Slapping players, smoking cigars and donating wine: meet one weird football president

He used to slap his players after a bad day, he used to give them wine after a good day, he smoked two pack of cigarettes per match, he was basically a president volunteer and he left in style: in front of the supporters, with a smoke bomb in his hand. Meet the former Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud! 21 years at the helm of Girondins de Bordeaux, one of the most famous football clubs in France where the likes of Zinedine Zidane Sylvain Wiltord, Bixente Lizarazu, Christophe Dugarry and Marouane Chamakh used to play. The oldest boss in office in Ligue 1, along with late Louis Nicollin of Montpellier. The owner of six trophies: Two league titles (1999 and 2009), three League Cups (2002, 2007 and 2009) and a French Cup (2013).

(©Olivier Pon/Reuters/Gallo Images)

He came to the club in 1996 and not including the short break in 2002, was in charge for the next 21 years. He resigned in 2017 and told journalists he wants to play golf, spends time with his wife and lose a few kilos, but won’t give up smoking. Triaud was available to the journalists almost always, but not always in the great mood. “What are you bothering me again? or "Why are you breaking my balls?" were his two most typical answers when journalists called him. He also found ways to get out of trouble with the press, in a situations when he had to hide an important transfer.

“In the early 2000s, I learned that Stéphane Ziani was going to sign for the Girondins. So I call Triaud to confirm the info, and he tells me “Not at all, I've never had this guy on the phone”. I give up, and shortly after, Ziani signs! I go to meet him after his presentation, tell him the story, and he replies: “Ah, was it you he had on the phone? I was in his office at the time!”. So I went to see Triaud and told him “Jean-Louis, it's not possible, you can't lie to me like that”. He replied: "I didn't lie to you, I told you that I hadn't heard from him on the phone..." recalls Lawrence Leenhardt, correspondent for "L'Equipe".

(©AFP)

Current Rennes forward Gaetan Laborde was in his first year in Bordeaux, which was in 2016, just a year before Triaud will leave his post, and after a bad result, he was shocked when the president entered the locker room.

“It was my first year in Bordeaux as a pro. We were in Corsica with President Triaud and we weren't on a very good run. One day, he goes into the locker room, and he starts slapping all the players, little slaps! I was very young at the time. And I see him come in… and bam, slap! And real ones, huh, it was banging! After he spoke, he made a speech, and he left. No one spoke. It surprised everyone, almost all the old ones had it for themselves. I said to myself: 'Is that a pro locker room? When we won, he offered us cases of wine. He was generous. But he was a real fan, so when he lost he was as pissed off as a fan. But he is super endearing” recalled Laborde.

Sponsors kept poking fun at the out-of-form Bordeaux until the Girondins decided it was enough

He took a hard stance against Sylvain Wiltord when he wanted to leave and sold him on his own terms, not when the player wanted. In 2002, a fight broke out in the Girondins locker room between Eduardo Costa and Christophe Dugarry. Jean-Louis Triaud was on the move, tried to intervene, and was jostled in the agitation like all the protagonists. Furious, he demanded the departure of Costa or Dugarry the next day. When the club entered a new stadium in 2015, long after their Champions League days he said:

"Someone said in his speech that he would like that Bordeaux Opera comes back to play the Champions League anthem here, but I'm afraid that the singers who were there will be retired the day we have a chance to qualify”.

With the president like that, the exit also had to be a proper one: in front of the kop, before cracking a smoke bomb for the farewell. It was after a win over Montpellier 5-1 in March 2017. Girondins supporters unfurled a large “thank you president” banner, to pay tribute to him. With microphone in hand, perched on a nacelle at the height of the kop, Triaud delivered a small speech of departure.

“Pleasure, emotion, and above all your presence. Always faithful, always there to support the team and the club. It's a farewell, but hey, I'm still here, the proof" said Triaud and then opened a smoke bomb, holding it like a cigar, to the delight of the audience. What a farewell!