At times the game of football can be very unpredictable. And for coaches, it is even dicier when it comes to being in charge of a club with huge expectations.
One moment you are being celebrated as a coach, the next moment, you are fighting to save your job.
Such is the current lot of the former Southampton and now former Leicester City manager, Claude Puel, who has been sacked after just 16 months with the foxes.
His foray into English topflight football came in June 2016, when he was appointed manager of Southampton, following the sack of Ronald Koeman.
Claude Puel had managed several French clubs before arriving at Southampton, where he signed a 3-year deal.
However, he struggled to adapt to the English game and was relieved of his job after only a season.
Before arriving in England, he had managed clubs like Lyon, Monaco, Nice and Lille, in a 17-year career that saw him win the French Ligue 1 with Monaco in the 1999-2000 season.
Still in France, where he managed Nice, he had led the club to their best finish in the league (4th position) since the 1976 season.
Claude Puel also led former Ligue 1 dominant champions, Lyon, to the semi-final of the Champions League, which was a first in the club’s history.
The 57-year old has been known to have a good panache for developing young players and promoting them to the first team of the clubs he’s managed.
He is also quite admired by his fans for his attacking and high-pressing style of football.
Sadly though, after just 16 months with Leicester City, and with the increasing amount of poor results, Leicester City has decided to call it quits with the Frenchman.
Claude Puel’s Managerial Statistics
Leicester City: 23 wins, 18 draws, 26 loses (25 October 2017 - 24 February 2019)
Southampton: 20 wins, 13 draws, 20 loses (30 June 2016 - 14 June 2017)
Nice: 68 wins, 34 draws, 66 loses (23 May 2012 - 24 May 2016)
Lyon: 76 wins, 44 draws, 36 loses (18 June 2008 - 20 June 2011)
Lille: 119 wins, 94 draws, 86 loses (01 July 2002 - 17 June 2008)
Monaco: 56 wins, 24 draws, 33 loses (12 January 1999 - 01 July 2001)
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