Patrice Lair enjoys Mexico and hints at stopping, praises easy-going approach | OneFootball

Patrice Lair is thriving at Deportivo Toluca after leaving France last spring amid controversies, yet he talks of ending his career this spring, a promise he concedes he might not keep.

According to L'Équipe, the 64-year-old has been in Toluca since last year, where Amandine Henry and Eugénie Le Sommer share a dressing room with prospects, and he says the move has enriched him beyond finances.

He says his pay is akin to a Ligue 1 men’s post, but he values the easy-going culture, less fuss over matchday nutrition, and the freedom to work.

A recent win lifted Toluca to third, though life at 2,600 metres has its risks. Weeks ago he was taken to hospital after an in-game cardiac alert, still texting for the result.

Arriving via Henry, the former Montpellier, PSG and Lyon coach won the Women’s Champions League in 2011 and 2012. He later had short, unsuccessful spells at Niort, Guingamp and Châteauroux, plus a longer stint at Bordeaux from 2021 to 2024.

Toluca are outsiders for the title, so a semi-final would already count as success. He says expectations are high and crowds of about 3,000 could rise to 10,000 to 12,000 if they reach the last four.

He feels France is no longer for him but says he has no regrets, and he laments Bordeaux’s decline. Family pulls him home, and despite an extension option he plans to return in spring and stop, though he might not resist the dugout’s lure.

Source: L'Équipe