Following the Sacking of Roger Schmidt, Can a Frenchman Save Guo'an FC's Season?
Beijing Guo'an's fate in 2019 Chinese Super League (CSL) has been passed into the hands of new coach Bruno Génésio following the early termination of Roger Schmidt's contract on Jul 31. Questions as to the efficacy of the newly installed Frenchman should be answered at the Workers' Stadium on Sunday night, when Guo'an faces leader of the CSL Guangzhou Evergrande.
It is now or never for Guo'an, as they edge closer to the top the league, with this weekend providing them a rare opportunity to close the four-point lead currently held by Guangzhou, the best Chinese club of the past 10 years. The capital football club started this year's season with a remarkable 10-win run, including one against Guangzhou. But, the then-coach Roger Schmidt failed to lead the club to the final phase of the Asian Champions League and lost several crucial games in the CSL, a mistep which lost Schmidt his job, and saw Guo'an relegated to second place.
Saturday's match is also a chance for new Guo'an coach, retired French footballer Bruno Génésio, to introduce himself to the home fans and China at large. Génésio was appointed following Schmidt's dismissal with one mission in mind: to finally make Beijing Guo'an champions of the CSL, a full decade after their last win. Génésio only has five months to achieve his assignment and has already started out strong, winning his first game against Hebei CFFC last Friday. However, Sunday will be his first real test.
Génésio comes to Beijing on the back of a successful run as head coach of Olympique Lyonnais FC, which also represented his first experience as a coach. Despite intense pressure from other top teams, Génésio achieved three top-four placings for Lyon in the France Ligue 1 as well as two qualifications for the Champions League in three years. But despite his achievements, factions within the Lyon supporters club were unsatisfied with his performance and the mounting demands saw Génésio depart at the end of last season.
Génésio is sometimes referred to as "Pep Génésio" or the "French Pep Guardiola," a reference to the former Barcelona and current Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, and the style of play that he tries to inspire in his team. Though a flattering comparison, the nickname has over time come to be a bit of a joke. The 52-year-old Génésio did not win any trophies during his four-year run at Olympic Lyonnaise, and his former team's style was a far cry from the football played by Messi and his teammates when they dominated Europe in 2009 under the management of Guardiola.
Despite that, all eyes are now on Génésio to see whether he can whip Beijing Guo'an into shape with only a few short months left on the clock. Can he do it? "Impossible is not French" as they say, but more importantly, impossible is not Pep Génésio.
Beijing Guo'an play Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao at the Workers' Stadium this Sunday, Aug 11 at 7.30pm.
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Images: envertetcontretous.fr, news.cgtn.com
