Racing CFF manager Guillaume Norbert admits he will seek to take learnings from the great Arsene Wenger into Sunday’s Coupe de France clash with giants Lille.
The fourth-division outfit are striving to go toe-to-toe with one of the biggest names in French football under the guidance of Norbert, who spent time in the Arsenal academy during his playing days.
Norbert, a former winger, spent four years in the Arsenal academy between 1997 and 2001, where he had the opportunity to observe the iconic Arsene Wenger. While they never worked together directly, Norbert admits to trying to channel his fellow Frenchman as his young managerial career continues to take shape.
“What really stood out when I first met [Wenger] was that he’s someone with a great experience, who’s been through some great things, who’s a great coach, who’s respected,” Norbert told 90min. “And despite that, he’s someone who’s very humble, who has a lot of respect for people and players, and who’s open and willing to listen. And it’s these human qualities that stand out.
“And then there’s the tactical aspect, because he’s a coach who knows how to put a team together, who also knows how to choose players, because the team he put together at Arsenal was made up of players who were very good but above all very complementary. That was the strength of that team.
“After that, in my coaching career, my young coaching career, these are things I’m also trying to put in place. I try not necessarily to recruit the best players, but to recruit players who complement each other as much as possible to create a strong team. I’m also someone who is close to the players and who places a lot of importance on people. These are perhaps some of the things that inspired me.”
Despite having Wenger’s influence on his side, Norbert is under no illusions about the task at hand on Sunday. Racing are still finding their feet as a professional team, and they’re taking on the four-time Ligue 1 champions who lifted the ultimate prize as recently as 2021.
“The difference [between the two sides] is massive,” Norbert concedes. “Because it’s a question of resources, quite simply.
“When you compare Lille’s budget with Racing’s, it’s enormous. Their wages are those of professional footballers, but those who play at a very high level. They have a big fan base and a stadium that they fill with big ticket sales. So the fact that you have such a difference in terms of resources means that you can obviously put things in place. You can set up a medical unit with a doctor who is always at the club, with physiotherapists who are always at the club, with equipment that you can invest in.
“When we took over the club, we were initially training in National 3 (France’s fifth tier). We trained three times a week, we trained in the evenings and the lads were working in the day. Now, since we’ve moved up to National 2, we train every morning. We’ve tried to make things more professional. But it’s clear that Lille are in a different league, that’s for sure.
“We’re obviously looking forward to it. It’s very exciting to play against a Ligue 1 club, especially a team of Lille’s calibre who are regularly at the top of the French standings and regularly in Europe. But we’re really looking forward to this game because we know it’s an opportunity to qualify for the last
16 of the French Cup and that’s no mean feat.
“We know it’s going to be a tough game, and we’re not favourites. But in any case, we intend to defend our chances as best as we can.”
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