Guy Roux, legend of the dugout

The case of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United is always talked about as the greatest example of longevity on the benches of professional football, especially due to the success he achieved in his 27 years at the English club.

However, there is a much more significant case in this genre which was that of Guy Roux who spent more than 40 years in the same club, Auxerre, and took it from the fourth tier of French football to winning a double (the league and the cup) in the highest level of French football. A unique, and probably unrepeatable case in football these days where impatience abounds.

In front of AJ Auxerre's home stadium Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps

AJ Auxerre

The club AJ Auxerre was founded on December 29, 1905 by Father Ernest Deschamps as a multi-sports club and in 1906 the football section was created to participate in the Catholic league of the region, where it quickly became one of the strongest teams, which allowed them to be invited to participate in other tournaments at the national level.

After World War I, the club lost the land where it played its games, so Father Deschamps had to start getting small pieces of land until he formed his new pitch, which would later become the Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps, a stadium where the club still play this date. The team would join the French football system, remaining in the lower divisions until 1980, when they would play for the first time in the first tier.

The man Guy Roux

Guy Roux was born in Colmar, France, on October 18, 1938, the son of a World War II prisoner of war, he was raised by his uncle and grandfather, alternating between his hometown and Appoigny and during this time he developed his love for football. He started in the youth teams of Auxerre, with whom he debuted in the first team in 1954 and would remain for 3 more years before trying his luck in two other small clubs; the Stade Poitevin and Limoges.

In the latter, he began to notice that, despite loving football, he did not see much future as a player since, in his own words "he had some technique and physique but he lacked liveliness." On the other hand, being a manager was something that he was passionate about and where he saw himself as having a greater capacity to stand out in the world of football.

Roux becomes manager for Auxerre

At that point, he began to look for an opportunity as a manager at Auxerre, where he sent letters almost weekly to the club's board to explain his ideas and project to take the team to the first tier of French football, something that seemed very difficult considering that at that time Auxerre was playing in the fourth tier of the French league system. Roux's insistence bore fruit when in 1961, the Burgundy club, in a complicated sporting, economic and institutional situation, decided to give him the opportunity to become player-manager.

Over the years he developed his own personality, although there were characteristic things that he always had, such as patience, something that he himself attributed to his upbringing in the countryside. Roux was a manager who lived football, thinking about it all day long and how to improve and take advantage. For example, when they played at home, he would give different balls to the opponents to warm them up before games or leave them without heat in their locker rooms during the winter.

In 1962, he interrupted his recently started stage as a manager in Auxerre to do his military service, where he continued to coach but this time his brigade team. In 1964, he would return to Auxerre, once his time in the military had ended, to resume his project that was focused on achieving promotions to the French first tier. After 4 consecutive fourth places, in the 1969-70 season, they would win the Fourth Division (Division d'Honneur) and achieve their first promotion. With that achievement, he decided to retire as a football player to dedicate himself completely to being a manager.

In the third tier, they started strong, finishing the next 3 years in third (twice) and fifth place until in 1973-74, they finished in fourth position, with the particularity that the three teams that were above They were reserve teams for Lyon, Marseille and Saint-Étienne, so they could not be promoted and that gave Auxerre the first promotion spot. By moving to Division 2, the team was at a professional level and one step away from meeting Roux's goal, Division 1 (which was the highest level in France at that time).

The last step to reach the highest level is taken

In the 1977-78 season, Auxerre became known throughout France as the film Coupe de Tete began to be filmed, which is about the journey of a small team in the Coupe de France and the Auxerre players and Guy Roux They acted as extras and advisor, respectively. Coincident or not, in the 1978-79 season, Auxerre advanced in the cup until they against all odds reached the final where they were up against Nantes. They tied in the 90 minutes although in extra time they were defeated 4-1. In the league they had performed at a good level but without reaching the promotion positions.

However, just one year later, they would finish first in group B of Division 2, tied on points with Avignon but the better goal difference of Roux's team favored them and allowed them to reach Division 1. The dream had become actually almost two decades later. Roux was clear that he did not want to be a one-hit-wonder, he wanted to establish himself in the first tier and to do that they had to be intelligent, patient and not exceed the limits of their budget.

Something that helped Auxerre stay in the highest tier was how well they took advantage of their youth teams, producing players like Éric Cantona, Basile Boli or Frederic Darras in the 80s who developed under Roux to have very good careers. The manager had a special tact for handling young people to the point of seeming like a father figure more than a coach. In the 1992-93 season, with Auxerre more than consolidated as a top-level team in France, they continued to make history, this time in Europe, by reaching the semifinals of the UEFA Cup, being eliminated on penalties by Borussia Dortmund.

First major title for Roux

In 1994, Roux turned down the opportunity to coach the France national team as he felt he could still achieve things with Auxerre and he was not wrong as that same year they would win their first major title, the Coupe de France, beating the Montpellier in the final. However, the following year, they would raise the stakes even further by repeating the cup title and also winning the league, a historic double. In the new millennium, with another generation of players like Djibril Cisse, Philippe Mexès en Jean-Alain Boumsong, he would win the French cup in 2003 and 2005, something that showed his greatness and consistency over time.

After winning the Coupe de France in 2005, he decided to leave the club to retire after more than 4 decades at. Even so, he continued to provide advice and guidance to Auxerre in the youth teams and in some sporting matters for the first team. In 2007 he returned to the manager role briefly for Lens, although in this case, they did not have the patience for him to form a successful project and a few weeks later he left the club to retire permanently.