A reference in European football in terms of training, FC Barcelona is said to have largely taken inspiration from a major French club in this area.
Many clubs and coaches are inspired by FC Barcelona, a model in terms of play and training. But the Catalan giant, in the past, did not hesitate to draw a few ideas and a few principles from a French club: FC Nantes.
This is what Christophe Lollichon says in an interview with Pedro Footballe. The former Chelsea goalkeeping coach remembers a discussion he had with Samuel Eto’o in London. The Cameroonian asked him questions about his career, and Lollichon explained to him that he had started with the Canaries, in his hometown. “Did you start in Nantes? These are the ones that Barça copied »replied the former Blaugrana scorer.
Christophe Lollichon during his time at Chelsea.
Lollichon asked Eto’o for more details. The Cameroonian then explained to him that he had asked Barça for help for its foundations in Africa, in particular by asking for some educators. Response from the Catalans, according to comments reported by Lollichon: “It’s going to cost you dearly, go and ask Nantes, we took so many things from them. »
When Barça came to Nantes…
Surprised by this anecdote, Christophe Lollichon telephoned Raynald Denoueix, legendary coach of FC Nantes, that same evening. The latter reminded him of the regular presence of a car registered in Catalonia, near the Canaries training center, Jonelière. For several days, a man filmed the training sessions of Yellow and Green, those of the professionals but also those of the young people at the training center.
Raynald Denoueix also remembered the fact that the legendary Johan Cruyff (to whom we owe the current playing identity of FC Barcelona) had visited the Beaujoire stadium several times during the famous 1994-1995 season, where Jean-Claude Suaudeau’s FC Nantes had subjugated the French championship.
