Former Olympique Lyon manager Pierre Sage has eulogized Franco-Algerian talent Ryan Cherki following his outstanding performance for the club.
Cherki has been a standout performer for Lyon this season, scoring 11 goals and providing 18 assists from 38 appearances across competitions.
Ahead of the Europa League clash against Manchester United, Sage reveals how he tried to nurture the young Frenchman’s talent.
“My project with him was to help him become the player he is, to become the player he can and should be,” said Sage on his 14 months managing the Frenchman. Initially, that project began with careful injections of confidence. Rather than starting Cherki, Sage would bring him on at the end of matches—when his instructions were simple: attack, enjoy, and be yourself.
“I decided to put him on at the end of the matches when the only thing in his mind was to attack, to play with freedom,” Sage explains. It was a bold move that paid off on multiple occasions—but none more so than during a pivotal moment in March last season.
“Toulouse were winning 2-1. I looked at him and I asked him, ‘Are you angry? Are you nervous?’. But not nervous when you can’t do anything, nervous to fight,” Sage recalls. “He looked at me with the eyes of the tiger. I thought, ‘Maybe he’ll be good today’. He was crazy. It was the Cherki game. We won 3-2.”
“We see the player he is now. I’m happy because every player can be at their best for three games, but Rayan is one of the best in every statistic in Europe. He has something really special.”
