind-the-

ears rookie. And justifiably so. Although never

the commander-in-chief of a team, Sylvinho

does have an extensive pedigree as an assistant

coach with spells at a number of Brazilian clubs

(Cruzeiro, Recife, Nautico and Corinthians),

a stint as Roberto Mancini’s number two at

Internazionale and an 18-month tour of duty

as the right-hand man of Brazil coach Tite.

Nor was Sylvinho second-rate as a player. In a

career stretching over a decade-and-a-half, he

was employed by such as Arsenal, Barcelona and

Manchester City, and won no fewer than 15 titles,

including two Champions League crowns with

Barca, in 2006 and 2009.

Knowing exactly what it takes to succeed in

European football’s foremost competition, one

of his priorities at Lyon will be to make the team

more solid defensively. For several years now, OL

have given the impression of a Jekyll and Hyde

XI, fluid and potent when going forward but

decidedly lacking in back-to-front work ethic

and tactical discipline.

“The best sides do not concede many goals,”

says Sylvinho. “Supporters have to see an

effective side for 90 minutes. I want them to be

enthusiastic about the effort of the players.”

COACHES