Fabien Galthié’s former assistant, dismissed by Stade Français, intends to relaunch a Rhone club only 13th in the elite.
Released by Stade Français at the end of September, Karim Ghezal was named head coach of Lyon from Monday until the end of the season. LOU, penultimate in the Top 14, announced on Monday the end of its collaboration with New Zealander Jono Gibbes, which began last summer, and who shared his time with the New Zealand Chiefs franchise.
Ghezal, 43, told a press conference that arriving during the season is not a problem “when you like competition. I use past experiences and what I experienced last year when I arrived during the season, that did not prevent me from fulfilling the season’s objectives. When you’re a player, a coach or when you’re in this competitive environment, you like it: the adrenaline, the pressure. It’s an impulse, it’s just what we like. So, arriving during the season, there is no problem.”
This is what we told the players: take the lead and put themselves in working order, to make LOU a respected and feared club again.
Karim Ghezal
The former second row had already worn the colors of the club, as a player (2014-2016) then assistant coach (2016-2019) under the direction of Pierre Mignoni. Ghezal then worked on the staff of the French team from 2020 to 2023, before joining Stade Français after the 2023 World Cup, as head coach. “It is not a commando operation, but we must be aware of the current situation and not delude ourselves, he added. We must move forward. This is what we told the players: to take action and put themselves in working order, to make LOU a respected and feared club again.”
And to detail his method: “By getting to the point, finding simplification. Also by finding the best framework, the best way of working. These are changes that I will try to bring about in small steps, by living with the players, by feeling the squad. Karim Ghezal also announced that the future Lyon captain will be center Alfred Parisien, “he trains hard, he hunts hard, he tackles hard. He’s a player from the club, from the territory, from the city”. And to insist: “The message that I tried to convey to the players and all the staff is that action takes precedence over words.”
Senegal
