JACK MILNER
The returns are often very decent if you can produce the goods, but it’s quite rare for a coach to see out the tenure of his contract. You are only as good as your last result and if the fans want you out, then pack your bags, negotiate the best exit package and move on to the next job. Make sure your work contract is as “fire-proof” as possible.
That is something Israeli coach Guy Luzon has learned quite quickly. A year ago he was sacked from Standard Liege in Belgium after a little more than a year, but was then appointed manager of second tier Charlton Athletic in England.
He was hailed as a hero when he started well at the club, but he has not had good results since the start of the season and last week the axe fell. Luzon was their fourth coach in two years, which in itself could be the problem at the club.
But Luzon has hit back, claiming an “unbelievable” injury list meant his sacking after 10 months in charge was “not fair”.
The Israeli suffered his 15th defeat in charge of the Addicks (the team’s nickname) at the hands of Brentford and it proved to be one too many for the Charlton board.
Shortly after the match Luzon explained to the press how his side would be back to their best just as soon as their lengthy injury list started to shrink. Later that day he was dismissed along, with his managerial team.
Luzon told The Sun: “When a club doesn’t get the results, changing the coach is okay. But when the squad is not available, I think it is not fair.
“In the last two months many of our squad were not available. Not because of me, the president or anyone, but because of injuries. They weren’t muscle injuries, they were unbelievable injuries.
“I am very disappointed because I know I have the quality and in the squad we have the quality to play great football and get results as we did last season. But with our short squad it was really difficult for us to overcome this obstacle.”
The Charlton fans have voiced their annoyance after another unknown manager – from Belgium – was put in charge by owner Roland Duchatelet.
From February 14 to April 3 Luzon’s Addicks took 15 points from a possible 18 and pulled off some memorable victories. Luzon says he will always have fond memories of Charlton and their fans
“I don’t take the fans for granted; they were really great and supported me through all the games. I love them and loved being part of this great club.”
Luzon was born in Israel in 1975 and was a graduate of the Maccabi Petah Tikva youth programme. He joined Maccabi Petah Tikva at the age of 10 and started playing for the first team at the age of 18, making his debut against Beitar Tel Aviv in 1992. He played for Maccabi Petah Tikva for three years, until an injury in 1996 forced him to retire at the age of 21.
He was offered a job to coach the Maccabi Petah Tikva youth team, under head coach Eli Ohana. He took over as manager from Ohana in the 2001/2 Israeli Premier League season, leading Maccabi to finish eighth. Luzon’s biggest success at Maccabi was winning the Toto Cup in 2004 along with placing second in the 2004/5 Israeli Premier League and wining through to the Uefa Cup second Qualifying Round.
In August 2010 Luzon was appointed coach of the Israel national under-21 team. He competed at the 2013 Uefa European under-21 Championship because Israel qualified automatically as hosts. Luzon led the Israeli under-21 team to a third place finish in Group A, including a victory against the England under-21s.
He was appointed manager of Standard Liege in May 2013, which was met with protests from some of the fans. However, he exceeded expectations, leading Standard to a second-place finish in the 2013/14 Belgian Pro League and qualifying for the 2014/15 Uefa Champions League, where they lost in the play-off round to Zenit Saint Petersburg.
In October 2014 Luzon was dismissed from his job at Standard because of the poor results at the beginning of the season.
He went on to Charlton Athletic but what was interesting was a tweet he made shortly after being axed from the club. “Disappointed Charlton have made my resignation public following an approach by Mr Roman at Chelsea FC. SpecialOne out, SpecialZon in. Bye, Adders.”
Was that tongue in cheek or has Roman Abramovich really shown some interest in the young Israeli?
