The Fulham supporters who already believe that Jean Tigana can turn water into wine would not have been surprised when the Frenchman unveiled his new
cuvee, matured with grapes from his Mediterranean vineyard, at Harrods.
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Tigana: Giving the First Division a French lesson
(AubreyWashington/Allsport) |
The harvest does not stop there, though, and if further proof were needed - other than the First Division table - that Tigana's hands are blessed, it is to be found across London.
Thierry Henry is currently the most talked-about striker in England following his sumptuous goal against Manchester United at the weekend and Tigana has played a more prominent role in his development than even the Arsenal forward might suspect.
At Monaco, Henry, with future France team-mate David Trezeguet, was a precocious youngster baffled and irritated by the fact that he was not in the team every week.
What he did not realise was that Tigana, through his great friend-ship with France coach Aime Jacquet, already knew the master plan and was cultivating Henry's talent for a greater purpose than first-team experience in the Principality.
'I knew that Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet were going to be playing in the World Cup,' said Tigana. 'But I didn't tell them. They didn't always understand why I protected them, why I didn't play them every match but made them work really hard in training.
'But I have such a deep relation-ship with Aime Jacquet, a complicity - he gave me my start as a player in 1978 and was my coach for 10 years - and I was trying to prepare them for what they did at the World Cup. Young players don't always understand.
'Aime and I would communicate with the players all the time, so I knew them completely and how to manage them psychologically - as I did Fabien Barthez, Manu Petit and Lilian Thuram, who were also at Monaco with me.'
If the ancedote is surprising, not least because it is hard to imagine a Premiership manager working so diligently for the England cause, it also illustrates the driving passion in Tigana's approach to football management.
He has a teacher's zeal. When he speaks, which he does rarely in public, there are no cliches and no mention of money or personal ambition.
'Where you want to give, you succeed. If you don't want to give your experience, it's difficult to convince anyone,' added Tigana, whose Fulham side are so superior to the teams in their division that you can almost hear the sighs of relief at Premiership clubs who know they will not have to face them for another season.
'I'm lucky. I loved playing and I love passing on knowledge and improving players. And it doesn't matter how old they are. I was still improving when I was 34.
'People say that great players sometimes find it hard to become managers and accept that their players can't do the things they found easy, and I've often had this discussion with Michel Platini. He thought things were very simple and he couldn't understand why someone couldn't do this or that.
'I looked at things the other way round. I have spent entire nights thinking about those things I did naturally, about how I could find training which would allow my players to do those things.
'If you have a team or players who don't understand, you have to find training exercises which will make them understand. I love communicating and passing on knowledge but the time for reflection isn't when you step on to the pitch. It comes weeks before.'
Such planning, devotion to detail, to doing things right for the right things' sake was evident the moment Tigana stepped into Fulham's Mot-spur Park training ground.
Blood tests, dental examinations, dietary control, three training sessions every day. If there was a private scratching of heads among the players at the time, they are hardened converts to Tigana's approach now.
'They've never played as well in their entire careers and there won't be a team better prepared than us physically in Britain at the moment,' said John Collins, the lieutenant Tigana summoned from Everton, having worked with the Scotland midfielder for two years at Monaco.
'We're playing at the maximum possible level. There's a confidence, a plan, a structure here, a reason for doing everything.
'Too many clubs I've been at, it's just been a case of killing time and training for two hours.
'Jean's success hasn't surprised me. Only the fact that he came here in the first place. I thought that being a manager in a foreign country and not speaking the language was a near impossibility, but he's proved me wrong
'He and his coaches are so serious about what they're doing. They're at the training ground from eight in the morning to seven at night. They're never away from the place and they're going to make it very difficult for whoever comes along at Fulham after them.'
Judging by Tigana's results so far and the delight on chairman Mohamed Al Fayed's face yesterday, that day is a long way off yet. Nine wins out of nine, a goal difference of 22 and only four goals conceded. It could hardly be better.
Tigana's explanation for not talking more to the media - he told those who attended his pre-season Press conference: 'See you next year' - is that he cannot work while he's talking.
'It's my nature. If I was available for everybody I would get nothing done. I was the same in France.'
His English is improving - he is being guided by the tutor who taught French to Collins in Monaco - and his dress sense will certainly appeal to Fayed. Yesterday he wore the same sphinx-decorated tie the chairman presented to him on his first day at the club.
'I've been surprised that the Fulham players have never questioned me because we changed their system completely in pre-season. But they did it willingly. No gestures, no moods. In France it's more difficult because the players are more latin.
'That's why I make it a priority to have total professionals like John and Chris Coleman at a club to pass on the message.'
Tigana's wine is apparently a perfect complement to bouillabaisse, grilled fish and shellfish. The way he has started in West London, it will go down nicely with a portion of fish and chips down the Fulham Palace Road, too.