Bruno Metsu

Bruno Jean Cornil Metsu (28 January 1954 – 15 October 2013) was a French footballer and football manager.

During his senior playing career from 1973 to 1987, he played for seven different clubs in his native France.

During his 14 years as a senior player between 1973 and 1987, all with French clubs, he played 366 Division 1/Division 2 matches and 28 Coupe de France matches, scoring 30 and 2 goals in Division 1/Division 2 and Coupe de France matches respectively.

While at Lille, Metsu played 63 matches and scored 3 goals in all competitions.

Metsu had his heyday at Valenciennes between 1975 and 1979, scoring his highest number of club goals, 14 (in 134 league - all of them Division 1 - and Coupe de France matches), while playing alongside top players such as Didier Six and Roger Milla.

After Metsu had finished playing his first season (1984–85) for Beauvais, it won promotion to Division 2.

After retiring as a player with Beauvais in 1987, Metsu took up the youth team manager post with Beauvais in the same year.

From 1988 until his death, he was the manager of a total of nine clubs in France and Persian Gulf region, the Guinea, Senegal, United Arab Emirates and Qatar national football teams.

In 1988, he guided the Beauvais youth team to the runner-up position in the Coupe Gambardella.

From 1988 to 1992, he was the manager of Beauvais's senior team, which was in Division 2 throughout his tenure there.

In the 1988–1989 season, it reached the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France for the first time in its history, where it lost to Auxerre 2–1 on aggregate.

Metsu was appointed the manager of the Division 1 club Lille at the age of 38 on 1 July 1992.

He was sacked on 28 February 1993 after it had managed to win just 5 of its first 27 Division 1 matches in the current season, the board summoning him to a meeting and inquiring: "So have you heard the gossip? We are letting you go."

It was a crass way to sack a manager, especially one who prided himself on the strong bonds he formed in dressing rooms.

Metsu was appointed the manager of Valenciennes at the darkest point in that club's history, immediately after its relegation to Division 2 following the conclusion of the 1992–93 Division 1 season and in the wake of the discovery that some of its players had accepted bribes to throw a Division 1 match against Olympique de Marseille that was held on 20 May 1993.

He lasted a year there, then had spells at Sedan (1995–1998) and Valence (1998–1999) before, he applied successfully to become the manager of the Guinea national football team.

They were expected to finish at the bottom of Group A, which also contained Denmark, two time winners Uruguay and 1998 champions France.

Metsu spent over a decade as the manager of five different clubs in France before his first foray overseas as a football manager in the year 2000.

In the year 2000, Metsu became the manager of a national team for the first time when he took charge of the Guinea national football team after signing a modest contract.

"Metsu complained of so many things in Guinea. Poor infrastructure, poor management by Guinea's football association and frequent meddling in his work," said Titi Camara, a former Guinea international who later became the country's sports minister.

The feeling was mutual and Metsu left the Guinea post after less than one year on the job to become the manager of the Senegal national football team in the year 2000.

After Metsu had settled in Senegal in the year 2000 to become the manager of the Senegal national football team, he took up the task of inspiring the Lions of Teranga (the nickname of the Senegalese national football team) to play better football.

In February 2000, the Lions of Teranga had lost to co-hosts Nigeria 2–1 after extra-time in the quarter-finals of the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations.

Metsu immediately began fostering the esprit de corps that would fuel his Senegal side, recalling several players whom the Senegalese Football Federation did not want in the national team because of perceived indiscipline.

He did not manage the team with an iron fist.

Instead he rallied the players around the belief that together they could do something special.

Metsu's relaxed but inspiring coaching style quickly whipped his team into shape to the admiration of both fans and officials.

He was perhaps most famous for coaching Senegal to the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, including a surprise victory over defending champions France in the opening match of the tournament.

Before embarking on his career as a footballer, the teenaged Metsu worked as a courier on the docks of Dunkirk.

Metsu played in the attacking midfield position.

His career as a youth and senior player with eight different clubs was largely based in his native France.

He had a three-year spell as a youth player in Belgium with Anderlecht.

He outstandingly led Senegal to the championship final (the first-ever in its history) of the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations held in Mali.

Although they lost to Cameroon 3–2 on penalties, the White Sorcerer, his sobriquet given by the local press, and his charges were given a red carpet reception when they arrived back home in Dakar.

Metsu guided Senegal to seal a spot in the 2002 World Cup finals for the first time in its history.

When the 2002 World Cup finals started, 21 of the 23 players in the Senegal national squad were playing with French clubs.

Some members of the French team, as well as high-profile players of other teams, publicly dismissed the Senegalese.

In a passionate speech to his team before the opening match of the tournament (France versus Senegal), Metsu used the disparaging comments to stir his players.

Metsu's psychological approach to the game led him to encourage Senegal's players to focus on France's weaknesses rather than their strengths; he used videos to show the Senegalese players all the weaknesses of the French players.

"At that time I felt like I had had too much of football but African players reinvigorated me," Metsu said in an interview with La Voix du Nord daily in 2011.