Rudi Garcia has been interviewed by Manchester United for the position of interim manager, The National can reveal. The French coach, 57, coached the Lyon team that knocked Manchester City out of the Champions League in 2020 and led Lille to their first trophy in 50 years in 2011, a league-and-cup double helped by bringing in 17-year-old Eden Hazard.
Garcia has a good record of doing well at clubs which aren’t. Lyon were 14th when he took charge before taking them to a French Cup final and Champions League semi-final, knocking out Juventus as well as City. He did this using young players, while helping develop Memphis Depay. Pep Guardiola was criticised for changing City’s tactics to play Lyon.
Roma were finishing between seventh and ninth before he took them to second in Serie A twice in a row behind a Juventus team who were unstoppable in Italy, winning manager of the year in that country. In Rome, where he replaced Luis Enrique, he was told the big-name stars would be a problem there, yet Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi became his best players.
Speaking French, English, Spanish and Italian helped him get close to a multi-national dressing room. Marseille were 15th and he took them up the table and into the Europa League final. He’s never managed in England but considers it to be the home of football.
Garcia spoke to United ahead of their 2-0 victory in Villarreal which saw the club progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League. Darren Fletcher and John Murtough, two football men, are charged with making a football decision. Ernesto Valverde, the former Athletic, Espanyol and Barcelona coach who won the league with the Catalans in 2018 and 2019, has also interviewed for the role. Valverde was dismissed by Barca in January 2020.
Michael Carrick took charge of the team in Villarreal and was serenaded by the travelling away supporters after the victory. He is usually a coach at the club and willing to do whatever is best for Manchester United.
United have been strongly linked with Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino for the position of permanent manager, the Argentine having impressed in England where he led Tottenham to a Champions League final.
Villarreal v Man United ratings
-
VILLARREAL RATINGS: Geronimo Rulli, 5 - Looked in control until a sloppy pass and poor positioning led to United making it 1-0 - and the rest, as they say, is history. PA -
Juan Foyth, 6 - Was a fantastic aerial presence for Villarreal but let himself down by giving the ball away in the lead-up to the second goal. AP -
Raul Albiol, 6 - The experience was on full display in what proved to be a relatively solid night at the office. Getty -
Pau Torres, 6 - Was dragged across for the goal that killed off the game, although his overall composure was still impressive. AFP -
Pervis Estupinan, 6 - Made good runs and showed good physicality, even if he couldn’t put in that final ball needed to unlock United’s defence. AFP -
Daniel Parejo, 6 - Showed good instincts when darting into the final third but couldn’t string together consistent, successful passes. EPA -
Etienne Capoue, 7 - Dictated the pace in the middle of the park but fell away as the game went on and could have done better for the opener. AFP -
Manuel Trigueros, 6 - Only had a few moments to make an impact and still managed to force a great save from de Gea in the 59th minute. AFP -
Moi Gomez, 7 - Opened up space, ran through the heart of Manchester United’s midfield at will and generally ran the show for Villarreal. AFP -
Yeremi Pino, 6 - Had some nice build-up play throughout but let himself down with the end product time and time again. AFP -
Arnaut Danjuma, 4 - Couldn’t get the service he needed and looked completely off his game whenever he found himself in space. EPA -
SUBS: Alberto Moreno, N/A - Was left helpless and overrun as the Red Devils scored their second and sealed all three points. EPA -
Samuel Chukwueze, N/A - Looked energetic even though the tempo was gone from Villarreal’s play by the time he was introduced. AFP -
Dani Raba, N/A - Made a brief cameo that involved a few touches and a lot of ball-watching as United took over the game. Boulaye Dia, N/A -- Barely got a touch of the ball and wasn’t able to influence the play for his side. AFP -
MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David De Gea 8 - Busy first half with two decent saves. Best save was after 27 minutes, but that was nothing compared to a diving save from Trigueros on 58. Those saves kept his team in the game. Reuters -
Alex Telles 6 - Excellent cross towards McTominay from a free-kick after three minutes. Ball sailed over his head from goalkeeper Rulli on 27 and led to a Villarreal shot on target. Then he turned and crossed a beautiful ball to Ronaldo on 30. Losing possession and positioning led to another attack on 31. Getty -
Harry Maguire 7 - Better than recently, which isn’t saying much, but steady under pressure which came halfway through the second half. Nice ball towards Rashford, which was offside. Right to lead his players to the away fans at the end. Getty -
Victor Lindelof 7 - Headed an 11th minute in swinging corer away as Pino came behind him. Clattered to the ground after winning the ball against Danjuma on 38. United’s defensive shape was tighter as they tried to stop leaking so many goals and it worked. AP -
Aaron Wan-Bissaka 6 - Backed off in a move which led to Villarreal’s first shot on goal. Villareal had the run of the left wing, just as they’d had at Old Trafford, though he cut out a pass from Gomez. Lost possession on 44 which led to another chance. Still nowhere near the level he should be at, but better towards the end. EPA -
Fred 8 - Quiet first half, more influence in the second. Shot on target after 55, but it was a limp effort. Got a foot in to break up a Villarreal attack a minute later. Excellent ball to Rashford on 74 and was alert to Rulli’s poor ball out to set up Ronaldo. Got the move going for the second, too. Fred -
Scott McTominay 7 - Headed wide after three minutes. Ran the ball away from goal on 27 and did that well. Worked hard and fine pass around the corner towards Rashford leading to the second. Getty -
Anthony Martial 5 - Surprise start. Started on the middle with Ronaldo to his left. Did little in a tough first half for his team. Taken off. Getty -
Donny van de Beek 6 - Rewarded with a start after a decent cameo at Watford but couldn’t match that impact. Booked stretching for the ball on 41. Pushed hard, ran to enforce a press. Off for Fernandes. PA -
Jadon Sancho 8 - Super cross after 28, then dribbled his way into losing the ball 10 minutes later from his position on the right. That was when he was more advanced, which he wasn’t enough. Grew with his team late on and scored his first United goal, a stunning strike. EPA -
Cristiano Ronaldo 7 - Started on the left. Frustrated when Van De Beek couldn’t read his 23rd minute pass. Weak header on target after 30, but in the air was where he found space. Scored the key goal, a lofted finish, and another winner against Villarreal. Almost scored another on 84. Getty -
SUBS: Bruno Fernandes 8 - On for Van de Beek. He was a surprise omission from the starting XI, but Bruno has been poor by his usual standards. Changed the game from Villarreal being on top to United being on top. Shot on target deflected by Pau Torres on 85. Reuters -
Marcus Rashford 7 - On for Martial in a double substitution which Carrick had to make as Villarreal pushed towards a goal. It worked as he played off the shoulder of defender Estupinan. Trickery and a shot on target after 84. Getty -
Nemanja Matic N/A - On for Ronaldo after 90 minutes to use some seconds up and defend the lead. EPA -
Juan Mata N/A - On for Sancho. EPA
Garcia’s teams play dynamic, attacking football. A three-time French manager of the year, Garcia is a fighter, a charismatic leader who knows how to make the best of his players – reaching top competition finals with squads nowhere near the best in Europe showed his talent. He’s good at developing young talents: Hazard, Lucas Digne and Gervinho at Lille, Alessandro Florenzi and Kostas Manolas at Roma, Camara in Marseille, Maxence Caqueret, Maxwell Cornet and Houssem Aouar at Lyon. His three central midfielders against City were aged 20, 21 and 22. Lyon’s inexperience told in the semi-final against Bayern Munich when they missed two one-on-one chances before going out to the eventual winners.
Garcia can be passionate and outspoken. He talks of freedom of expression, even if he is a victim of that from what journalists write. But following the attack on Charlie Hebdo in France, Garcia bought pencils and put them on the seats of the journalists before they arrived for their next press conference.
“Freedom of expression is important,” he said, “the liberty of expression is important.”
Laurent Blanc, another linked to the United role, was the favourite for the Lyon job when Garcia was interviewed for the position, yet Garcia showed his detailed knowledge of the squad and his plans for them which including promoting youth. Garcia got the job, but aware of the negativity around his appointment, Lyon’s president Jean-Michel Aulas faced the media with his new manager.
“I want to start with a quote from Winston Churchill,” he said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist, which is us, sees opportunity in every difficulty.”
Manchester United might need the same approach now.
