Laurent Blanc has silenced the skeptics saying he was not good enough for the PSG job but he now has to deal with new critics, this time for being too successful.
The former Manchester United centre-back joined Paris Saint-Germain last summer as almost a last resort after the Parisian side was rebuked by Fabio Capello, Frank Rijkaard and Andre Villas-Boas in its quest for an adequate successor to Carlo Ancelotti.
Some observers were skeptical of his appointment, quoting a relatively short career as a coach despite a successful playing career that saw him win the World Cup and European Championship with France and play for some of Europe's biggest names.
Blanc had only been in charge of one club (Girondins de Bordeaux) before registering a disappointing spell at the helm of the French national team before he took over at PSG last June.
His lack of experience was perceived as possibly critical in his working relationship with star players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who played under managers as illustrious as Jose Mourinho, Fabio Capello or Carlo Ancelotti throughout his rich career.
With 22 wins and a single defeat in 30 Ligue 1 games, he has now fully justified chairman Nasser Al Khelaifi's decision to appoint him. However, just as the PSG coach basked in his successful bid to silence his critics, he has been subjected to a new scathing attack in the last days, this time for being too good while doing too little.
On Saturday, PSG won at Lorient with a hard-fought 1-0 victory that put the side ten points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table, as second-ranked AS Monaco were held to a draw by Lille.
There was another story to that game as Lorient coach Christian Gourcuff (father of Olympique Lyonnais play-maker Yoann) had hit out at Blanc in recent weeks saying the PSG coach leaves the actual coaching to his assistants.
The former Manchester United centre-back is indeed renowned for letting Jean-Louis Gasset, his assistant since his Bordeaux days, lead training sessions while retaining a hands-off approach. This delegation of powers is generally attributed to the influence played by Sir Alex Ferguson, Blanc's mentor who first taught him the basics of coaching when the latter closed out his career in the Premier League.
Coaching types vary from club to club and, at a side like PSG that most weeks plays every three days, training sessions are mostly maintenance, the former World Cup winner justified.
Regardless of how he deals with his players, the PSG coach is starting to retain the nickname 'President', which he bore during his playing days.
Beyond Ligue 1, which PSG have been leading for the majority of the season, it is the Frenchman's European record that is being praised.
Blanc has taken PSG to the Champions League quarter-finals where last week's draw revealed the side would face Chelsea.
This game will be a tremendous opportunity for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, often criticized for his poor record in European competitions, to get one over on former coach Jose Mourinho and Samuel Eto'o, the man who replaced him at Internazionale in 2010.
Blanc has an excellent win percentage in the Champions League and already experienced the competition's quarters with Bordeaux in 2010.
With a steamrolling PSG side he barely needs to lay hands on, who knows whether this season may be the opportunity for him to reach new heights in Europe's foremost competition.
Elsewhere in Ligue 1…
Football players with post-retirement anxiety could take a look at former Barcelona winger Ludovic Giuly, who was elected local councillor on Sunday in Limonest (South-East) in the French local elections.
AS Monaco are struggling to keep up with PSG's pace and have relinquished two points in the title race after drawing with third-ranked Lille. Dimitar Berbatov and his team-mates were held to a 1-1 draw after a lacklustre home performance which underscored the shortage of depth in a squad that did without key players Falcao, Moutinho and Kurzawa, all injured.
Olympique Lyonnais are in for a bumpy April month after the Europa League draw was revealed. The side will face Juventus twice before meeting Paris Saint-Germain both in Ligue 1 and the French League Cup, all in the space of twenty days.
Finally, discipline has left Montpellier. Olivier Giroud's former side is languishing in the middle of the Ligue 1 table and has collected 12 red cards this season, almost three times more than all the other sides in France taken individually.
