Top facts about Rudi Garcia, French football manager

Rudi José Garcia, a former player and manager in the French professional football league, was born on February 20, 1964. He most recently served as the head coach of Lyon, a Ligue 1 team.

Rudi Garcia’s age

is 58.

The first fact about Rudi Garcia is that he became a coach at his training club, AS Corbeil-Essonnes, after a career as a professional footballer, most notably at Lille OSC, which ended prematurely.

He then joined AS Saint-Étienne, where he held a variety of positions before being promoted to the bench of the first team in Division 1.

Garcia was signed by Dijon FCO in 2002 and promoted to Ligue 2. In 2007, he transferred to Le Mans UC in L1 and had a successful season, prompting LOSC to hire him.

He qualified the team for the European Cup from the start, and in 2011, he won the league and cup double. Garcia left the club to join

two years later.

Following a record start, he twice led the team to second place before being released in the third season. Garcia then made his debut as a consultant for Euro 2016 in France.

He then signed with Olympique de Marseille, which he led to the 2017–18 Europa League final before leaving at the end of the following season. He then joined Lyon's rival from October 2019 to May 2021.

José Garcia, Rudi Garcia's father, was a Spanish expatriate who played professional football for Sedan and

.

During the Spanish Civil War, his grandparents fled Andalusia for the Ardennes area. Garcia is named after Rudi Altig, a German rider.

An important fact about Rudi Garcia is that he attended university between 1992 and 1994, earning a DEUG and a STAPS degree at Orsay, as well as French certificates that allowed him to operate a youth training center.

Top facts about Rudi Garcia:

When José took over as coach of the local club Corbeil-Essonnes, he conscripted his son, Rudi, into the team, where he played till cadet level. Rudi joined the Viry-Châtillon squad since Corbeil-Essonnes did not have a national Cadets team.

A notable fact about Rudi Garcia is that he completed his baccalauréat at the age of 18 and joined

, where he spent two years as an intern and four years as a member of the professional team.

Rudi Garcia early life

Rudi Garcia was born in Nemours on February 20, 1964. His parents named him Rudi after the famous German cyclist Rudi Altig.

Regarding

Rudi Garcia’s parents

, it should be mentioned that he grew up in a football family: his father José was a professional player for USL Dunkerque. He later became the coach of AS Corbeil-Essonnes, where José enrolled his son Rudi, who played up to the junior level.

Rudi left Corbeil to play as a national cadet at ES Viry-Châtillon in 1979, when the club did not have a team.

Regarding

Rudi Garcia’s childhood

, it is worth mentioning that he was called up to the first team, which played in Division 3 1981-1982, in his first year as a junior and left the club on a promotion to the Second Division. He signs his baccalaureate D in his pocket at Lille OSC when he reaches the age of majority.

Rudi Garcia personal life

He divorced Véronique, with whom he had three daughters, Léna, Carla, and Eva. On September 18, 2014, he announced his romantic relationship with Francesca Brienza, host of AS Roma TV and ex-beauty queen, via Twitter.

Garcia handed out symbolic pencils to all journalists at his press conference after the Paris Charlie Hebdo tragedy in January 2015, stating, "The events in Paris were an assault on liberty. But things must not change; this liberty must remain forever."

Rudi Garcia professional career

Rudi Garcia had to retire from playing very early due to various injuries but he established himself as one of the well-known French managers of his generation.

He began his professional career at Lille OSC in 1982 and then moved to SM Caen in 1988, where he played until 1991, after which he joined FC Martigues, where he retired in 1992 due to a series of knee and back injuries.

After a successful career as a professional footballer, in particular with Lille OSC, Garcia became coach at his training club, AS Corbeil-Essonnes.

Rudi Garcia club career

Rudi Garcia spent two years as a trainee at Lille OSC before moving on to four seasons as a professional player.

Lille

On Friday December 14, 1984, during the 20th day of the first division, he scores his first goal in the colors of LOSC against

at the Parc des Princes.

He scores the third goal in his team's 3-2 victory. He plays approximately 170 matches for the northern club whose colors he wore until 1988. As an attacking midfielder for Lille, he scored four goals.

Caen

At the end of his lengthy Lille contract, he moved to Caen, where he was promoted to D1 and then trained by Robert Nouzaret and Daniel Jeandupeux.

He could have stayed in Caen three years later, but he wanted to revitalize himself by joining Martigues. However, repeated back and knee injuries forced him to end his professional career at the age of 28.

Between 1992 and 1994, he took a break from the field. He enrolled in university in order to retrain. At the University of Paris-Sud XI, he earned a DEUG and a STAPS license, as well as first and second degree state certificates in football coaching and a certificate to run a football training center.

At the same time, he works for CanalSatellite, first as a field interviewer and then as a cabin consultant.

Rudi Garcia coaching career

Following his debut as a consultant for Euro 2016 in France, Garcia signed for

, leading them to the 2017-2018 Europa League final before resigning at the end of the following season. Later, he joined rival Lyon from October 2019 to May 2021.

Corbeil-Essonnes AS (1995-1998)

An important

fact about Rudi Garcia

is that he returned to the field as an amateur in the Division d'honneur with AS Corbeil-Essonnes in 1994. He took on the role of player-coach two months after the end of the first season and remained in that position until the end of the following year (1995-1996). He then focuses solely on his role as coach.

His three full seasons on the bench enable the club to obtain a maintenance, a season in the middle of the table, and a second-place finish, allowing access to a dam lost for the rise in CFA 2.

Saint-Étienne

Garcia joined AS Saint-Étienne, which was then in the second division, thanks to Gérard Soler and Robert Nouzaret. Physical trainer in 1998-1999, he then held, among other functions, the study of the adversaries' strategy or the development and viewing of the Greens' game.

Gradually, his role evolved into that of an assistant, which he shared with Robert Nouzaret beginning in July 2000 and was taken over by John Toshack the following fall.

Saint-Étienne had to deal with the fake passport scandal during the winter of 2001, and the results on the ground were disappointing. Welsh coach Toshack leaves Forez and is replaced by assistant Garcia, who is assisted by Jean-Guy Wallemme (player-coach).

Despite this precarious situation, the duo of Garcia on the bench and Wallemme on the field began by defeating Nicolas Anelka's PSG (1-0).

The Greens then stringed together six defeats and four draws for a single victory. With seven penalty points, the pair cannot avoid relegation (linked to false passports). Garcia is not retained in D2. Alain Michel replaces the duo in June 2001.

Rudi Garcia's future is then uncertain; the various functions that the Forézien club wishes to entrust to him do not suit him, and he is fired in mid-August 2001, while all of the clubs have already found their coach for the 2001-2002 season.

Dijon and Le Mans

Garcia was contacted in the spring of 2002 by Dijon FCO, which was then struggling to keep the National. On May 21, 2002, Garcia signs a contract.

After nine days, the 2002-2003 season had a mixed bag of results: three wins, three draws, and three losses. The continuation is better, with a fourth-place finish in third division.

The 2003-2004 fiscal year ended in third place, which is synonymous with a rise in Ligue 2. Sébastien Heitzmann of Dijon was the top scorer. The Burgundian club also advanced to the Coupe de France semi-finals in Châteauroux, where they were defeated 2-0.

Garcia and

have risen to the second division, but they fall short of a second promotion, finishing fourth in Ligue 2 2004-2005, tied with two other teams, all eleven points behind the third and last promoted team, and only two points ahead of the ninth.

After being eliminated in the seventh round of the Coupe de France, the team advanced three rounds in the Coupe de la Ligue until the round of 16.

The 2005-2006 season was similar, with a fifth-place finish in the league and a six-point climb, but five rounds in the National Cup (eighth final) and two in the League Cup (sixteenth final).

In 2006-2007, the team finished eighth in Ligue 2 (seventh equal), sixteen points shy of promotion, and fourteen points shy of relegation.

Garcia's Dijon FCO was eliminated from the Coupe de France by a National team as soon as they entered the seventh round, while they spent three rounds in the Coupe de la Ligue.

In the summer of 2007, Rudi Garcia rediscovered Ligue 1 by joining Le Mans Union Club, whose goal was to keep it. With three wins and a draw in four days, the MUC72 is off to a great start.

Fifth in the mid-championship standings with players such as Daisuke Matsui, Stéphane Sessègnon, Gervinho, Grafite, Tulio De Melo, Garcia and his attacking style team, Garcia and his attacking style team eventually finished ninth. Les Manceaux have also reached the semi-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue.

Lille

On June 18, 2008, he left Le Mans to join Lille, where he succeeded Claude Puel. LOSC earned one point and scored two goals in the first three days of Ligue 1. Lille then went undefeated in the next ten games to qualify for the new Europa League.

On June 2, 2009, the club fired him, much to everyone's surprise, after he had just qualified the team for the Europa League, but he had a strained relationship with general manager Xavier Thuilot.

On June 18, 2009, the club's management reconsiders its decision and separates from the leader. Rudi Garcia then accepted the president and shareholder Michel Seydoux's offer to return to coach Lille.

Gervinho, the coach's former player at Le Mans, joins him on the northern bench for his second season. The latter scored 18 league goals and led the club to fourth place in the league. Aimé Jacquet would proclaim him to be one of the best hopes for the French benches.

In 2010–11, he won his first major title by defeating Paris Saint-Germain 1–0 in the Coupe de France final. After a 2-2 draw against the same PSG on May 21, 2011, his club completed a historic double by winning the Ligue 1 title.

At the UNFP Football Trophies, he was voted best coach of the season. He is also one of ten coaches named the best in the world in 2011-13.

The club returned to the Champions League in 2011-2012, its final season at the Villeneuve-d'Ascq stadium, but lost the 2011 Champions Trophy against OM, leading 3-1 in the 72nd minute but losing 4-5 before the end of regulation time. LOSC finished third in the Ligue 1 standings.

A notable fact about Rudi Garcia is that he enters the new enclosure (which will be renamed the Pierre-Mauroy stadium) for his fifth and final year in the North and competes in the Champions League once more.

After many senior player departures from year to year, the club lost

that season and regressed in the championship hierarchy (sixth). The technician then decides to discontinue his work with LOSC.

A.S. Roma

Rudi Garcia is appointed coach of AS Roma for a two-year contract extension on June 12, 2013. He meets his protege Gervinho, who was recruited from Arsenal and with whom he won the French championship in 2011.

Rudi Garcia then had the best start to a season in Serie A history, winning his first ten games, surpassing Giovanni Trapattoni and Michel Platini's eight victories for Juventus in 1985-1986 16.

On this occasion, he also broke a European record that had previously been held by

in 1968-1969 and Chelsea in 2005-2006, and which would not be matched until 2015-2016 by

. Club de la Louve regained control of the championship, which they had not won since 2001.

The draw on Torino's ground, however, prevented him from matching Tottenham, who had won their first eleven games in 1960.

However, AS Roma were unable to maintain this pace and were overtaken by Juventus, who will have a 17-point lead at the end of the season. The Louve team has finished second for the first time since 2009-2010.

The following season is similar to the previous one. Indeed, until halfway through the season, AS Roma is able to compete with Juventus. Roma, on the other hand, failed to keep up and found themselves trailing Juventus and even battling for second place with neighbors Lazio Rome.

According to La Repubblica, he was approached by Real Madrid in the summer of 2015 to replace Carlo Ancelotti, but he declined the offer. Rafael Bentez was then selected by the Spanish club.

Garcia was fired on January 13, 2016 and replaced by Luciano Spalletti after a lower-level start to the 2015-2016 fiscal year, with elimination as soon as they entered the Italian Cup in the round of 16, but still qualifying for the Champions League and a European place in Serie A mid-season.

On May 17, 2016, TF1 announced that he would be a commentator for Euro 2016 matches. He will continue to serve as a consultant for the 2018 World Cup alongside Christian Jeanpierre.

Marseille

On October 20, 2016, he was named coach of Olympique de Marseille, which had recently been purchased by Frank McCourt. Rudi Garcia was on the verge of joining OM at the end of 2001, when OM sporting director Bernard Tapie was looking for a replacement for Tomislav Ivi on the Olympian bench.

A notable

fact about Rudi Garcia

is that he began his career with OM with a goalless draw away to Paris Saint-Germain, which ended a run of ten consecutive defeats for OM against their rival. The Marseillais then alternate between the good and the bad (two wins, two draws, and two losses).

The club strengthened during the winter transfer window with the return of Dimitri Payet and the signings of Morgan Sanson and Patrice Évra. He finished fifth with OM at the end of the 2016–17 season, earning a place in the Europa League.

The club struggled to find a replacement for Bafétimbi Gomis at the start of the 2017–18 season and signed Kóstas Mtroglou on the final day of the transfer window. With the help of Luiz Gustavo, OM fought for the podium until the final day, finishing fourth in the championship.

At the European level, the club went on an eighteen-game winning streak and advanced to the final after qualifying against Red Bull Salzburg (3-2 after). Rudi Garcia's men were defeated by Atlético de Madrid during the final march (0-3 in Lyon).

In 2018-2019, the technician's squad includes three world champions: Steve Mandanda, Adil Rami, and Florian Thauvin.

During the 2018 summer transfer window, Garcia brought to Olympique de Marseille Kevin Strootman, a player he managed at AS Roma.

He attended the 20th UEFA Elite Club Coaches Forum in Nyon on September 5, 2018, alongside foreign counterparts such as Diego Simeone,

, Carlo Ancelotti,

, and even Rafael Benitez.

This forum discusses the technical and tactical aspects of the game and its development, as well as the harmonization of transfer periods and arbitration issues.

He extended his contract with Olympique de Marseille until 2021 22 on October 27, 2018. OM finished fifth in Ligue 1 and became the first team to miss out on the European Cup. On May 22, 2019, he announced his departure from the club at the end of the 2018-2019 season during a press conference.

Olympique Lyonnais

Rudi Garcia signed a contract extension with Olympique Lyonnais until June 30, 2021, succeeding Sylvinho.

A notable fact about Rudi Garcia is that he arrives in Lyon accompanied by his assistant, Claude Fichaux. Garcia begins his career with Lyon on October 19 against Dijon in Ligue 1 (0-0) before moving on to Benfica in the Champions League on October 23. (2-1 defeat).

The following three Champions League matches resulted in a 3–1 victory over Benfica, a 2–0 loss to Zenith Saint Petersburg, and a 2–2 draw with RB Leipzig.

The global covid 19 crisis ended the 2019-2020 fiscal year in the league; when the championship ended, there were ten days left to play, but OL were seventh and thus finished in this non-qualifying position for a European cup.

Rudi Garcia and his players qualified for the Coupe de la Ligue final on January 21, 2020, before losing on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in the competition final on July 31, 2020, following the post-Covid recovery.

OL eliminated Juventus Turin in the round of 16 of the Champions League (after a 1-0 victory in the first leg and a 2-1 defeat in the return leg, away), becoming the first French club to do so 25. On August 15, 2020, OL defeated

and qualified for the Champions League semi-finals 26.

The following season, Rudi Garcia and OL reached the Coupe de France quarter-finals after defeating AC Ajaccio, FC Sochaux, and Red Star, but were eliminated by AS Monaco. The club is the league's autumn champion before slipping in the standings in 2021.

After a 2-3 defeat at the Groupama Stadium on the final day of the championship against OGC Nice, the team finishes fourth, one point behind champion Lille, PSG, and ASM.

This deprives the Lyonnais of a place in the Champions League, which was within their grasp following RC Lens' draw against Monaco, which had preceded them by one point in the standings. The Lyonnais will thus compete in the Europa League, and Rudi Garcia has failed to qualify OL for the C1 in the last two seasons.

The same evening, after several months of speculation pointing to a contract non-renewal, according to the president Jean-Michel Aulas, he announced that he would no longer be the coach of OL the following season. as well as the fact that he is not a candidate for his own succession.

On May 24, 2021, the day after a 3-2 defeat to OGC Nice, the leaders of Olympique Lyonnais agreed to terminate Rudi Garcia's contract.

Following his departure, the coach gave an interview to the sports daily Equipe in which he expressed his displeasure with the sports director, Juninho. This interview has received negative feedback from the club and the fans.

Some quick facts about Rudi Garcia:

Garcia's first goal for Lille, which he scored as an attacking midfielder, was a memorable one. Lille took against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes in December 1984.

With the score at 2–2, Garcia scored to give his team the victory against the Parisian club. He played for the Northern club for around 170 games until leaving in 1988.

Garcia joined Caen from Lille, where he was coached by Robert Nouzaret and Daniel Jeandupeux. Rather of joining with the Normandy club in 1991, he chose to join Martigues. At the age of 28, he was forced to retire from professional football due to serious back and knee ailments.

With two months left in the season, Garcia returned to Corbeil to lead the Division d'Honneur team. He led the club out of the relegation zone. The team finished mid-table in the following seasons, and second-placed in the following season.

Garcia served as the club's player-manager from 1994 to 1996 before taking over as manager from 1996 and 1998.

He worked as a physiotherapist for two years in the late 1990s. Then he became a scout, observing opponents and supporting Saint-Étienne in the development of strategies. Gradually, his job moved to that of an assistant coach, which he shared with Nouzaret beginning in July 2000 and then with John Toshack.

When Toshack returned to Spain in early 2001, Garcia and Jean-Guy Wallemme took over the first-team responsibilities.

Les Verts were having a bad season at the time. The club's involvement in several scandals involving counterfeit passports worsened the team's poor results on the field.

The Garcia/Wallemme combination was unable to reverse the trend, and Saint-Étienne was effectively relegated to the French second level in May 2001. Wallemme departed the club the following month, and Garcia was sacked in August 2001. A decade later, the two men would be in charge of Lens and Lille, respectively.

A notable fact about Rudi Garcia is that he resumed his work as a football analyst. He was also passing his Diplôme d'Entraineur Professionel de Football, the French counterpart of the professional coaching badge, at the same time. Dijon approached him in the spring of 2002, and he signed with them on May 21, 2002.

In 2003–04, he assisted the club's promotion to Ligue 2. The Bourgogne club even advanced to the Coupe de France semi-finals, when Châteauroux beat it 2–0.

Garcia departed Dijon in June 2007 for Le Mans, another club he vowed to overhaul in a single season. The Sarthe club played some enjoyable games that produced results, thanks to players like Romaric, Marko Baa, and Yohann Pelé. Le Mans finished tenth in Ligue 1 and advanced to the Coupe de la Ligue semi-finals.

Garcia cancelled his contract with the club on June 18, 2008, to join Lille, where he had previously spent six years as a player in the 1980s. They established a sleek and offensive attitude in his debut season, in contrast to former coach Claude Puel's conservative and sometimes dull tactics.

Garcia's strategy reportedly helped players like Ludovic Obraniak and Michel Bastos improve, with the latter becoming the league's leading scorer with 14 goals. Garcia also gave promising teenager Eden Hazard, later of Chelsea and Real Madrid, a lot of playing time.

An important fact about Rudi Garcia is that he was fired by the board of directors on June 2, 2009, after leading the team to its highest league result in three years and qualifying it for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.

The termination was said to be the result of a disagreement between the manager and a member of the board of directors, Xavier Thuilot.

Later that month, Garcia was fired from the board of directors, and on June 18, 2009, club president and significant shareholder Michel Seydoux offered Garcia the manager role again, which he accepted.

At the time, Aimé Jacquet thought the Nemours-born coach was one of the "brightest possibilities" in French football management.

Garcia, along with former Paris Saint-Germain manager Antoine Kombouaré, is viewed as one of a tiny group of managers who favor attacking football as the greatest method of achieving success in a nation known for the defensive strategy used by most of its coaches.

Lille continued to progress in the league in 2009–10, finishing one spot higher than their fifth-place result in 2008–09. The team had the top offensive in the competition, scoring 72 goals, even more than winners Marseille. As a result, the entertaining side was dubbed "the Barça of the North" by the French media and experts.

The club's breakthrough came in the 2010–11 season. Garcia led les Dogues to their first Coupe de France title since 1955 in May, when they defeated Paris Saint-Germain.

The league and cup double was completed the next month, on May 21, after another 2–2 draw against PSG. Garcia was named the best Ligue 1 coach of the 2010–11 season at the UNFP du football Trophées.

A notable fact about Rudi Garcia is that he dedicated his trophy to his late father José at the ceremony, even delivering a few words in Spanish as a respect to his father's roots.

Garcia was named the next manager of Roma on June 12, 2013, according to Roma President James Pallotta, news that was originally met with skepticism by Roma supporters.

Roma won their first 10 Serie A matches in the 2013–14 season.

had previously had the greatest ever start in Serie A history in the 2005–06 season, when the Turin team won its first nine Serie A matches.

Roma began the 2013–14 Serie A season with a 2–0 derby triumph over city rivals Lazio, a 3–0 away victory over Internazionale, and a 2–0 home victory over championship rivals

.

Roma scored 24 goals during their ten-match winning streak, surrendering just one goal, away to Parma. On 3 November 2013, it was beaten to a 1–1 draw against Torino, ending a ten-match winning run in Serie A. Roma surrendered their first goal in 743 minutes of Serie A football during that encounter.

Roma, on the other hand, ended in second place in Serie A, 17 points behind winners Juventus. Roma qualified for the UEFA Champions League the next season after placing second; it had previously competed in the competition during the 2010–11 season.

An important

fact about Rudi Garcia

is that he requested, prior to the start of the 2014–15 season, the addition of new talents as well as veteran players to provide squad depth for the next season.

Roma's summer transfer activity was spectacular, with the signings of youthful talents Juan Iturbe, Salih Uçan, and Antonio Sanabria. Roma also added experienced players

and Seydou Keita, as well as Italian defender Davide Astori.

With goals from Radja Nainggolan and Gervinho, Garcia's side started the 2014–15 Serie A season with a 2–0 victory against Fiorentina. Roma maintained their winning streak after defeating Empoli 1–0 in the league's second match.

Garcia then led Roma to a 5–1 win against CSKA Moscow in their opening match of Group E of the group stage, in their first Champions League play since 2010–11. Roma got promoted to the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League knockout round after finishing third in their group.

Garcia was sent off by the referee during a Serie A match against Juventus on October 5, 2014, after making a violin gesture to protest the referee's decision to give Juve a penalty.

Juventus triumphed 3–2 in the contentious encounter. Garcia commented after the match, "It's a shame that the penalty area here [in Turin] is just 17 meters. But I'm pleased with my squad, which has a lot of personality. There were several occurrences today, but we were also somewhat to blame for our loss."

Roma ended the 2014–15 Serie A season in second place, 17 points behind Juventus, precisely as the previous season.

After matchdays 9 and 10 of the 2015–16 season, in late October, Roma was on top of the Serie A standings. The team also qualified for the knockout stages of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League after placing second in their group with just six points.

Garcia and his coaching assistants, Frédéric Bompard and Claude Fichaux, were fired by Roma on January 13, 2016, after a terrible run in which the team won just one of their past 10 matches in all competitions, and only one of their last seven in Serie A.

Roma's official website announced Garcia's dismissal, with club president James Pallotta praising him for his efforts, "I'd like to thank Rudi Garcia on behalf of myself and everyone at AS Roma for all of his efforts since joining the club. We've all had some wonderful experiences throughout his time at Roma, but we feel it's time for a change."

Garcia began his career with CanalSatellite as a reporter for post-match interviews and then as a studio analyst.

Rudi Garcia social media

Regarding

Rudi Garcia social media

, it should be mentioned that he has an Instagram page (

) with more than 29k followers. On the page, we can see various pictures of him with the fans and his family.  He also has a Twitter account (

) with more than 280 followers.

Rudi Garcia body measurements

Speaking about

Rudi Garcia body measurements

, it should be mentioned that the coach is 180cm and 76kg.

Rudi Garcia net worth and salary

Rudi Garcia's net worth

is estimated to be $10 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.

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