The story is beautiful, almost too much so. A young 38-year-old coach, Sébastien Pocognoli, with a dazzling career, who led Union Saint-Gilloise to a historic Belgian championship title in his first season. A modern, pragmatic profile, close to its players. On paper, the choice of AS Monaco to replace Adi Hütter seems attractive, almost obvious. However, behind this flattering portrait lie significant gray areas that the ambient euphoria seems to want to ignore. Because by choosing Pocognoli, the Principality club is not recruiting a certainty, but is making an extremely risky bet.
Only one season as a pro, almost zero experience at the high level
This is the first point, and the most glaring. Sébastien Pocognoli only has one year of experience as a head coach at the professional level. If his success in Belgium is indisputable, it took place in a championship where the pressure and the tactical level are out of all proportion to what awaits him in Ligue 1 and the Champions League. As observer Walid Acherchour points out on RMC, recent examples of coaches who failed after a similar leap, such as Graham Potter at Chelsea or Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, should encourage caution. Nothing guarantees that its method, effective in Belgium, can be transposed to a championship of the
“Top 5”.
A departure that tastes like “treachery”
The manner in which Pocognoli left the Union Saint-Gilloise also raises questions. By leaving in the middle of the season, he left a club and supporters in “frustration”, even the feeling of “betrayal”. Daniel Riolo described this departure as ” disgusting “, believing that a “coach who leaves his revealing club in the middle of the season, from a human perspective, it’s crazy”. If modern football is a business, this decision, probably motivated by financial considerations, says a lot about the loyalty of the character. AS Monaco, which needs stability, hires a coach who did not hesitate to abandon his project along the way.
What if Pocognoli was not the Man for the Job for Monaco?
Pocognoli, a young coach facing a locker room of stars
At 38 years old, Sébastien Pocognoli will have to manage a locker room made up of players with much more extensive international records than his own, and whose age gap is sometimes minimal. How will a coach with only one season of experience impose his authority against seasoned executives? If he was able to unite a group at the Union, the challenge will be quite different in Monaco, where egos are more present and the pressure for results is immediate.
A club that does not forgive failure
Finally, Pocognoli arrives in an environment that does not have the reputation of being patient. Adi Hütter was dismissed for a disappointing start to the season, despite a 5th place in the championship. Before him, Thierry Henry, Leonardo Jardim and Claudio Ranieri were all fired. AS Monaco is a club that demands rapid and consistent results. In the event of a bad patch, the young Belgian coach, without the experience of the media storms of Ligue 1, could quickly find himself exposed. The bet is attractive, but the risk of another failure is very real.
