Claude Puel Former French footballer, currently a football manager. Date of Birth: 02.09.1961 Country: France

Biography of Claude Puel

Claude Puel is a former French football player who is currently a football manager. He played as a midfielder for AS Monaco for 17 years. During his time with Monaco, the team won the French Championship twice, the Cup three times, and the Super Cup once. Although they did not win the Cup Winners' Cup, they reached the final in the 1991-1992 season.

After retiring, Puel remained with Monaco and initially worked as a fitness coach and managed the reserve team. In January 1999, he became the full-time manager. Under his leadership, Monaco won the French Championship in 2000, with players such as Ludovic Giuly and Marcelo Gallardo. Puel was named the "Manager of the Year" for the league in 2001.

In July 2001, Puel left Monaco after 24 years of continuous collaboration with the team in various roles and moved to Lille. He signed a contract with Lille in July 2002 and worked for the club for six consecutive years, which was an outstanding result in the French league.

On February 20, 2007, Puel was involved in a scandal during a match between Lille and Manchester United. According to the official version, Puel encouraged players to leave the field in protest against the actions of Ryan Giggs. The match continued after a brief delay, but Puel was criticized for his actions. Alex Ferguson called Puel's behavior a disgraceful attempt to intimidate the referee and expressed hope that Puel acted this way only due to his youth and inexperience.

In June 2008, Puel joined Olympique Lyon as the fourth manager in four years. Under his leadership, the club reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in its history. Puel's contract with Lyon was terminated on June 20, 2011, a year before its formal expiration. Some sources claim that he was fired from his position, despite rumors that Puel himself wanted to leave.

On May 23, 2012, Puel signed a three-year contract as the coach of OGC Nice.