Christophe Galtier (Marseille, 8-26-1966) has changed sides. He was born and grew up in Marseille. What’s more, he was trained in the ‘OM’ academy and in 1985, at the age of 18 years and 11 months, he debuted with the first team in Ligue 1 under Zarko Olarevic.
The one who will be the new coach of Paris Saint-Germain, central by profession, He was a Marseille player in two stages: 1985-87 and 1995-97.In total, he played 132 games, saw 22 yellow cards, received two red cards… and didn’t score a single goal. He also passed through Lille (1987-90), Toulouse (1990-93), Angers (1993-94), Nimes (1994-95), Monza (1997-98) and Liaoning (1998-99).
At the Vlodrome he also made the leap to the benches. Galtier worked as an assistant to Bernard Casoni (25 games) and Abel Braga (16)… before working as an assistant to Javier Clemente. Even before the arrival of the coach from Barakaldo, he worked as interim coach alongside Albert Emon.
Now, Clemente, as soon as he arrived, put things in their place: “Work with Galtier and the others… but I’m in charge here.”. If the players are serious, we will get ahead. This is not the circus.”
Work with Galtier and the others… but I’m in charge here
Galtier, at that time, was in charge of acting as a ‘liaison’ between Clemente and the squad. A pair that did not last long. The former Spain coach he only directed 15 games for ‘OM’ with a balance of five wins, three draws and seven losses.
Galtier’s memory of Clemente
The stay with Clemente left a ‘mark’ on Galtier. Moreover, during his time as a St.-tienne coach, it reminded him of being asked about the possibility of being a France coach in the future.
“Javier Clemente talked to me a lot about the coaching job during the five months we spent together in Marseille. He managed Spain for six years and explained to me that it is a function that goes beyond any other in football. You represent an entire country,” she admitted.
Javier Clemente spoke to me a lot about the job of coach during the five months that we coincided in Marseille
“I am not a chess player, like Guardiola”
Galtier is a peculiar character. He has a clear line to follow and he doesn’t get a bit confused. We will see how it works for him at Paris Saint-Germain.
“I’m not dogmatic, I’m pragmatic. I paid a lot of attention to Ferguson. Guardiola is a great coach, but I am not in that line. I’m not a chess player”, he confessed in an interview with ‘Eurosport’.
“I try to improve myself, to reinvent myself. I don’t want to be a fad,” he pointed out.
“The PSG? People can say that mine was luck”
Galtier has arrived at PSG a year after snatch Ligue 1 from him with Lille. Then they are not even like a candidate for the bench of the Park of the Princes.
A question that the former coach of St.-tienne, Lille and Nice took with derision: “People can say that it was a matter of luck for 11 months.”
