Claude Puel’s hallmark is launching youngsters in Ligue 1 | OneFootball

Back at Nice during the winter break, Claude Puel, 64, has made promoting youth his trademark. L'Équipe notes that he has introduced 53 players to Ligue 1 since beginning his coaching career in the late 1990s.

He also leads the way for debuts given to under-20s since January 1999, ahead of Alain Casanova on 25, Antoine Kombouaré 23, Christophe Galtier 22 and Frédéric Antonetti 21.

His first was David Di Tommaso on 16 January 1999 in Lens v Monaco, 1-1. On 3 January he handed 21-year-old Zoumana Diallo his first Ligue 1 minutes against Strasbourg. Last Sunday Kaïl Boudache came on versus Brest, 2-2, then scored his first goal on Wednesday against Montpellier in the Coupe de France quarter-finals, 3-2.

Puel says he had not planned to become a manager, expecting instead to run AS Monaco’s academy before taking the job by chance. He says he has kept a developer’s mindset across all professionals and believes the link between academy and first team must be meaningful, otherwise investment in development makes little sense.

Former Nice midfielder Vincent Koziello, who broke through under him in 2014, describes a coach who is selective rather than reckless. If a player trains well and absorbs his tactical demands, Puel is not afraid to play him.

For Puel the approach brings freshness and participation within the squad, and he kept to it even amid intense demands for results at Lyon from 2008 to 2011. With injuries, limited means, difficult markets or the form of certain players, a strong academy can steady performances.

Newly back at the club, he leans on assistant Julien Sablé, who leads the academy and advises which youngsters can train without lowering standards.

Source: L'Équipe