Can Benoît Pedretti be the man for the job?

Photo DR/ASNL.net

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While President Gauthier Ganaye is still giving himself time to reflect and study the candidacies of outside coaches, Benoît Pedretti showed real character and impactful management during the draw brought back from Paris FC (1-1). Should we give the ex-midfielder a chance despite his inexperience on the bench? Is he the man who can save ASNL from relegation to National? The Week opens the debate.

The “yes”

His playing career speaks for him

Even if he ended his professional playing career in 2018, Benoît Pedretti is a name that speaks in the world of football and does not leave marble. His longevity (19 seasons), his route (Sochaux, Marseille, Lyon, Auxerre and Lille) and his track record speak for him. 22 selections with the France team, most of which with Zinedine Zidane, it commands respect in a locker room. He will be heard and respected much better than Daniel Stendel, as unknown before his arrival in Meurthe-et-Moselle as the “gegenpressing” strategy.

An exemplary player, a demanding and unifying technician

Benoît Pedretti was not the type to hide behind his little finger when he was a player. Bis repeated as a coach. He did not hesitate in a very short time to make a living and take his responsibilities. He removed from the group Mamadou Thiam, the former captain and “darling” of Daniel Stendel, for the trip to the lawn of Paris FC.

Straddling rigor, he also shook his players, criticizing their lack of professionalism. “It takes humility, work, being on time for training, which is not the case for everyone and that bothers me in our situation. He has already gathered around him a group which adheres to his discourse and his methods. Faced with a candidate declared for the play-off for accession to Ligue 1 and despite the opening of the score collected, his team displayed an irreproachable state of mind with a good dose of generosity and solidarity. The 40-year-old technician has already brought his leg up with a real will to play ball and a defensive philosophy on set pieces with individual marking. Benoît Pedretti can count on the support of players like Rosario Latouchent, who has indicated that he wants to continue with him.

Attached to the club

Since the end of his career as a professional player, Benoît Pedretti is programmed to one day or another take the destinies of the professional team. Assistant to Patrick Gabriel or Alain Perrin, he also studied with the U17s or the reserve of the Nancy club. His foresight and his innate tactical sense are major assets in his retraining and his new role. And then he is viscerally attached to ASNL and Jacques Rousselot when he was at the end of the race at AC Ajaccio.

The “no’s”

His first professional experience

Even if one day or another has to take the plunge, sitting on the Nancy bench in the situation the club currently finds itself in looks like a poisoned gift. Benoît Pedretti can break his teeth and burn himself for his first real experience. It also does not yet have all the codes, nor the luggage to respond to all the situations it will be faced with. So it’s a double-edged sword for him.

Not the diplomas

This is an important financial data to take into account. Especially for a club like ASNL which does not run on gold. Benoît Pedretti still does not hold the famous and indispensable coaching diplomas, which should result in a fine of 12,500 euros per match. Can Gauthier Ganaye take the risk of filling the boxes when the specter of relegation to the National and its consequences is very real?

Our opinion

Benoît Pedretti can bring his freshness and a new playing philosophy to a team that is sorely lacking. But his lack of coaching diplomas unfortunately appears to be crippling in the long term.

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