Place of birth Colmar, France 1952–1961 Auxerre 1964–2000 Auxerre Role Football player | Years Team 1961–1962 Auxerre Name Guy Roux | |
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Date of birth (1938-10-18) October 18, 1938 (age 77) Similar People Basile Boli, Thierry Roland, Aime Jacquet, Eric Cantona, Laurent Blanc | ||
Top 10 Longest Serving Managers
Guy Roux ([ɡi ʁu]; born October 18, 1938 in Colmar) is a former French football player and manager known for being in charge of French side AJ Auxerre for the remarkable period of more than forty years and for leading the once humble amateur team to national and worldwide prominence.
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A native of Colmar, Roux played for AJ Auxerre between 1952 and 1961 and became manager of the then-Championnat National (third division) club in 1961 to become its living legend and symbol. With Roux in charge the team made it to a Coupe de France final in 1979 and progressed to Ligue 1 in 1980. The team then went further to clinch the Ligue 1 title in 1995-96 and win the Coupe de France four times (1993–94, 1995–96, 2002–03, 2004-05). Among AJ Auxerre's honours under Roux are also an Intertoto Cup triumph and the 1992–93 UEFA Cup semi-final.
Roux managed AJ Auxerre between 1961 (initially as a player-coach) and 2005 with a short interruption in 2000-2001. During his period at the helm the team established itself as a powerhouse in French football and became known worldwide as an academy for top players, since it was the club where football stars such as Eric Cantona, Laurent Blanc, Basile Boli, Alain Goma, Djibril Cisse, Philippe Mexes and Teemu Tainio won themselves a name being spotted and their talent further developed by Roux.
After 44 years in charge of the club, Roux retired from managing AJ Auxerre in June 2005 to be replaced by Jacques Santini. He briefly came out of retirement in June 2007 when he signed a 2-year contract with Racing Club de Lens. However he resigned on August 25, 2007 during a 2-1 defeat at Strasbourg after only four matches without a win at the helm.
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