Deschamps Out! (We Think.)
By: Martha | May 26th, 2007
Though nothing has been confirmed by the club, Italian TV is reporting Juve coach Didier Deschamps tendered his resignation this morning after a meeting with general manager Jean Claude Blanc. Alrighty then. I guess we can stop trying to guess whether he’s coming back or not, huh?
Despite Deschamps’ smashing success in bringing Juve back to Serie A after last summer’s relegation and points penalty, his future at the club has been in doubt for months, both because of on-field stumbles (Juve’s embarrassing failure in Coppa Italia, for example, stuck in the craw of both fans and club officials.) and disagreements away from the pitch, particularly regarding transfer policy. It’s also never been clear whether the Frenchman actually wanted to stay at the club — his statements on the matter have been ludicrously conflicted, and the suggestion that he’d had enough of the constant scrutiny and inescapable criticism couldn’t really be ignored.
But now he’s (allegedly) gone. We won’t know for a few days whether it’s because he wanted out, was pushed out or, as the French press suggest, is headed back to France to replace Gerard Houllier on the Lyon bench, but the point is this: There’s a managerial opening at a major club. Woo hoo, let the speculation begin!
Already in the rumor mix is Marcello Lippi, but of course he’s in the mix for every job that opens up these days, at least in part because it’s so much to publish quotes from him. The news is too fresh for a full list to be making the rounds, but surely King Claudio Ranieri will be on it, right? And Fabio Capello, though the odds of him returning to Turin seem only slightly shorter than those of me getting the job. Who else? Ooooh, what about Sven Goran Eriksson? He’s not got much going on these days.
Edit: Sigh. Juve are denying everything, of course.
Edit again: No more denials, it’s official.
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