Within 48 hours of taking the job, Puel was celebrating a dramatic, last-minute victory over his new club’s biggest rivals
By Adam White and Eric Devin for Get French
Football News
Flanked by a pair of beefy security guards, Sylvinho emerged from a cloud of billowing pink smoke. To his left was a horde of Lyon fans, barely restrained by a makeshift barrier, clambering for a high five or simply to voice their support. It was a scene more akin to the front row of the pyramid stage at Glastonbury than the Lyon training ground. But in the week of the Rhône-Alpes derby, everything is turned up tenfold. With St Étienne and Lyon both in crisis, this one meant more than most.
Both clubs had enjoyed a productive week on the continent – Lyon beat RB Leipzig in
Germany in the
Champions League on Wednesday and St Étienne secured a draw against Wolfsburg in the Europa League 24 hours later – but, as the week progressed, it looked as if Sunday night’s derby might be the last hurrah for both coaches. As it turned out, St Étienne boss Ghislain Printant did not even make it to the weekend. He took training on Friday morning before being replaced by former Leicester City manager Claude Puel that afternoon.