Coupe de France: Paris FC coach, Nîmes Stéphane Gilli now stands on his own two feet

Depuis sept mois, Stéphane Gilli a quitté son costume d'adjoint pour endosser celui d'entraîneur en chef. MAXPPP – Guillaume SALIGOT

Adjoint au long cours, le Nîmois Stéphane Gilli est devenu coach numéro 1 du Paris FC qui affrontera Alès samedi 6 janvier en 32e de finale de la Coupe de France. Portrait.

He must "lead by example". Tomorrow evening, Stéphane Gilli will not join his wife and his son Léo, midfielder of the U17 Crocos, in his house in Nîmes where he spent the holidays. He will sleep at the hotel in Ville Active with his staff and players. "I advocate group unity, so I was not going to escape", explains the coach of Paris FC (L2), who will face Alès (N2) Saturday at the Pibarot stadium (3:30 p.m.) where he does not remember playing, "maybe a friendly match".

He grew up in Chemin-Bas d'Avignon

S’He was born in Hérault, in Ganges, not far from Roquedur where his maternal grandparents lived, Stéphane Gilli, 49 years old, has always lived in Nîmes. He grew up in Chemin-Bas d’Avignon, his first club, and passed his baccalaureate at Dhuoda high school.

Player, he was not pro

He was already 21 years old when, spotted by Jean-Charles Canetti, he joined the Nîmes Olympique reserve. He did several training sessions with the pros but the physical and hardworking environment that he was did not break through and did not progress higher than the CFA2 of the time (today N3) with the crocodile reserve, Vergèze then Lunel. "To succeed, you either have to be very strong, or have a little luck, be there at the right time”, he says.

“We come to Alès to qualify”

Balance.New coach, new game project, renewed squad; (20 starts, 13 arrivals), plethora of injuries, Gilli's debut was difficult. complicated (7 points out of 30). "But, the group adhered and, in the game, it was coherent, we felt that there was something and that &ccedil ;it was going to turn. Above all, we lacked efficiency. in both surfaces." Ça turnedé : during the last nine days, the PFC, went up again. &agrav; 10th place, took 20 points out of 27, better record with leader Angers. "We must remain reasonable and continue à to develop our game but we are only’’ 4 points from the play-offs so, why not aim for the top 5 ?"

Cut. "All matches count. We come à Alès to qualify, assures Stéphane Gilli who watchedé four OAC meetings. This is an important meeting to launch our second part of the season. A meeting that we have prepared for seriously. Alesian motivation will be there. 200%. Ours will need to be at the same level. In the Cup, it's often the state of mind that takes precedence."  In the previous rounds, Paris FC eliminated two teams from Regional 1, Villejuif (2-2, 5 tab to 4) and Saint-Denis (3-1). It was against the La Réunion club that former crocodile defender Sofiane Alakouch, on loan, played against the La Réunion club. at the PFC by Metz last August, was injured Knee. Operated cruciate ligaments, his season is over. 

A Coach's Soul

Stéphane Gilli did not have a career, giving up his crampons at the age of 27, and he harbors no lack of it, no bitterness. I don't have too many regrets because I stayed in the football world. At Chemin-Bas, he was in charge of a youth team; at Nîmes Olympique, he supported Abla Mansouri with the U17s. Stéphane Gilli had the soul of a coach. "It always interested me and I started getting my diplomas very early." Initiator 1 and 2, senior facilitator, BE1 and, to broaden his range, physical trainer training.
It was this last cap that allowed him to launch himself and officiate with the Crocos alongside Dominique Bathenay, at the beginning of the 2000s. He took care of the rehabilitation of the injured and his first two ’ ;ldquo;customers” are Jean-Luc Vannuchi and Marc Delaroche.

In duo 17 years old with Mécha Bazdarevic

Stéphane Gilli will then work with Silvester Takacč in Sfax (Tunisia), Bernard Boissier in Nîmes, Jean Tigana in Fulham, Mécha Bazdarevic in Istres, at Étoile du Sahel (Tunisia), at Al Wakra (Qatar), in Grenoble, in Sochaux, in the Bosnian national team then at Paris FC, with René Girard at Paris FC and, finally, Vahid Halilhodzic with the Morocco selection. He learned and drew from everyone but the most memorable of his experiences, inevitably, remains the duo he formed for seventeen years with Mécha Bazdarevic, met in Nîmes.

"I owe him everything. If I am here today, it is thanks to him. He gave me a lot of freedom and autonomy. It allowed me to develop, to evolve and progress, to discover all facets of the profession, even recruitment. He wasn't afraid to give me too much. With him, I was almost number 1 bis."

The desire to simply be number one had been nagging him for several seasons. The few proposals received encouraged him to obtain his DEPF, obtained last June by validation of acquired experience. In the process, first choice of President Pierre Ferracci, who had enjoyed his time between 2018 and 2020, he signed a two-year contract with Paris FC (Ligue 2).

Adept of Possession

For seven months, Stéphane Gilli has been flying on his own two feet. It is he who decides, makes and assumes decisions, ensures relations with the media and partners. "I am more exposed but I have not changed my personality, I remain above all a man in the field."

On a daily basis, he tries to be "honest, fair and upright with the players. Things must be said, it’s one of the keys". On the ground, the successor of Thierry Laurey, whose deputy is Armand Sène, a former member of the Croco brand, is a fan of a "possession game and ball recovery", he likes his team to "defend by moving forward", to be " active and not in reaction.

Alès (N2) – Paris FC (L2), Saturday January 6 at 3:30 p.m. at the Pierre-Pibarot stadium. General admission 15 €. Reduced price 10 €. I subscribe to read more