Fate ... Paul Le Guen could have been coach of the Socceroos. Source: Hussein Malla / AAP
It seemed iron clad - when the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa came to an end, Paul Le Guen would be appointed as the new Socceroos boss.
The speculation regarding his appointment had been rife since Pim Verbeek had confirmed he would leave the Socceroos job after the World Cup. FFA boss Frank Lowy had done little to lower it when he confirmed that the new boss was in charge of a team at the tournament.
Le Guen then took his turn to add to it when he announced that he would depart as boss of Cameron. It seemed certain the era of Dutch dominance was coming to an end and the future of the national team would now be in the hands of a Frenchman.
Only it wasn’t to be. Le Guen would not be anointed as the man to lead the Socceroos forward. Rather, that responsibility would be entrusted to Holger Osieck.
With Le Guen now in charge of the Socceroos Tuesday night’s opponent Oman it seems timely to take a look at what happened.
How did the man who seemed certain to take charge lose out?
Cameron’s performances at the World Cup appears to be answer.
Before a ball was kicked at the tournament, Lowy spoke of the importance of choosing the right candidate.''It needs to be a very deliberate process; if we make the wrong decision, it could affect us for a long time,” Lowy said.
The poor on-field performances, the in-fighting in the squad and the clashes with star players that characterised Cameroon’s time in South Africa seemed to have spooked the FFA. It would be unfair to say that this was the sole reason for him not being offered the Socceroos job but it did confirm suspicions that had surfaced in his previous jobs.
At Lyon he enjoyed startling success, winning three successive Ligue 1 titles and led the club into the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals playing a brand of football that lit up Europe. When he departed the club his bond with the players was so strong that their keeper at the time, Gregory Coupet, urged the whole squad to sign a petition for him to stay.
Speculation on his next move was rife. Italian giants Lazio pursued him and there was talk of joining Arsene Wenger’s coaching team with the view of eventually succeeding his fellow Frenchmen at Arsenal. In the end he opted for Rangers.
It proved to be a horror spell. Le Guen presided over the worst start the club had made in the league in over 20 years and became the shortest serving Rangers manager ever when he was fired a little over six months after taking the job.
Unlike Lyon he seemed incapable of winning the support of the Rangers players – specifically the established stars. His time at Ibrox is perhaps best remembered for battles with Barry Ferguson. Le Guen stripped the midfielder of the captaincy and was determined to sell him. Faced with choice between the Manager and the fans wishes the club chose the latter and he was severely undermined.
During his time in Glasgow it was not just his battles with players that caused controversy. The players he brought in struggled to adapt to the riggers if the SPL and there were reports that tackling in training had been banned – something that is never likely to prove popular in Scotland.
A mixed spell was to follow when he returned to France to take charge of PSG, the club he had starred at as a player. He enjoyed some success winning the Coupe de la Ligue but struggled to get consistent performances in the league.
Again he clashed with the teams' established stars and many of the club’s previous best performers struggled to find form during his two-year reign. The major positive of his time at the club was his willingness to promote players from the club’s youth academy, something that had rarely been done at PSG.
When he left the club it seemed likely that he would remain in club management but when Cameroon came calling he was unable to resist. The Indomitable Lions were struggling to qualify for South Africa and presented Le Guen with an opportunity to rebuild his faltering career.
He showed he had lost none of his ability to make swift decisions. He stripped Rigobert Song of the captaincy and installed Samuel Eto'o as the team’s leader. It seemed harsh on a player that had given so much to the national team but both responded well. Eto'o scored regularly and Song eventually won his place back in the starting eleven as Le Guen turned round their qualifying campaign and led them to the World Cup.
Despite the momentum built up in their qualifying campaign their performances at South Africa were a disaster with Cameroon the first side mathematically eliminated from the tournament. The problem seemed to be Le Guen’s decision to play Eto on the right wing.
"I am the best striker in the history of Cameroonian and African football, but I have to play where the coach tells me to. I'm obliged to accept difficult situations," Eto said after the tournament. It seemed it was one rash decision too many.
On Tuesday night, the Socceroos will come face-to-face with the man who could have been their future. His up-and-down career indicates he would have been a risk. But one thing seems certain – overhauling an ageing squad would have been done in a much swifter manner. Whether he would have got the key decisions right is harder to answer.
Follow me on Twitter @beaubusch
The country’s quest to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil re-starts on Tuesday night. Australia are locked in a dogfight with Oman, Iraq and Jordan for the second automatic spot in Group B, eight points behind Japan. You can watch this vital clash live and in stunning HD from 6.30pm (EDT) on Fox Sports 1 HD, with kick-off from 7pm.
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