He's the youngest French coach at 1st division level around the globe. At 28, Alexandre Lafitte has been at the helm of Stade d'Abidjan for just over two years and, after saving the Ivorian club and then qualifying for the CAF Champions League, the former PSG coach has just won the Ivorian championship. A historic feat for a legendary club, which hadn't won the title... for 56 years! So, how did the coach reverse the trend? "Largely thanks to my management team," describes the recent champion, whose inspirations include Jürgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti, and the legendary French handball coach Claude Onesta: "The idea is to create a group and develop that sense of belonging. I often use this image: when you're in the boss's house and it catches fire, you run away. But when it's our home, when we built it together, we try to put out the flames. It's this state of mind that we've managed to build. It's also why, in two years, we've never lost two league games in a row. After a setback, we bounce back: we don't run away." To finish the season well, the young manager has set himself the goal of doing the league-cup double (Stade Abidjan is in the semi-finals). Before perhaps returning to apply his methods in Europe?
Brief
At 28 years old, Alexandre Lafitte has just won the Ivorian championship with Stade Abidjan… The club had not won a title for 56 years / ©DR