Nasser Larguet, unsung hero

He looks like a professor with his dark glasses, his soft little voice and his smile as reassuring as his white fleece. It's normal, he worked for the Ministry of National Education in France. He taught science in the spring of his life. Nasser Larguet, intellectual and humanist, is an extraterrestrial in professional sport. Considered one of the best trainers in world football, he achieves the feat of being unanimous in an environment where knives are sharpened.

In Morocco, we still sing his praises five years after his departure. If the Atlas Lions dazzled the football planet during the World Cup in Qatar (November 20 to December 18, 2022), they owe him a lot. Director of the Mohammed VI Academy from 2008 to 2014, then National Technical Director (DTN) from 2014 to 2019, Nasser Larguet transformed Moroccan football in proportions that changed its destiny. The day after Morocco qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia (June 14 to July 15, 2018), putting an end to an interminable 2-year eclipse at the highest world level, coach Hervé Renard had already launched, in an exercise of unfeigned humility: "Do not attribute to me the paternity of the revival of Moroccan football: we must congratulate and thank Nasser Larguet. Without him, nothing would have been possible. And the Kingdom will benefit from his work for ten years.." The story of Nasser Larguet and his career in the ruthless world of professional football is all the more incredible as nothing predestined him to take on such a costume. Born in Sidi Slimane in 1958 in the northwest of Morocco, about sixty kilometers from Kenitra where he had a studious and happy childhood, Nasser spent more time on school benches than on football pitches. His father, Belaïd, originally from Berkane, worked at the Ministry of Agriculture. His mother, Zoulikha, daughter of Taza, managed the home and enveloped Nasser in protective affection. Like his sister Latifa or his brother Nourredine, he attended French missions: Honoré de Balzac in Kenitra for the early years and the baccalaureate at the Lycée Paul Valéry in Meknes.

With his small round glasses already screwed on his nose, he shows a great aptitude for science. Naturally, he opts for a pharmacy faculty to the great delight of his parents. "When I applied, I had applied for a pharmacy faculty in the south of France in Nice, Marseille or Toulouse but there were no more places," he says. He flies to Normandy, to Caen, a city in Calvados that he did not know where on the map of France. The landing is difficult. After two complicated years, he skips pharmacy for a master's degree in microbiology and food biochemistry.

Football is far from his daily life. "I have never played in a club in Morocco," he says. "I have only participated in UNSS school competitions where I won the Moroccan championship with the Lycée Paul Valéry in Meknès." Nasser is a striker. In Caen, he gets back to football with his friends from the university on Sunday mornings. The Moroccans were facing the Senegalese or the Ivorians. It was the joy of his week Because the passion for football has always slumbered in the heart of this intellectual with rare human qualities.

Every evening, to reach the Cité Universitaire Lebisey from the UFR of pharmacy, located on rue Vaubenard near the Clemenceau hospital, Nasser always travels on the number 2 bus. On each journey, his gaze is caught, like the filings docile to the magnet that attracts it, by the gleaming lawn of the Maurice Fouque stadium, lit up like the Palace of Versailles. "I dreamed of treading this lawn," confides Nasser. "In Morocco, I had only played on clay."

One day, he cracks the armor. Wrings the neck of a shyness born of an education where respect is a non-negotiable value. He enters the stadium and approaches the first person who crosses his path. "How can we play here? " he says. The guy, the coach of ASPTT Caen, Daniel Guilbert, offers him a trial the following week on Tuesday and Thursday. Nasser will play on the famous pitch of his dreams but will not touch the ball. The program is only physical. The diagonals follow one another only brightened up by muscle strengthening exercises.

Disappointed, he hesitates to come back on Thursday. He ends up convincing himself. He will never regret it. He blends into the collective. So much so that Daniel Guilbert suggests that he take part in the friendly match of the C team against Hérouville-Saint-Clair the following Sunday. Nasser calls the shots. He scores an own goal but equalizes with obvious talent. And signs his first license with ASPTT Caen where he will stay for a year and a half.

Nasser Larguet's life changes according to the encounters that mark his unique career. After Daniel Guilbert, Zygmund Lysik, coach of the Union Sportive Normande de Caen, leans over his cradle. It is Papy Lou, an Ivorian friend, who puts the two men in touch. Zygmund Lysik suggests that Nasser join his club. The Moroccan is afraid of leaving, of disappointing the friends of ASPTT Caen who gave him his chance. He lets himself be convinced. The conditions are not the same: he no longer pays for his equipment, receives bonuses from matches and gets a small job to finance his studies… He plays in the Regional Honor Division, really gauges his level and discovers the life of a structured club. He also discovers life as a couple and meets his future wife, Marie-Élise.

supervising young people, his appetite for teaching and his tropism for training. He offers him to lead the club's juniors with him. And to accompany Pascal Theault for a series of summer vacation courses in Caen. Lysik even convinces him to take the Initiator, the first coaching diploma, with CTR Richard Derumeau. He passes the exam with flying colors. He is top of the class. And presides over the destiny of the Calvados selection which will reach the final of the Easter tournament. "Anyway, I didn't have enough money to go back to Morocco for the holidays" confides Nasser

His availability is a passport. The same year, he obtained the first degree of coaching diploma. Richard Derumeau also took him under his wing and asked him to participate in detection days on the ground of the Catholic college of Thury-Harcourt. There, he met Patrick Casas, another angel in his life, president of the Thury-Harcourt club in search of... a coach. "In fact, Patrick was looking for a player-coach with a diploma and capable of taking charge of all the teams of the club from chicks to veterans" specifies Nasser not really excited at the idea of assuming such a responsibility, at the age of 25. "In addition, I had no means of transport. I did not have French nationality and I had not yet obtained my biology degree" he continues. Patrick Casas solves the first problem: he lends the young Moroccan his mother-in-law's Renault 4L, which almost never leaves the garage. He even offers to pay the insurance premiums for the vehicle and offers him a salary ten times higher than the Moroccan stock market.

As proof of love, Nasser could hardly have dreamed of anything better... He let himself be seduced and signed, in 1986, for 3 years at Etoile Sportive Thury-Harcourt (ESTH). Nasser was unanimous. He raised the senior team to promotion d'honneur with an accession to the seventh round of the Coupe de France like a cherry on the cake. The youth teams reached the top each season and offered themselves the luxury of competing with the best teams in Normandy. And as he became a teacher of natural sciences, biology and sport at the Notre-Dame Private College in Thury-Harcourt, his students, under the spell of the pedagogue, joined ESTH. And the club's budding footballers moved from public to private education to follow Professor Larguet's courses!

Present at the club's centenary in 2001, Nasser never forgot Etoile Sportive de Thury-Harcourt. "Nasser has always been extraordinarily loyal to me, my family and the club," confides Patrick Casas. "We share a mutual respect. We spent three unique years with Nasser. He structured the club like no one had done before him. After his departure, he organized a friendly match with Stade Malherbe of Jean-François Domergue and invited Daniel Jeandupeux. Nasser is unforgettable at Thury-Harcourt, know it. He is in our hearts." We had no doubts...

And Patrick Casas continued: "Nasser is an upright, remarkable man. He is very diplomatic. I have never seen him get angry. He is not temperamental in the least. He knows how to assert himself wisely without showing his teeth. Above all, he is a born educator with young people. He knows how to talk to them, to put them at ease. He seeks to train men before building athletes. He always puts school education and technical football education on the same level. The senior team was praised for the quality of its football and the youth teams beat all the big clubs in the region. Nasser was noticed at Thury-Harcourt by the greats of football. Modestly, I will have played a role in his great career. I am proud of it.

In 1989, Nasser changed worlds. He was contacted by FC Rouen, which was playing in D2. It was a friend from university, Pascal Boisroux, administrative director of the club, who played the matchmaker. The Rouen coach, Arnaud Dos Santos, was looking for an assistant capable of navigating between all the teams in the club. A role tailor-made for Nasser. "During our first meeting, the Rouen directors spoke to me about the organization of the club," remembers Nasser. "It was unreal. I interrupted them in their tracks to make them aware of my lack of knowledge of the professional world. "Obviously, that didn't worry them. And since Michel Durand, the director of the Notre-Dame de Thury-Harcourt Private College, gave him the green light, Nasser Larguet jumped in at the deep end. To say that he didn't drown is an understatement. He swam like a fish in the water of professional football.

Initially Daniel Zorzetto's assistant, Nasser Larguet quickly inherited the management of the FC Rouen training center where he met Franck Haise, the current successful coach of OGC Nice, who was a young captain of FC Rouen. Nasser stayed six years on the banks of the Seine where he spent his BE2. With his wife Marie-Élise, their two adorable young daughters, Aurélie and Kenza, Nasser is a happy father. He combines happiness in all weathers. If the sky is blue in Nasser's private life, it is mouse gray on the finances of FC Rouen which files for bankruptcy in the summer of 1995

Nasser is willing to roll up his sleeves to restore FC Rouen to its former glory. He knows the amateur world! But to his general surprise, he is courted by the biggest French clubs. His phone rings non-stop. Patrick Rampillon (Rennes) and Guy Lacombe (Cannes) court him with the greatest force and passion. Nasser heads to the Côte d’Azur and AS Cannes.

Nasser Larguet changes planets when he meets Guy Lacombe who, between 1990 and 1995, managed several future stars of French football at the training center of the Côte d’Azur club: Zinédine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, Johan Micoud and a certain… Hervé Renard. Before donning the AS Cannes coach’s suit, Lacombe only has a few weeks to pass the torch to Larguet

The Moroccan knows the weight of the legacy and the size of the challenge that awaits him at the head of the training center. He once again takes up the challenge with honors and commands the respect of all Under Nasser’s mandates, AS Cannes shines in the U15 and U17 national championship in the wake of Luccin, Zebina and Frey. The presidents of AS Cannes, Francis Borelli and Joachim Balicco, were afraid of losing the rare pearl: he extended Nasser's contract for six years. But Larguet was a man of heart and displayed loyalty. The dismissal of G Lacombe, in the autumn of 1997, marked the end of his Cannes adventure. He terminated his contract a year later.

Stade Malherbe de Caen jumped at the opportunity and offered Nasser the management of its training centre. The occasion was ideal to return to Normandy, Marie-Élise and little Kenza who was now the joy of the family. Larguet also got closer to Pascal Theault, a trusted man, who managed the professional team. In Calvados, Nasser added a string to his bow and managed the reserve team for three years where Benoît Costil - spotted by Nasser at the age of 13 -, Mathieu Bodmer and Bernard Mendy learned their trade.

It was a misunderstanding with Guy Chambily that would sign the end of the Caen lease. And the beginning of a beautiful story with Le Havre AC (2000-2005) and its emblematic president Jean-Pierre Louvel. On the banks of the Channel, Jean-François Domergue, manager of the professional group and Luc Bruder, director of the training center, bet on Nasser Larguet appointed coach of the professional reserve and the young elite group (17-20 years old). There, Nasser participated in the progression of future high-level players like Steve Mandanda, Lassana Diarra, Guillaume Hoareau, Florent Simana-Pongolle, Anthony Le Tallec or Didier Digard.

In Le Havre, he is still being praised. Can we talk about a Nasser Larguet method? "My only method is kindness" cuts Nasser. "I like to listen to people. I place the human above all. I believe in participatory democracy and management through cooperation." A recipe that will once again hit the mark in Strasbourg, where he will transfer after his rich experience in Le Havre. In Alsace, he will have the difficult task of succeeding Freddy Zix at the head of the training center, an emblematic figure of RC Strasbourg. In perfect harmony with general manager Marc Keller, Nasser Larguet leads a very effective training policy. RC Strasbourg will see the emergence of players such as Kevin Gameiro, Habib Bellaïd, Morgan Schneiderlin, Jean-Alain Fanchone and Ricardo Faty... In 2006, this policy is directly rewarded by the victory in the Gambardella Cup against Olympique Lyonnais, a year after Strasbourg's triumph in the League Cup. "A fabulous period" confides Nasser Larguet, whose solid reputation now extends beyond French borders.

It crosses the Mediterranean. Morocco, his country of origin, is no exception. The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) approached him in 2006 and sent him a five-year contract to initial to take charge of the technical management of the national team of the Kingdom. He went to Rabat to formalize the collaboration. But he was stuck in front of the Federation's door. The phones of his interlocutors were connected to their answering machines. "Clearly, they had changed their minds," said Nasser. "In terms of elegance, we can do better. I could have attacked them but I have never been litigious." The pill went down all the easier since he had one year left on his contract in Strasbourg, where the leaders were pleased with the conclusion of events...

When he received an email from the Moroccan royal office in 2007, Nasser Larguet, scalded by the episode of the missed meeting in the Cherifian capital, thought he was the victim of a dubious joke. He did not follow up. "I wondered why the Royal Palace would be interested in me?" confided Nasser, who ended up replying to the email. Mounir Maji, director of the private secretariat of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, wanted to meet him "urgently." He hurried to find out if he would have a contractual relationship with the Federation or with a club. "If that were the case, I would not have made the trip," admitted Nasser. "The project to create a football academy was His Majesty's and I will only have a link with his private secretariat. »

Started in 2007 - and inaugurated on March 28, 2010 by the Sovereign -, the Mohammed VI Football Academy project is the challenge of a lifetime for Nasser Larguet. "It was his youthful fantasy" confirms Patrick Casas. "As soon as he arrived at Thury-Harcourt, he entrusted me with this ambition." Nasser Larguet is living a waking dream. "I was able to put all my experience acquired in France to the service of my country in a structure that did not exist" says Nasser. "The field was virgin. With Mounir Majidi, who is a person with invaluable human and professional qualities, we started from a blank page to write the history of this Academy. I submitted specifications based on the model of the best international training centers, particularly French ones. This was very well understood and designed by Mohcine Benyacoub, very well supported by the architects Tijani Omar and Amine Scandar, as well as the landscaper Mounia Bennani. Mounir Majidi gave me the choice of taking up my duties after the work or starting my mission from the first shovelful. The question did not arise. There was not a second to lose. I followed the construction site with Mohcine Benyacoub and worked on the organization of the Academy with M'Hamed Zeghari, a historic leader of the FUS Rabat. Above all, I wanted to take advantage of the two years of construction to do some detection throughout Morocco." Nasser Larguet took his travel bag and his folding camping chair. He traveled across Morocco from Tangier to Tan Tan and from Marrakech to Oujda. "From Monday to Thursday, I followed the construction site and from Friday to Sunday, I took to the road," says Nasser Larguet. "In fact, I discovered my country. I had never been beyond Casablanca! It was an incredible and memorable experience. I didn’t just go to clubs. I stopped at the side of the road, on the beaches as soon as I saw children kicking a ball. No one had been informed about this project. So I was able to work in ideal conditions.”

In two years, he observed nearly 15,000 children. He selected 57 of them, who were subjected to medical tests every quarter. "Some children had never been to a hospital or a dentist," confided Nasser, who chose young players without medical pathologies or educational delays. "It was essential to focus on children who also had academic skills," said Nasser. "They were subject to a dual objective: studies and football." Out of 57 young people, 47 now make a living from football and largely provide support to the various Moroccan national teams, including the Atlas Lions. Youssef En-Nesyri, who scored in Doha in the quarter-finals of the last World Cup against Portugal against Cristiano Ronaldo, the most important goal in the history of Moroccan football, was spotted by Nasser Larguet during the Danone Cup in Fez. That day, Reda Tagnaouti also caught Nasser's eye. The two young hopefuls will join the Mohammed VI Academy together. It was during a routine tournament in Kenitra that Larguet was seduced by Nayef Aguerd. And Azzedine Ounahi dazzled the Director of the Mohammed VI Academy during an impromptu match in a district of Casablanca. "He was a born dribbler," confided Nasser. "He had incredible technique and malice for his age." We must not forget Hamza Mendyl, a player in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, who passed through the Academy's sieve. When he resigned in 2014, once his mission was largely accomplished, Nasser considered a return home to Caen. That was without counting on FRMF President Fouzi Lejkaa who offered him the role of National Technical Director. Nasser Larguet was not enthusiastic. "It wasn't my job," he explained. "I had also started discussions to return to the Stade Malherbe in Caen. And above all, Jean Pierre Morlans, already employed by the Moroccan federation, had all the skills for the position." Fouzi Lejkaa insists. He doesn't budge. And finds the right formula. To Jean Pierre Morlans the training of technical staff. To Nasser Larguet, the National Technical Directorate.

Once again, President Lejkaa makes the right choice. Larguet changes everything from the hold to the ceiling. He takes over all the coaching licenses and creates the first CAF (Confederation of African Football) PRO license, which is equivalent to the highest coaching qualification in the world. "Between 2014 and 2018, I had carte blanche, a real treat" says the man who also worked for the development of women's football with David Ducci and Philippe Dence. "We must not forget to salute the tremendous work done by local coaches Laïla, Lamia, Mustapha, Karim and Saleh," says Nasser.

In terms of sport, the Kingdom is struggling. Since the 98 World Cup in France, it has not qualified for the biggest global event. For over ten years, it has not made it past the first round of the African Cup of Nations (CAN). The first project is the succession of Badou Zaki at the helm of the Atlas Lions. In search of a new coach, Lejkaa puts Larguet on the trail of Hervé Renard. The two men, who met in Cannes, meet in Lyon. The man in the white shirt, who has just written the great moments of Zambia and Ivory Coast, is skeptical. "He did not understand why with so much means, Morocco had so few results" specifies Nasser Larguet.

The DTN returns to Rabat without the agreement of Hervé Renard but with a few other French coach profiles in his suitcases. Lejkaa does not give up. He does not want to consider a fallback solution. He has no intention of giving up on Hervé Renard. He orders Nasser Larguet and Mustapha Hadji, the glory of Moroccan football, to take the first plane to Saly in Senegal where Hervé Renard lives with his family. Such proof of love and desire does not leave Hervé Renard indifferent. "Our trip to Senegal, in the presence of Mustapha Hadi, was decisive" confides Nasser. "Hervé really changed that moment. He needs love and affection. From the outside, you can't suspect his sensitivity. He has an infinite heart. He is an exceptional man. With him, every day is a new day. And this day is the scene of a new challenge. He is never satisfied. He is always hungry." A hunger of Lions rewarded by the feast of the World Cup in Russia. "Our qualification obtained during the last day of the qualifications in Ivory Coast is still in everyone's memory, like our return after the match to our base camp in Skhirat," admits Nasser Larguet. "With hindsight, we may have missed out on an exploit in Russia. The VAR was against our football, like the decisive Spanish corner taken on the wrong side. But Hervé Renard left behind a legacy of ten years. In Russia, Hakimi (19 years old), En-Nesiry (19 years old) and Zyech (22 years old) were still young hopefuls supervised by sacred monsters like Benatia, Nordine Amrabat, Boussoufa, Belhanda or Dirar." The last year of Nasser Larguet's contract is written between light gray and dark gray. It is even cut by a few months without this man with unique probity finding any explanations or a pretext to argue. “Frankly, I have no ego,” he admits. “I am not looking for any thanks for services rendered. I get recognition when I am chosen, when I am entrusted with a responsibility. I am paid for that. I expect nothing else. I was chosen by His Majesty King Mohammed VI and by the director of his private secretariat, Mounir Majidi. That is my pride. I set up a structure. I found young people who shone in Qatar. But I was paid for that. I have no resentment against Fouzi Lejkaa. On the contrary, I was lucky to work with him. When he gives his trust, he really gives it. He is a very intelligent and very competent man. He is not sentimental. And he knows where to find funding, with whom to form partnerships. He quickly understood that without infrastructure, nothing is possible. He never behaved like a politician but like a true technician.” He is only sometimes a victim of the people around him and their advice. For example, the choice of Vahid Halilhodzic to succeed Hervé Renard was totally incomprehensible. Vahid is a good coach but it was not the right place for him.

 Nasser Larguet will not wait long to step into the spotlight again, with an exposure never achieved in his career. After the magnificent Moroccan episode, he switched to a legendary club, Olympique de Marseille. Contacted by Rennes and Nice, Nasser was seduced by President Jacques-Henri Eyraud and Sports Director Andoni Zubizarreta. He accepted the management of the training center of the Marseille club. "What an extraordinary club!" Nasser enthuses. "I experienced unforgettable moments. In particular, I managed to forge very strong links with regional clubs in the field of training." On February 2, 2021, following the dismissal of André Villas-Boas in conflict with the new President Pablo Longoria, Larguet was even appointed interim coach of Olympique de Marseille. The next day, he managed his first professional match when Marseille travelled to Lens in Ligue 1. The Phocéens drew (2-2), after leading 0-2 at half-time. For his second match, his first at the Stade Vélodrome, OM hosted Paris Saint-Germain for Le Classico. But OM went down on one knee (0-2). He won his first match on 10 February in the 1/32nd finals of the Coupe de France against AJ Auxerre (0-2). “At Longoria’s request, I agreed to help out,” explains Nasser. “I was probably reckless, but I don’t regret anything. The context was incredibly tense. The President and the players were constantly under threat. The Commanderie, OM’s training centre, was even invaded. I went back to basics. I told the players that I was certainly a novice as a coach of a professional team, but that I was not a novice in the world of football and in knowing their careers. »

After two months on the bench at Olympique, Nasser Larguet was replaced by Argentinian Jorge Sampaoli, who nevertheless remained in quarantine due to Covid-19. Larguet thus managed Marseille for the last two times in L1 against Lyon and Lille. When he gave up his seat to Sampaoli, OM was in 6th place. "Sampaoli wanted me to continue my mission for two matches," confided Nasser; "I refused. I couldn't tell the players every time that it was my last match and still manage them the next match. I told Sampaoli that the team was ready. That he had to take charge as soon as possible. I didn't work miracles but I calmed things down. I brought calm to a group in the middle of a storm. The players and supporters still thank me today. It warms my heart. »

Less than a month after his resignation from OM, Nasser Larguet was appointed national technical director of Saudi Arabia, where he found… Hervé Renard. It was therefore in the Saudi staff that he would experience Morocco's historic journey during the World Cup in Qatar. O imagines him torn between satisfaction and frustration. He cuts. "I didn't feel any frustration or other disappointment at not being part of this exceptional adventure," he confides. "I only felt immense pride as a Moroccan and as an actor who had contributed my stone to the building. My only regret is the withdrawal of Amine Harit, who is the best at breaking the lines, and the avalanche of injuries in defense. I would have liked to see Morocco at full strength against France in the semi-final... In any case, Moroccan players play in the biggest clubs. So it's not a coincidence. Walid Regragui was the right person at the right time. He has the quality of being bi-national and having worn the national team jersey. He knows how to talk to bi-national players, how to reach them. When you choose a Moroccan coach to lead the Atlas Lions, he must have traveled and worked in Europe.

Nasser Larguet never doubted Walid Regragui's lack of international experience. "It's not experience that's important, it's expertise," Nasser says. "Experience is built over time, expertise with records. But if you start your career badly, you'll end it badly. And Walid had very quickly obtained prestigious results with FUS Rabat and Wydad Casablanca." Walid Regragui did not only shine with his appetite for success but also with his way of attracting the spotlight. "He has real charisma, he has aura and charm," Nasser exclaims. "He also has an innate sense of communication. During a working session for the ProCaf license, we had scheduled sessions with Canal + journalist Philippe Doucet in order to push the coaches to their limits. The one who passed the test with the most ease was Walid. However, the hardest part begins for Regragui and the Atlas Lions. At the last African Cup of Nations, in Ivory Coast, they were the team to beat. This will also be the case at the upcoming CAN organized in Morocco. In Africa, there are no more small teams. All the executives are training. Everyone works. In all the teams, there are dual nationals who bring their talent. For Morocco, the CAN is more complicated than the World Cup. The Moroccans have more difficulty responding to the athletic challenge of the African teams than to the technical challenge of the European teams

Not sure that Moroccan supporters will hear this kind of argument, they who now have enormous expectations. "If we think we are the kings of the world, we can be disappointed" says Nasser. "Each team has a limited lifespan, the one that was at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 as much as the one that was in Russia in 2018. The secret is the ability of the staff and players to question themselves and forget the past. That is the requirement of the very highest level"

Nasser Larguet does not insult the future. He does not say that he will never work in Morocco again. "In general, I never go back to where I have been" he specifies. "But the only places where I could let myself be tempted are Morocco and Caen. In Morocco, I experienced my greatest professional success. It is a summary of my entire career. I applied all my experience in France. I will never forget that it was France that gave me my chance. And what I learned in France, I would never have learned in Morocco..."

Today, Nasser Larguet is neither in France nor in Morocco. He is in Saudi Arabia where he is already unanimous.