It all started against Spain and the miracle performed by the former French international Willy Sagnol governs the selection of Georgia crossed the path of ‘Roja’ again, this time in a historic match for his country, the round of 16 of his first European Cup.
‘Sagnoli’, as he was baptized in his adopted country, making the national team almost the only unifying factor in a country with deep Christian roots torn between those who favor Russian influence and those who look more to Europe.
On March 28, 2021, Sagnol sat in Tbilisi for the first time on the bench of the small Caucasian country for a duel against Spain qualification for the World Cup in Qatar. A purpose of Dani Olmo In stoppage time he gave victory to Luis Enrique’s team (1-2).
Since then, the man who in 58 times defended the right back of the French team and for eight seasons, between 2000 and 2008, the Bayern Munichhas transformed the team to make it national pride.
No miracle was predicted, because Sagnol Arrived at Georgia after five years from the bench, where his career was far from brilliant.
After dealing with the lower categories of France within two years, he reached MrBordeaux irons in 2014 but his potential fell against the club’s barriers.
In 2017 he returned to Munichfirst as Italian representative Carlo Ancelottibefore taking the position of interim first coach after the relegation of transalpine after a heavy defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in Champions League. He only managed one game in the team, before they named him Jupp Heynckes in position.
Since then, his figure emerged as a television and media commentator, but he continued to have the bench bug until he received the call from Georgia.
Unlike his predecessors in office, Sagnol He became fully involved in the work and wanted to immerse himself in a small and cautious country, with a strong religious component, to the point that he settled in a house in Tbilisi where from his appointment he spent seven months in the year.
Over time, it has become a rocky group, well-worked tactically and, above all, cohesive, in a difficult context, because Germany He took players from 23 different clubs and 17 championships, as heterogeneous as Iran, Saudi Arabia, United States or Azerbaijan.
In the qualification phase for Euro 2024 marked a turning point. Despite two losses against Spain (especially 1-7 in Tbilisi) came the team with chances to qualify for the last two games, against Luxembourgwhich they beat 2-0 at home and, more importantly, against Greecewhich they won in a dramatic penalty shootout.
For the first time, Sagnol managed to put the small country, born in the early 90s after the collapse of Soviet Unionin the final stage.
“My first title as a coach”
“For me it’s like my first coaching title (…) On an emotional level, it’s worth it Champions League what I got from him Bavaria in 2001 (after beating Valencia on penalties in the final),” the French coach said.
Even the most famous person in the country, the Frenchman will soon have his own statue in the capital, he received nationality and the National Order of Merit.
A prestige that allows him to live at the head of a country where everything is discussed and where the coach himself receives criticism if he puts more or less pro-Russian players.
That’s where his strong personality emerged, causing him to break through the small groups that surrounded the team he inherited in 98th place in FIFA and that led to 75, the worst ranking of the entire Euro Cup.
“I have a team that, above all, loves its country and pushes them to be great,” said the French coach, not ruling out a new surprise.
“We know that Spain It became the strongest team in the first stage. But we will give it our all until the end,” he warned.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
