Guardiola personally advised Lyon to recruit Carlos Vicens

Carlos Vicens is Olympique Lyonnais’s new head coach, and it is partly thanks to a phone call from Pep Guardiola. The club’s general manager, Michael Gerlinger, confirmed on Monday to the press that the former Manchester City manager played a decisive role in the decision to recruit his former assistant.

Vicens worked for four years alongside Guardiola at City before joining Lyon to succeed Paulo Fonseca, who left for Sporting. It was in this context that Gerlinger contacted the Spanish coach to get his opinion. “It was positive from the start. He told me a bit about how they had worked together, he spoke to me about set pieces, about mentality,” the Lyon executive reported.

Guardiola’s recommendation was unequivocal. “He said that the priority for him is that Carlos is a very good person. He strongly advised me to move forward and speak with Carlos,” Gerlinger said. The contract followed quickly.

This Guardiola endorsement did not escape observers. Commentator Dave Appadoo sees it as an encouraging signal, while highlighting that the Guardiola school has already produced several top-level coaches: “It’s often the right stamp. It’s the stamp of all the coaches who are succeeding more or less now: Arteta, Kompany, Luis Enrique too since he comes from that school.”

Vicens inherits an OL side fifth in Ligue 1, seven points behind the Paris leaders. The speed at which he can translate the principles of play learned at Manchester into concrete results will be the real test of this appointment.