“I have thought about talking about Rudi Garcia for a long time, because just saying his name makes me feel sick, but I do it out of respect and admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo,” said former Brazilian free-kick specialist Juninho Pernambucano.
“My experience with Rudi Garcia at Lyon was terrible. He is the worst person I have met in my entire football career. He doesn’t know how to lead a group. He leads by sowing fear. He only respects people who have power or from whom he can take advantage.”
Butler for Ronaldo
For that reason, Juninho thinks that Cristiano Ronaldo really has nothing to worry about.
“He will not dare to do anything that will disturb CR7, on the contrary, he will even serve him breakfast if necessary. He will try to be Cristiano’s friend and do anything for him. It’s a dream to be friends with Cristiano Ronaldo. Like all opportunists, he tries to lean on people who are bigger than him and from whom he can take advantage. Cristiano is one of the greatest in football history and Rudi knows that.”
“But the team’s success and the harmony in the dressing room don’t matter to him. He just wants to be the center of attention. Press conferences were his favorite of all. He arrived at the club early and was happy as a child. Afterwards he asked if I had seen the press conference. Most of all, he would have liked to see himself live on TV. He has not changed a hair, although he is a master at deceiving people.”
“Cold, calculating, suspicious and insecure”
After his departure from Lyon, Rudi Garcia criticized Juninho. He said, among other things, that Juninho had suspended midfielder Houssem Aouar on his own initiative, while Garcia had only wanted to fine him. He also accused the Brazilian of favoring Brazilian players and doing things behind his back. Those statements caused a rift and open quarrel.
“He is cold, calculating, suspicious and insecure,” Juninho continued. “Because of that uncertainty, he sows fear internally. But to the outside world he hangs a different image of himself. He did everything he could to boycott Bruno Guimarães because he didn’t want me as a sporting director, who was busy with the medium and long term, recruiting players. He wanted players through his own broker. For that reason, he did everything he could not to let Paquetá come to Lyon, his own manager also had a player for that position. These are just a few examples.”
“Tactically a disaster”
“Tactically he is almost as bad as he is human. I’ve seen almost all of his workouts. The tactical training sessions did not last long, he attached little importance to the game in possession. He is only good for small and medium-sized clubs, because all he focuses on is counter football. His teams can switch well, but he has no knowledge of field occupation, the search for space, variation in the game and pressure on the opponent.
Rudi Garcia has been working at Al-Nassr since the end of June, the club where Cristiano Ronaldo signed. In 2010-2011 he had a particularly successful season at Lille by winning the double (with Eden Hazard). He was also voted coach of the year in France. In 2017-2018 he reached the final of the Europa League with Marseille, but Garcia no longer won prizes after Lille.
