Mediocre to first-rate

Euroscene: When former Nantes coach Raynald Denoueix received a phone call from Basque club Real Sociedad last May, he almost hung up in disgust. He thought they were looking for an assistant coach, writes Paddy Agnew

It was only when the Frenchman travelled to San Sebastian for talks that he realised the Basque club were in fact looking for a new number one man.

Denoueix (54), had spent most of the previous 35 years as either a player or coach with Nantes. He had never worked outside France and he did not speak a word of either Basque or Spanish.

Even now, he admits that if he had stopped to weigh up the pros and cons, he might not have accepted the job.

Fortunately for both him and Real Sociedad, Denoueix did not hesitate too long, quickly agreeing to take over from caretaker coach Roberto Olabe, the man who in turn had replaced Welshman John Toshack last January.

The rest, of course, is history of the winning kind.

Real Sociedad's 1-0 away win against FC Seville on Saturday saw the Basque club extend a 13-match unbeaten run to remain top of the Primera Liga, four points clear of second-placed Valencia, five clear of Celta Vigo, with such as the mighty Real Madrid eight points adrift, Deportivo La Coruna nine off the pace and Barcelona 13 behind.

If Denoueix were tempted into a congratulatory moment of self-justification, no one could blame him.Just one year ago, he suffered a traumatic wrench when forced to break a 35-year-long working association with Nantes.

Even though he had won the previous season's French league title, not to mention the 1999 and 2000 French Cups, the Breton club unceremoniously showed him the door when results went against him in the autumn of last year.

Despite that painful separation, Denoueix refuses to strike a triumphalist note in the wake of his excellent start at Real Sociedad.

He is an experienced professional who knows that the season is long and that the traditional powerhouses of Spanish soccer - Real Madrid, Barcelona, Deportivo and reigning champions Valencia - will all up the pace and pressure on Real Sociedad.

"For us to be out in front is a big surprise, we're not always playing good football at the moment and I'm no magician. It's a terrific coincidence that I'm here, they were looking for a coach and I had just been sacked by Nantes. It's true, too, that when they first rang, I thought they were looking for an assistant coach," says Denoueix.

Nor has he used his successful start in Spain as an excuse for angry recriminations with Nantes.

"I've finished now with Nantes. Thirty years and more together is a lot, probably you could say too much. But if today I'm here in one of the best football leagues in the world, then part of that is due to Nantes."

With a squad featuring journeymen professionals such as Turkish midfielder Kahurci Nihat, Yugoslav striker Darko Kovacevic and Russian Valeri Karpin, the newly-arrived Frenchman could hardly have expected to make such a sensational start.

Nor did Real's most recent league finishes bode well - 14th in the 1999-2000 season and 13th in the last two seasons.

Denoueix, however, used his common sense, sticking to his own methods, tried and true, in preparing for the season.He even took the club to the same Austrian resort often used with Nantes for pre-season training.

Furthermore, he applied a much more rigorous training regime which sees twice-daily sessions of two hours as opposed to the single one-and-a-half hour session prior to his arrival.

The results, for the time being, have gone his way, even if it is arguable that his more prestigious rivals have dropped league points throughout the autumn because of their contemporaneous Champions League commitments.