Alain André Christian Perrin (; born 7 October 1956) is a French professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

. Perrin made his managerial breakthrough at

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

, whom he took from the fourth tier to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

and

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

qualification by winning the

2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup The 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were won by Aston Villa, Paris Saint-Germain and Troyes. All three teams advanced to the UEFA Cup. First round First leg ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ...

. He won the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

with

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, and the league and cup double for

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

a year later. Abroad, Perrin worked for several years in Qatar and had brief spells in the United Arab Emirates and with

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. Internationally, he led

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

at the

2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 201 ...

Early life

Alain André Christian Perrin was born on 7 October 1956 in Lure, Haute-Saône.

Managerial career

Troyes

Perrin began his coaching career at Nancy in 1983, as junior coach to

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

. He built up a reputation as a talented young coach whilst at the club, and was appointed to run the club's academy. In 1993, Perrin had his first chance at management, taking over as manager of French National 2 (fourth division) club

Troyes AC Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), commonly known as Troyes, is a football in France, French professional association football club based in Troyes that competes in Ligue 2. It plays its home matches at the Stade de l'Aube. Foun ...

, quickly taking the club to

after three promotions in six seasons, and qualifying for the

. His side won the

on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

after a 4–4 draw at

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Marseille

In May 2002, Perrin signed a three-year deal to succeed

Bernard Tapie Bernard Roger Tapie (; 26 January 1943 – 3 October 2021) was a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Minister of City Affairs in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy. He was the manager of a group ...

as manager of

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...

. He was dismissed in January 2004 with the team in sixth, having lost 9 of their last 15 games. Days after leaving the

Stade Vélodrome The Stade Vélodrome (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Orange Vélodrome since June 2016, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, and has ...

, Perrin was linked to a number of managerial positions around Europe, including at

club

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. However, in July 2004 he was named manager of

Al-Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al Ain is the largest inland city in ...

in the

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

, and remained there for three months.

Portsmouth

On 7 April 2005, Perrin did move to the Premier League when he took over at

; the club were in 16th place and four points above relegation with seven games to go. On 24 April his side beat rivals Southampton 4–1 in the

South Coast derby The South Coast Derby is a term used to describe football matches played between Southampton Football Club and Portsmouth Football Club. The term is popular in broadcast media and newspapers. Southampton play their home games at St. Mary's Stad ...

, a result that contributed to Pompey staying up and Saints being relegated. On 24 November 2005 Perrin was sacked by Portsmouth, having won only twice all season.

Return to France

Perrin returned to Ligue 1 in May 2006, taking over a

side that had just finished 15th under

Dominique Bijotat Dominique Bijotat (born 3 January 1961) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a midfielder. He obtained eight international caps (no goals) for the France national team during the 1980s. Club career Bi ...

. On 12 May 2007 he won the

against former team Marseille, on penalties after a 2–2 draw; it was the team's first win in the tournament since 1937. Perrin took over as manager of

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...

on 30 May 2007, after

Gérard Houllier Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, ...

resigned earlier that month. In his only season, he led the club to a seventh consecutive Ligue 1 championship title, and retained the cup for the team's first

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

. He stepped down in June 2008 due to differences with the club's backroom staff. He was rumoured to take over the position of French national manager, but it was confirmed on 3 July 2008 that

Raymond Domenech Raymond Manuel Albert Domenech (born 24 January 1952) is a French football manager and former player. He managed the France national team from 2004 to 2010, reaching the 2006 FIFA World Cup final. He was dismissed after their elimination from ...

would remain in the position. On 11 November 2008, he became the new manager of

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

, and was fired on 15 December 2009.

Qatar

On 1 June 2012, Perrin decided to leave

Al-Khor Sports Club Al-Khor Sports Club () is a Qatari professional sports club based in the city of Al Khor. Al-Khor SC is best known for its football team, which competes in the Qatar Stars League from the 2024-25 season again after a short absence of 2 years in ...

to take up the vacant Qatar U23 position. His first assignment was to lead the team at the AFC Under-22 qualifiers, however the team were unable to make the tournament after they were knocked out in the group stages of the qualification process. Despite this disappointment Perrin continued to lead them into the 2012 GCC U-23 Championship where the team fared considerably better reaching the semi-finals of the tournament and eventually coming fourth overall in the competition. On 20 December 2012, Perrin joined Al Gharafa and left just about two months after. In March 2013, he was appointed new head coach of

Umm Salal Umm Salal (; also spelled Umm Slal) is a municipalities of Qatar, municipality in the State of Qatar. Historic landmarks such as the Barzan Tower are located in Umm Salal.The municipal headquarters is located in Umm Salal Ali, about 10 km ...

to replace

Bertrand Marchand Bertrand Marchand (27 April 1953 – 26 August 2023) was a French football player and manager. Career After playing professionally for Rennes Marchand was player-coach then coach at Thouars Foot 79 from 1982 to 1997. Then he was at Rennes (edu ...

. He resigned from his post on 30 September 2013 after losing twice in the first three games of the season.

China

On 28 February 2014, Perrin was named as new

China national football team The China national football team ( zh, s=中国国家足球队, t=中國國家足球隊, p=Zhōngguó guójiā zúqiú duì), recognised as China PR by FIFA, represents China in men's international association football and is governed by the Ch ...

manager, replacing Antonio Camacho. He made his debut five days later in a 3–1 loss to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

in the last game of

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

, but still made it through as the best third-placed team. At the finals in Australia, the team won all three group games before a 2–0 last 16 loss to the hosts. In August, China finished second to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

on home soil at the

2015 EAFF East Asian Cup The 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup was the 6th edition of the EAFF East Asian Cup, the football championship of East Asia. It was held in China in 2015. Two preliminary competitions were held during 2014. First preliminary round *All matches were pl ...

. The following 8 January, he left his job as the team sat in third in

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

qualification following a loss at

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

and two draws with

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Nancy

In April 2018 Perrin was one of 77 applicants for the vacant Cameroon national team job. On 27 October that year, he replaced

Didier Tholot Didier Tholot (born 2 April 1964) is a French former professional footballer who turned to management in 2002, and is currently the manager of Sion in the Swiss Super League. Whilst at Bordeaux, he played in the 1996 UEFA Cup Final. Playing c ...

as manager of

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

club Nancy. On 28 May 2019, it was confirmed that Jean-Louis Garcia would be the new manager of the club from the upcoming season.Officiel : Jean-Louis Garcia succède à Alain Perrin à Nancy
, maligue2.fr, 29 May 2019

Managerial statistics

Honours

Troyes *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Sochaux *

: 2006–07 Lyon *

: 2007–08 *Coupe de France: 2007–08 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perrin, Alain 1956 births Living people People from Lure, Haute-Saône Footballers from Haute-Saône French men's footballers Men's association football defenders AS Nancy Lorraine players French football managers ES Troyes AC managers Olympique de Marseille managers Portsmouth F.C. managers FC Sochaux-Montbéliard managers Olympique Lyonnais managers Premier League managers AS Saint-Étienne managers Al Ain FC managers Umm Salal SC managers China national football team managers AS Nancy Lorraine managers Ligue 1 managers 2015 AFC Asian Cup managers Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate football managers in England Expatriate football managers in Qatar Expatriate football managers in China French expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Qatar French expatriate sportspeople in China 20th-century French sportsmen