Arsène Wenger this week celebrated five years since his arrival as director of world football development at FIFA. An appointment which ended nearly four decades of officiating on the sidelines. And if he remains the man of the Gunners, where he exercised his talents for no less than 22 years, the Alsatian was also the coach of AS Monaco for seven years.
Appointed in the summer of 1987 after having studied at Nancy, Arsène Wenger had a sensational debut on the Rock, winning the title of French champion in his first year thanks in particular to Glenn Hoddle and Mark Hateley. What followed was going to be less flamboyant. This was due to the domination of Olympique de Marseille, with ASM having to essentially make do with access to the podium with third places in 1989, 1990 and 1993 and runners-up places in 1991 and 1992.
A painful moment for Arsène Wenger
Winner of the Coupe de France in 1991, the Principality club returned to the final in 1992, but it was canceled due to the Furiani disaster. A drama which will also weigh on their Cup Final against Werder Bremen (0-2). And Monaco will also not be able to benefit from the descent into hell of the Marseille club, whose embezzlement has been brought to light by the VA-OM affair. On the contrary, the Monegasques must be content with an anonymous 9e place in 1994, certainly counterbalanced by a qualification for the semi-final of the Champions League, and continued to sink in the summer of 1994.
It’s too much for Jean-Louis Campora, who does not hesitate to part ways with his star coach, justifying his decision by
“the situation of the club and its current results”. A painful moment for Arsène Wenger, courted by Bayern Munich a few months earlier. “I knew the adventure was coming to an end but it was a difficult decision to accept”he confided at the time of his reunion with ASM during the round of 16 of the Champions League in 2015.
