On December 7, 2013, Élie Baup was fired from his position as coach of Olympique de Marseille following the Marseille club’s poor results. Since then, the famous coach with the cap has never sat down on a football club sideline.
From now on, the 69-year-old technician is team manager of the MTB selection of the Occitanie cycling committee for U17s and U19s.
“As a child, I loved football as much as cyclinghe confesses in the columns of The Team. I went with my father to the passes to watch the Tour de France pass. We were grilling a sheep the day before. You shared it with your family and your village. Once a coach, I organized mountain bike rides with players from Saint-Étienne, Bordeaux and Toulouse (three of his former clubs). The mental dimension, combined with sports practice, allows you to release tension and de-stress to death. I always regretted not having continued cycling diligently. I came back to it. »
Élie Baup still follows football closely
Élie Baup does not seem to regret his old life.
“ Thanks to football, which I always follow, I have had a happy life, despite stress and crazy verbal and physical violence accentuated by social networks. When you let go of all that, once on the side, what you retain is not the results but this shared life”explains the native of Saint-Gaudens.
During his coaching career, Baup notably passed through Saint-Etienne, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Nantes and Marseille. His peak was reached during the 1998-1999 season when he led the Girondins to the title of champion of France.