Football: At FC Sion, Tramezzani does not speak French, a handicap? – Sports News: Football

When Paolo Tramezzani, in the summer of 2017, had put his suitcases for the first time at the “Porte d’Octodure”, he promised to quickly learn French, a language which was foreign to him at the time. The circumstances (a dismissal occurred in October) meant that the Italian coach did not really have the time or necessarily the urge.

Less than three years later, nothing has fundamentally changed: on the occasion of his second visit to the FC Sion bench, Tramezzani still does not know French, even if he pretends to understand it – when there Instead of addressing the team, the “Mister” can count on the services of Mickaël Facchinetti, who acts as a translator.

A “new” coach who doesn’t speak French, or very badly, French? At the time of the final packaging that awaits his team (with the sequence of six consecutive English weeks), Christian Constantin does not take offense. “I’m not saying it can’t be a handicap but what matters is the points. It’s going to go so fast that we won’t even have time to talk! To wake up a locker room, emotions matter more than words… ”

Beyond the presidential shortcut, how do you get a message across when the subtleties of the language, French in this case, elude you? “When the players and the staff do not understand each other in their original language, says Constantin, English emerges very quickly.” And the boss of Tourbillon to recall opportunely that all his previous technicians, except Murat Yakin, spoke in impeccable French, which had not been enough to unite the group behind a unifying project …

“A fire does not catch without flame”

Today, the project is limited to ensuring that the Valais club remains in the elite. For his employer, Tramezzani has a body language – man is indeed very tactile during training – and a natural charisma likely to revive FC Sion. “There’s not only the language,” said the Valais president, “he also has the charisma of the talking guy, the energy he exudes. A fire does not catch without flame. The energy that a coach can release goes beyond understanding words. Sometimes we admire people even more because we don’t understand them. ” If not for his mastery of the Molière language, will Valais admire Tramezzani this time for his results? Everything will be played in a play in 13 acts, the first disputed against FC St. Gallen on June 20 (20:30), of course behind closed doors.

Until the end of this hellish marathon, take part in our survey. In your opinion, is it important that a coach can speak French as soon as he coaches a French-speaking club?