Christophe Galtier explains how he copied Arsène Wenger’s pre-match ritual | OneFootball

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·17 January 2022

Christophe Galtier explains how he copied Arsène Wenger’s pre-match ritual

Article image:Christophe Galtier explains how he copied Arsène Wenger’s pre-match ritual

In speaking with France Football, after being named French coach of the year by the publication, Nice manager Christophe Galtier answered questions submitted by his coaching peers, including former Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger.

Other than losing, what’s your least favourite aspect of your job and, other than winning, what’s your most favourite part? (question submitted by Arsène Wenger)“I don’t like the 25 minutes alone in my office when the players leave to warm up. I met Arsène at Arsenal and was surprised to see him go to the sponsor’s boxes during the warm-up. He told me that it allowed him to meet people and avoid being alone for 25 to 30 minutes. He was right. We are alone with ourselves at that moment, asking ourselves lots of questions. ‘Is the game plan good? What’s going to happen? Was I right to do this?’ At Saint-Étienne, I applied what Arsène told me. I went to greet the sponsors and that allowed me not to rehash my decisions. I stopped when we started playing every three days.”


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“What I like most is when you analyse your opponents well, find a strategy to put them in difficulty, speak to your players, have them follow your ideas and, on matchday, everything happens as you planned. When that happens, it’s joyous. The five to ten minutes after the final whistle, in terms of adrenaline, are incredible.”

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