Often in the news in recent weeks due to his 20-year anniversary in charge of Arsenal, as well as all the speculation regarding his succession, Arsène Wenger has been an iconic part of English football.
Yet, before his Premier League years and his brief strange spell in Japan, the French manager made a name for himself in France as manager of Monaco for seven years where he won a league and a Coupe de France.
Along the way, he managed players who have now become managers in their own right, including former Bolton midfielder Franck Passi.
Now in charge of Marseille, the 50-year-old’s future is in doubt as the club struggle in mid-table, on top of being in the process of changing owners.
Giving an interview to France Football for this week’s edition, Passi explained that his want to become a manager dated back to 1993, when he was still a player under a certain Arsène Wenger at Monaco.
He said: “I’ve had a manager’s view of things for a very long while now. When I met Arsène Wenger at Monaco, we talked a lot. We had a close relationship and we spoke about football. He would tell me: ‘You’ll be a manager one day’.”
Passi then goes on to explain his injury problems allowed him to start thinking about getting his badges, and he tried to as a player, alongside Claude Puel, but had to stop due to conflicts with match days.
Eventually, he did so following his retirement from football, and then joined Marseille in 2007 as a scout.
A series of promotions and manager changes have now led him to be the club’s full-time manager, rewarding his patience and loyalty to the club.
It all started with Arsène Wenger, though.
