Lens have turned to Yannick Cahuzac sooner than anyone at the club expected, but the former midfielder’s promotion comes with a costly administrative consequence as he takes charge without the required professional coaching qualification.
The Ligue 1 news
Cahuzac was named Lens head coach this week after Dino Toppmöller was dismissed. His appointment followed a return to Pas-de-Calais during the summer, after two and a half years as Olivier Pantaloni’s assistant at Lorient.
Benjamin Parrot, the Lens general manager, said Cahuzac had always been seen as a possible first-team coach in the longer term, but stressed that the change had not been planned for this stage of the season.
“When Yannick came back to the club, we knew that one day he could become Lens manager,” Parrot said. “But it was meant to be one day, not now.”
Parrot said the club had chosen Cahuzac after a difference in footballing vision, with Lens deciding to stand by what he described as the club’s core principles.
Lens will now be fined €25,000 for every Ligue 1 match in which Cahuzac is listed as coach because he has not yet obtained the BEPF, France’s professional coaching diploma. The sanction could reach €750,000 by the end of the campaign.
The club sought an exemption on the grounds that Cahuzac is currently completing the qualification. That request was rejected because he does not have the required 12 months of service at Lens.
The new coach must therefore combine his training course with the demands of leading a Ligue 1 side. Cahuzac acknowledged that the coming months will require careful planning with the club.
“My focus is fully on Friday,” he said. “After that match, we will sit down with the directors and work out how things will be organised when I have to be away for my course.”
He added: “It will be a busy year. I feel ready to be here, but I do not believe I have the complete package of a head coach yet. Media work and communication are not what I enjoy most. I am still learning through the BEPF. I do not see myself as a finished number one; I am becoming one.”
Next appointment in France
Cahuzac’s first immediate test comes on Friday, when Lens travel to Monaco for the fifth round of Ligue 1 fixtures.
