Guy Roux

Roux believed that a strong infrastructure was paramount to long-term success. In 1980, Roux rejected the chance to sign French international striker Olivier Rouyer in favour of opening a state-of-the-art youth academy. During his period at the helm, the team established itself as a powerhouse in French football and became known worldwide as an academy for top players, since it was the club where football stars such as Eric Cantona, Basile Boli, Alain Goma, Frédéric Darras, Pascal Vahirua, Raphael Guerreiro. Stéphane Mazzolini, Djibril Cissé, Philippe Mexès and Teemu Tainio won themselves a name being spotted and their talent further developed by Roux. He also helped rebuild the careers of players after poor spells like Laurent Blanc and Enzo Scifo.

In 2000, Roux was a recipient of the UEFA President's Award which recognises outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities.

Roux retired from managing Auxerre in June 2005 to be replaced by Jacques Santini. At the end of his career as Auxerre manager, Roux led Auxerre through about 2,000 games, including a European record of 890 top-flight league matches.

He briefly came out of retirement in June 2007 when he signed a two-year contract with RC Lens. However, he resigned on 25 August 2007 during a 2–1 defeat at Strasbourg after only four matches without a win at the helm.

Roux is famous for his bobble hats and ill-fitting tracksuits. He is also known for his love of local Chablis wines.

Source: Article "Guy Roux" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.