ligue1.com takes a closer look at the natural-born coach affectionately known as 'Galette'.

1) The Auba-maker

"Even though up until then things hadn’t gone that well for him, I saw one thing in the first training session: he was able to beat anyone with the ball at his feet with a run of 60 metres," Galtier told bundesliga.com of Aubameyang's arrival at Saint-Etienne in 2011. Everyone knew the Gabon international had talent, but he had failed to fully exploit that promise after being picked up by AC Milan as a youngster, and had endured underwhelming loan spells at Dijon, Lille and Monaco. He joined Saint-Etienne on loan too, but his career was kickstarted spectacularly by Galtier, who encouraged the club to sign the jet-heeled forward to a permanent deal after six months despite 'Auba' scoring just twice in 14 league appearances. 

WATCH: Aubameyang helps Galtier bring silverware to Saint-Etienne

Galtier — as so often — was proven right as 35 top-flight goals followed over the next two seasons before Aubameyang joined Borussia Dortmund having helped his coach win the 2012/13 Coupe de la Ligue, Saint-Etienne's first major silverware in 32 years. "If I had had him another season, he would have played as a central striker,” admitted Galtier, who employed Aubameyang — like many before him — in a wider role. "He had found something that he hadn’t had before: a lot of sang froid in front of goal. He didn’t have that when he arrived to us, and it came through hard work."

2) From right-hand man to top Dogue

 Just like his playing career, Galtier's coaching career started in Marseille in 1999, and though he spent most of his two years there as assistant to a succession of coaches, he did have a brief spell as interim boss as the Stade Vélodrome's managerial merry-go-round whirled. He worked as the second-in-command in Cyprus and Bastia too before — in June 2004 — the call that changed his career came. Alain Perrin had just left Marseille as coach, and asked Galtier if he wanted to join him as his assistant at Al-Aïn Football Club in Abu Dhabi. 

Galtier also followed Perrin to Portsmouth, Sochaux and Lyon — where they won the domestic double in a turbulent 12-month tenure — before taking over at a troubled Saint-Etienne in November 2008. By December 2009, the team's problems had not been solved and Perrin was removed, but the record French champions suggested Galtier take charge. A goalless draw against Marseille in his first game in charge was the start of a remarkable upturn in fortunes and the making of Galtier the coach. 

"I'd been assistant to different coaches, in different clubs, in different situations. During all those years, I took on board things, I was like a sponge. It was tucked away in a drawer and it just had to come out. And when you find yourself in a certain situation, it comes out easily," he explained. "I took in everything from my very first session as an assistant coach: discussions, observations, matches, analyses…I took in everything in order to develop, grow, improve, and be open."

WATCH: Lille celebrate the 2020/21 Ligue 1 Uber Eats title

3) Galtier, the player

Born in Marseille, Galtier could not fail to be infused with the fervour of the football-mad city where he played for the same local club — Sports Olympiques Caillolais — as Jean Tigana and Eric Cantona before joining OM as a 16-year-old. A solid, no-nonsense defender, Galtier progressed to the first team before leaving for Lille in 1987, making over 100 competitive appearances for the club he would go on to coach. He also featured for Toulouse, Angers and Nîmes before returning to Marseille for a two-year spell between 1995 and 1997, helping them return to Ligue 1 following their controversial relegation. He finished his career with a year in Italy at Monza and 12 months in China before hanging up his boots and getting started on the mission it seems he was born for.

4) Lille: relegation candidates to champions

Galtier's incredible success at Lille cannot only be summed up in a French title win, as huge as that is. The club was in dire straits when Galtier succeeded Marcelo Bielsa in December 2017, and a 2-1 victory at Dijon with just one match left in the season was the crucial result as Lille finished just a single point above the relegation/promotion play-off place. "There's no joy or pride, just relief," he said after the 1-0 victory that secured Lille's top-flight place. 

"I came here convinced we could keep ourselves up, but I didn't think it would be so difficult." It's the 90 minutes Galtier has often picked out as the most signifcant of his tenure at the Stade Pierre Mauroy, and you can see why: the following season, he took Lille to a runners-up finish, then placed fourth in the shortened 2019/20 campaign before giving Les Dogues — the Mastiffs — their fifth French top-flight crown.

5) A Nice end?

"I don't want to leave just because of having had success," said Galtier to explain his decision to swap Lille for Nice in summer 2021. "I leave Lille on an incredible result, but I need something else. I don't want to get into a routine." The challenge at the Allianz Riviera — with owners INEOS as ambitious as their new coach — is an enticing one for a man who has always felt destined to lead a squad of footballers. 

"I always wanted — not dreamed, wanted — to be a coach," he explained after being named Ligue 1 Coach of the Year in 2019, an honour he unsurprisingly also claimed in 2021. "At what level, I didn't know: assistant, youth academy…but I have always wanted, and from very early on, to work with players." Though he is a man who likes to think long-term — in his 12-year career as a head coach, he is starting work at only his third club — don't expect to see Galtier grow too old in the dug-out. "I won't be an old coach," said the now-55-year-old. "Let's say that when it's time to retire, I'll retire. I have too many things I want to share with my loved ones. And even so, I really have football in my blood, and more so as a coach than a player."

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