News about Laurent Blanc

THE voice is measured but there can be no doubt about its strength. 'The streets where I lived and played were made of dirt. There were no cars, only bicycles. We were boys of five to age 10. This is where I had to learn to become a winner. I had to build my mentality against bigger boys. The competition, for me, starts as soon as you learn to walk. 'I wanted to win. I lost so many times. I was crying with anger when that happened. But losing is part of life too. We used to play in bare feet. I had cuts and bruises, wounds in my leg, but I never remember complaining. I broke my leg at six years of age and then I broke my arm. But I always wanted to be out in the streets playing football.'

Although nearly all mothers will be the first to tell you how proud they are of their sons, only a select few will claim to have raised a hero professional athlete - or in Judy Murray's case, two. They have played a vital part in promoting the success of an even smaller number of them. This can mean either behind the scenes in the boardroom, such as Adrian Rabiot and Kylian Mbappe's manager mothers, or providing vital emotional assistance.

Franz Beckenbauer died at the age of 78 this week and will be remembered as one of football's all-time great defenders. Fans and Bayern Munich are even planning the German's biggest funeral of all time in the Allianz Arena's 75,000 capacity. Moreover, the Italians, who are best known for their stellar defenses, rated him as the best way to play the game. Jeff Powell of Mail Sport has had the opportunity to watch Beckenbauer and several of his contemporaries play live, as well as compiling his own list.

Following Lyon's miserable start to the season, global pop star Taylor Swift could give the Ligue 1 strugglers a huge headache at the end of the season. The seven-time French champions, who have ex-Premier League players Alexandre Lacazette and Dejan Lovren in their ranks, have won just one of their first 13 league games and currently sits last place in France's top division. They fired former World Cup winner Fabio Grosso last week and are now looking for their third manager of the season after replacing Pierre Sage in interim charge after having parted ways with Laurent Blanc in September.

In a star-studded match against Team Calais, the legendary trickster wore the No 10 shirt for Le Varietes Club de France against Team Calais. Alongside Hazard, Didier Deschamps, Robert Pires, Christian Karembeu, Jens Lehmann, Laurent Blanc, Yohan Cabaye, and Mathieu Debuchy appeared. Pieces Jaunes, a charity that supports children and teenagers in hospital, was raised during the competition. (Yellow Pieces)

After sacking Laurent Blanc earlier this month, Lyon has named former Inter Milan and Juventus fullback Fabio Grosso as manager. After one point from their opening four games, Blanc departed with the French side at the bottom of Ligue 1 for a single point. Blanc suggested that the club should 'change the manager' before he was fired.

According to French reports, a former Manchester United defender has been fired by Lyon following a slow start to the season. Since losing by just one point from their opening four games, which also included 4-1 losses to Paris Saint-Germain and Montpellier, the French side is currently in last place in Ligue 1. It comes in stark contrast to Lyon's 2022-23 campaign, which saw them finish seventh and qualify for the French Cup semi finals.

According to reports, Lyon's under-fire manager Laurent Blanc is threatening Graham Potter as a potential replacement. Lyon has off to a rocky start to their Ligue 1 season, with just one point in four games separating them from the rest of the table. After the club's 4-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain over the weekend, players were given a dressing down by the club's ultras, who are now said to be considering replacements for Blanc.

Kylian Mbappe of France won PSG away at Lyon by 4-1 margin, securing that the Parisians remain unbeaten in Ligue 1. Mbappe's fourth minute penalty sparked an electric first half for Laurent Blanc's side, who lost 4-0 up inside the first half. Achraf Hakimi and Marcos Asensio scored excellent breakaway goals before Mbappe's spectacular chip gave PSG the victory.

MIKE DICKSON OF PARIS: The British number one advanced 6-1 6-3 6-3 6-3 for the displeasure of the audience on Court Suzanne Lenglen, who booed Norrie as he sprinted to victory in the third set. They were angry that he didn't give a double bounce in the fifth game of the season, and it seemed they missed out as he lunged forward to try and scoop the ball as it died in the surface. Pouille accused umpire Eva Asderaki Moore, who found that Norrie had legitimately fought for it. The Frenchman called the call 'crazy.'

Manchester United have confirmed that they would play Lyon in a pre-season friendly at Murrayfield, Scotland's home venue. Erik ten Hag and his players will face the Ligue 1 side in Edinburgh on July 19 before embarking on their tour of the United States. Man United's first match in 13 years will be played in Scotland.

In his pre-match press conference, the former France boss attempted to brush off any transfer-related concerns. It didn't work out, and Blanc smiled back at the questions and gave the public an indication that if they did not change the subject, they would leave. When a query about the upcoming match finally appeared, the former Bordeaux and PSG boss did exactly the same ten minutes later. His behavior made him regret that the subject had taken so long, and he was not content.

During the January transfer window, Lyon boss Laurent Blanc has stymied Chelsea's hopes of bringing a talented right-back Malo Gusto. Graham Potter's side had hoped to bring in the 19-year-old and increase their spending for this month to much more than £200 million, but Blanc said that would not be the case. Until Blanc's reaffirmed press conference, Lyon's president Jean-Michel Aulas had already spoken to media about Gusto remaining in France this week.

Lyon has been named as the former France and Paris St-Germain coach Blanc, after Peter Bosz was fired. The former Manchester United defender, 56, most recently led Qataris Al-Rayyan, but he returns to his home country for the first time since leading PSG to a domestic treble in 2016. Lyon has had a rough start to the season, losing just one point from their last five games, so the team decided to make the switch. Henry, a former Arsenal striker who served alongside Blanc as France won the 1998 World Cup, has backed his former teammate, although he admits it will be a difficult challenge, particularly the one concerning the possibility of dealing with an experienced centre-back Jerome Boateng.