After having known everything at Raf, “the child of the club” occupies the position of team manager for the third season. He is notably in charge of organizing travel. In particular that of Friday October 18 in Gueugnon (8 p.m.), to face Martigues, while the meeting was first planned in Marseille.
“JI met the PSG team manager once, during a seminar in Paris, he arrived in a suit and tie (laughs). He was talking, I was telling him “stop, we’re not doing the same job!” Except for connoisseurs, the term team manager is particularly nebulous. Especially since depending on the club, it doesn’t mean the same thing. “Basically, I want to say that my role is to be the players’ nanny, so that everything goes well”sums up Gilles Dulac in any case, who owns this cap in Rodez. He details: “I manage the hotel business (for travel)the bus or the plane, the relationship with the delegates, the organization of pre-season training courses, friendly matches, the flocking of match jerseys… We don’t have a steward at the club, so I do the planning. place for changing rooms on match days. When the players arrive, I help them with the apartment, the equipment and the car for some. I’m taking charge of them, so they can be installed as soon as possible.”
Before taking office, “the president was a team manager”
So many missions – in addition to the two women’s training sessions in which he participates every week – that he has held full-time since the end of his activity as goalkeeper coach, in the summer of 2022. “For lack of a diploma, I was forced to stop and I was offered this role which I accepted with great pleasure. But even when I was goalkeeping coach, I already had this follow-up. president acted as team manager, he made contacts and signed contracts (hotels and transport, in particular). And I, a few days before the trips, I took over”remembers the one whom some know under the nickname “Boule”.
If he enjoys this hybrid position today, it is above all because he does it on the Piton. “I’m a child of the club. I’ve been at Rodez since 1986, apart from two years at Laissac. I’ve known everything here. Team manager, it’s a very time-consuming job, but I do it with passion, because it’s is my club. I’m not sure I’ll do it at PFC or in clubs that have another dimension. The day I stop, I won’t go to another club.”
The unknown Gueugnon
In recent days, Gilles Dulac has been put to the test, ahead of Friday’s match against Martigues. And for good reason, the meeting to be held at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille was relocated less than a week ago to Gueugnon. Only some 450 kilometers separate the two cities after all… “The problem we encountered is that Gueugnon is not very well equipped with hotels. We were therefore forced to move to Montceau-les-Mines (30 minutes drive). And even then, I have no guarantee compared to what we are used to having. There are no chains, only small hotels. I have had hotels tell me that the bathroom and toilets were on the landing, this is not compatible with professional football. We don’t want to get excited, we are Rodez, but we ask for a minimum of things. The most we could find was a hotel with 30 rooms, so when you already reserve 18, it’s not easy. I don’t know where we’re going to set footrecognizes “Boule”. The only request we have is to have a separate room for eating. From the pictures online, the rooms didn’t look that bad. Will they respect the specifications? I don’t know, it will be a surprise when we get there. The funny thing is that all my counterparts are calling me to find out where we’re going, because we’re the first to go.” What about what was initially planned? “For Marseille, everything was organized. I’m waiting for news to know if we’re going to have penalties, since I canceled at the last moment.”
In terms of pure movement, however, he had no trouble turning around. “Whether we went to Marseille or Gueugnon, we left by bus (this afternoon). If it had been Chambly (the other option on the table to replace the Vélodrome, whose rent of €160,000 per match had become untenable for Martigues)that would have been more problematic. Go find a plane in 48 hours!” All the challenge of Gilles Dulac, a team manager not quite like the others.
