"A visionary"! Claude Makélélé, Christian Karembeu, Serge Le Dizet… The players who worked alongside Jean-Claude Suaudeau are unanimous in saying that the legendary FC Nantes coach is the best they have had during their career. Known for his spectacular style of play based on enjoyment, the coach who was the French champion in 1983 and 1995 was also ahead of his time in his sessions. "He was always inventing new exercises to improve our qualities and have fun", explains the former goalkeeper, Dominique Casagrande, who reveals in particular a game that he has never seen elsewhere during his career: "The first name game! It was a game without a ball during which we said the first name of the player to whom we had to pass and we simulated an entire match that way". A way to make the bond between his players more fluid that the disciple of José Arribas, triple champion of France with the Canaries (1965, 1966 and 1973), had certainly prepared during one of his many nights spent inventing sessions to surprise his players. And whom inspired the great club FC Barcelona, to the coach of Olympique Lyonnais, Pierre Sage.
Brief
Jean-Claude Suaudeau was coach of FC Nantes from 1982 to 1988 and from 1991 to 1997 / ©Icon Sport