The management of Rayan Cherki by the new coach of Olympique Lyonnais has been fueling debate for two weeks.
Inducted onto the bench of Olympique Lyonnais to succeed Laurent Blanc, Fabio Grosso quickly got to the heart of the matter. While his team has not yet won a single match, the Italian technician must deal with a locker room weighed down by OL’s catastrophic start to the season.
Grosso’s choices have been watched since his beginnings, and in particular his management of Rayan Cherki. Considered the club’s most talented prospect, the attacking midfielder is also divisive because of his attitude on the pitch, in training and in matches. A week ago, in Reims, the international Espoir was the first player to be replaced, shortly after half-time.
At the end of another poor performance (0-2 defeat) which projected OL to 18th and last place in the ranking, John Textor even spoke. “Some players respond well to work, while others clearly don’t. Unfortunately, when Fabio tests certain players in this situation, he doesn’t always learn positive things, but he will make adjustments accordingly.”.
Cherki, what’s the problem?
A vehement press release which targets certain players. With one question remaining: is there a problem between Cherki and Grosso? The young Italian technician spoke at a press conference on this theme, not hiding a certain discomfort. “That’s not a question for me. It is not my place to respond to what the president says. I am ready to make choices, but they are not strong choices. They’re choices, that’s all. »
On Sunday, after the match, Grosso was more talkative about Cherki. “I’ve said it before, for me, he’s a great player. A very, very great ball player. And he can become a very great football player. We will work together to make it happen, with our teammates. Because we have seen that we have played a series of matches since the start of the season and almost all the players have played. There is not a player who gets through this difficulty, a player who was able to win on his own…”. The message got through.
