Former Lyon Director of Football Juninho Pernambucano has criticised the club’s ex-manager Rudi Garcia for his management of Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes. Guimaraes made the move to St. James’ Park in January from the French side and has provided to be an excellent signing.
The Brazil international has quickly won over the support of the Geordie faithful, establishing himself as a key part of Eddie Howe’s midfield. Before his move to the Premier League, Guimaraes made 71 appearances for Lyon, with several of those coming under the management of Garcia.
Garcia was appointed just three months before the arrival of Guimaraes in France. Though his performances clearly caught the eye of Newcastle and several other top clubs, Juninho believes Garcia ‘killed’ Guimaraes at Lyon based on how he has performed at the Magpies.
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Speaking to RMC Sport, via Onze Mondial, he said: “There are Premier League games which are very difficult to watch. It’s just tackles, intensity, not intelligence. I give the example of Bruno Guimarães. Rudi Garcia killed the kid. He manages in five months to be one of the best players on his team (at Newcastle) thanks to his intelligence.
“I think there is value in Ligue 1 but there are still things to change. All the players who come out of Ligue 1 manage to perform elsewhere, even in the Premier League.”
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