MILAN – "Me play in defence? No way!"
There are times when the advice we're given, even if it comes from people who care about us, is unwanted. And so in 1990, when it was put to Montpellier midfielder Laurent Blanc by his coach, Michel Mezy, that he should drop back into defence, the answer was a categoric no.
Blanc, who had begun his career as a striker before moving into midfield (where he continued to score goals aplenty), simply refused to consider playing even further away from the goal.
So the day before a match, Mezy spent hours in Blanc's room trying to convince him it would be a good move. Blanc wouldn't budge from his position, so eventually Mezy was forced to give him an ultimatum: “Either you play at the back or you don't play at all.”
At the age of 25, Laurent had plenty of misgivings about trying something new but in the end he said he'd give it a go, if for nothing else out of gratitude to the club that had shown so much faith in him.
Blanc joined Montpellier as a 15-year-old after Monaco rejected him on account of his slight figure. He grew 10 centimetres at Montpellier, made his senior debut and helped the club gain promotion to Ligue 1. He grew into a charismatic, graceful, goalscoring midfielder – not blessed with searing pace, but an exceptional reader of the game.
It was this ability to read the game that led Mezy to believe he could be better utilised at the heart of the defence. Blanc struggled to accept his new role at first, but it was there that he later earned himself international recognition.
It didn't take him long to realise that he could still score goals while playing at the back. In 1990/91, his first full season after making the switch, he recorded a personal tally of 14 goals in Ligue 1 as Montpellier finished seventh. It turned out to be his parting gift as the following summer he moved to Napoli, who had endured a difficult season following their Scudetto-winning campaign with Diego Maradona.
The Frenchman had a decent season in Naples, helping the side coached by Claudio Ranieri finish fourth, but found Serie A defending to be a different art.
Napoli decided to send him out on loan to Nimes Olympique, before selling him to Saint-Etienne the following season. He then moved to Auxerre, where he won the double, and Barcelona, where he struggled with injuries.
It was with Marseille and the French national team especially – winning the World Cup after a fantastic tournament in 1998 – where this classy, ball-playing defender really grabbed the world's attention.
In 1999 he returned to Serie A with Inter, who wanted a leader for their rearguard. And that's exactly what Blanc was as he proved to be one of the most reliable performers and a near ever-present during two seasons sadly lacking in success.
He weighed in with six goals during his time in Milan, one of which came against Napoli – and it was possibly the 'perfect' goal for a defender of Blanc's ilk to score.
Carrying the ball out of defence, he played a one-two with Clarence Seedorf in midfield before nudging past the onrushing Ferdinando Coppola, running round the other side to collect and slotting into an empty net. That's exactly what he wanted to be: a defender free to attack
Speaking as a successful coach a few years later (four Ligue 1 titles with Bordeaux and PSG), he reiterated the importance of centre-backs honing their technique and goalscoring prowess. Sound advice indeed – from someone who received similarly good advice himself on that evening spent deliberating with Mezy.
Alessandro Bai - MondoFutbol.com
