Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has tipped Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris as a future manager of the France national team.
Silvestre's surprise at Le Bris' success
Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, Silvestre said: “I know Regis Le Bris quite well. We went to the same academy at the same time, he was just one age group above me.”
“To be honest, I would never have imagined in a million years that he would become a successful Premier League manager, let alone get Sunderland promoted and keep them up with such limited resources.”
Le Bris' background and potential
Silvestre highlighted Le Bris' coaching career in France, noting: “He learned his craft with Rennes and then Lorient, working as a coach first with the academy, and he’s someone who is respected for his achievements back in France.”
“He is very down to earth. People from Brittany are like that, character-wise. I think he’s got a bright future in the game and I hope Sunderland will give him all the time he needs to keep building after last season.”
French managers in the Premier League
Silvestre added: “Regis is part of a young group of managers that are coming through in France now and he is quite unique because apart from Arsene Wenger, Claude Puell and Jean Tigana you don’t tend to have a lot of French managers that work in the Premier League, not compared to the size of the Spanish and Portuguese contingents. France doesn’t seem to export their managers in the same way.”
“Regis has worked hard on learning his English because language is so important in football and he’s making a name for himself in France too. A future manager of France? Maybe some day.”
