Lyon's share no longer satisfies Le Guen

Paddy Agnew Euroscene

Is it impossible, or nearly so, to win the Champions League with a French club? The man who inadvertently prompts the question is Paul Le Guen, soon to be the ex-coach of newly crowned French champions Olympique Lyon.

Le Guen is a football professional who tends to let his results do the talking for him. Dressed in an elegant suit, shirt and tie when on the sidelines, Le Guen rarely shouts or causes a fuss during a game. Away from the football stadium, this smartly dressed professional could easily be taken for a businessman or university lecturer.

Last week, he stunned Lyon fans, players and club directors alike when, within hours of winning his third successive title with the club, he announced his resignation at the end of the season.

It was not a polemical resignation. On the contrary, not only club fans but also senior first team players had organised a petition urging him to stay. Furthermore, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas had also pushed hard to persuade his talented young coach to stay, commenting last week: "I feel very sad about his resignation because Paul brought a lot to the club. We had got used to the idea he would stay a little bit longer. He behaved with elegance and intelligence. I want to congratulate him for what he has achieved, he has helped the club progress tremendously".

Yet, Le Guen was not to be moved. Quite simply, he appears to have decided the time had come to leave Lyon in search of "new challenges", indicating too that he was "open to any offers", especially from outside French football.

Lest anyone failed to get the point, Le Guen spelt it out loud and clear when denying that his next job would be with Paris Saint Germain, where he enjoyed playing success, saying last week: "I will not be going to Paris Saint Germain, I want to make that clear. Coaching in France is not my priority, an experience abroad interests me."

Le Guen's decision inevitably sets him apart. In recent days colleagues such as Portugal's Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Dutchman Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona have wrapped up their domestic league titles, while last weekend Italians Giovanni Trapattoni at Benfica and Fabio Capello at Juventus both took major steps towards winning their league championships.

Mourinho's reward for his efforts was to have his contract extended, whilst there is no question of Rijkaard leaving Barcelona. Likewise, Capello stays at Juventus, with or without the Scudetto, while if Trapattoni hangs on to his lead over cross-town rivals Sporting Lisbon on Sunday's last day of the Portuguese season, then he too will almost certainly be staying at Benfica.

In contrast, Le Guen has opted to pack his bags and leave. In part, he explained his decision by saying he had little left to achieve with Lyon: "I thought a lot about whether to stay with Lyon and I think I am leaving with a feeling of having accomplished my intentions. I was offered a three-year extension but I refused. A three-year cycle with Lyon has just finished, there was no need for me to start a new one"

Yet, it is just this affirmation that prompts reflection. Given that Lyon have been eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the last two Champions League competitions, one might argue there is plenty still to be achieved with them.

Furthermore, Le Guen made it abundantly clear during the week he has plenty of ambitions, pointing out: "The one thing I'm certain of is that I'm not tired of football."

Could it be that Le Guen has come to the conclusion that, in order to achieve greater success and to realise his professional ambitions, he has no option but to go looking for a club from one of the "Big Three" leagues (England, Italy or Spain)? Has the immense success enjoyed by another elegant Frenchman, Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, prompted him to opt for greener, non-French club pastures? Time will reveal all, of course.

Yet, it is interesting that Le Guen has dismissed Paris Saint Germain while offering no reaction to speculation that he could take over from the German Christophe Daum at Turkish club Fenerbahce. Is he waiting for bigger fish to bite? Watch this space.