Lyon (AFP) - Lyon, fourth in the French football league, announced on Monday the appointment of Spaniard Carlos Vicens as the team's coach with a contract extending for 18 months.
Published on: 09/11/2026 - 18:57
Vicens (43 years old), who previously worked as an assistant to his compatriot Pep Guardiola in Manchester City, succeeds Portuguese Paulo Fonseca, who left to coach his compatriot Sporting Lisbon, eight months before his contract was supposed to expire in June 2027.
Georgie Machial, assistant to his compatriot Fonseca, took over the job temporarily, and led the team to a 3-2 win over England's Crystal Palace in the Europa League competition, before losing to Brest 0-2 on Sunday in the French League.
Mashial was appointed to the new coaching staff.
Vicens played in the Spanish lower divisions semi-professionally until the age of twenty-seven.
He also began his coaching career at this level in Spain in 2010, before moving to England in 2017 to join Manchester City.
There he rose through the academy's categories, from coaching the under-12 team to the under-18 team, with which he won the FA Youth Cup.
In 2021, he joined the coaching staff of the first team led by Guardiola, where he spent four years supervising set pieces.
In 2025, he was appointed coach of the Portuguese club Braga, in his first experience as a technical director at the highest level.
During his first season, he led Braga to fourth place in the Portuguese League, and also reached the semi-finals of the European League.
Braga also reached the final of the Portuguese League Cup, but Vicens was dismissed on October 20 after three defeats caused his team to fall to eighth place in the league.
The Spanish coach arrives in Lyon accompanied by four assistants, and his contract extends until June 30, 2028. He will supervise his first training session on Tuesday.
He will play his first match with Lyon against Lille on November 21 after the international break.
Lyon currently occupies fifth place, five points behind leaders and title holders Paris Saint-Germain, having won five of their ten matches so far this season.
© 2026 AFP
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