Uncovering the Genius of Paulo Fonseca: The Man Behind Lille's Success

Perhaps his greatest chapter is yet to come

One would hope Jose Mourinho is watching the Paulo Fonseca phenomenon from afar.

Fonseca, like Mourinho, departed Roma under somewhat of a cloud, Fonseca’s tenure in Italy was a challenging one, towards the end there were murmurings he even clashed with senior players.

In truth, there were mitigating circumstances such as the Covid pandemic and a change of club ownership, not an ideal environment to thrive when you are sitting in one of the highest pressurised managerial jobs in Italian football.

Couple that with the fact Fonseca’s hands were severely tied in the transfer market through no fault of his own and it was not an environment conducive for success.

Highly acclaimed Spanish sporting director Monchi, renowned for uncovering gems from his time at Sevilla made several expensive recruitment mistakes at Roma, meaning when Fonseca walked through the door at Roma the club faced some difficult times.

Roma unveiled Fonseca back in 2019, he was a name circulating many European Football boardrooms after an impressive display of his managerial prowess at Shakhtar Donetsk.

He won the Ukrainian league title each season he was there during his three-year spell, his modus operandi is high-possession football, just ask Aston Villa.

Fonseca’s Lille commanded 59% possession at Villa Park during their recent first leg Europa Conference League encounter.

At times his Roma side lacked intensity but there were sprinkles of the Fonseca magic on show in fleeting moments.

Fonseca The Survivor

Roma announced in May 2021 Fonseca would depart at the end of the season, it was not the first time the tactician had bitten off more than he could chew.

His rise to managerial prominence in Portugal was fast, he worked wonders at CD Aves and Paços de Ferreira during his formative years back (2011-2013), leading to giants FC Porto head hunting him barely two years after he secured his first professional managerial gig.

The pressure cooker at the Estádio do Dragão proved too much too soon, and Fonseca returned to the comfortable surroundings at Paços de Ferreira in 2014 just 10 months after landing the coveted Porto role.

Instead of disappearing into the managerial ether, the young coach honed his craft awaiting opportunity to knock at his door once again.

Braga came calling in 2015 and it was here that Fonseca once again showed the footballing world why he was one to watch.

Fonseca even returned to haunt Porto, winning the Taça de Portugal at the expense of the very club that had ousted him.

Fans of Braga worshipped Fonseca after he bestowed them with a rare trophy, it was then that Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk came calling in the summer of 2016.

A Potential Ukrainian Poisoned Chalice

Looking back with the benefit of hindsight the young Portuguese tactician was taking a big risk, not only was he going into the unknown in Eastern European football but there were big boots to fill at the Ukrainian giants.

Outgoing 70-year-old Romanian manager Mircea Lucescu had become an immortal figure at Donetsk thanks to his massive trophy haul across 12 seasons.

The wily Lucescu’s reign brought 22 trophies, and, in many ways, he put Donetsk on the footballing map, they were easy on the eye thanks to his penchant for signing Brazilian players.

The Lucescu-era peaked in 2009 when he led the Ukrainian club to the UFEA Cup title in Istanbul, but he wasn’t finished there, in 2012 he masterminded a stellar UFEA Champions League campaign.

Shakhtar, a team that had lived in the shadows of Dynamo Kyiv for so long made it through a group that featured behemoths Juventus and Chelsea.

Lucescu’s team infused with samba flair starred some world-class players who are today household names, Fernandinho, Willian, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Luiz Adriano and Douglas Costa to name just a few.

The key to Lucescu’s success was his uncanny ability to regenerate teams on the fly, a talent that is often overlooked in the fast-paced football world.

No Porto-Traumatic Stress

After the Porto experience Fonseca could have been forgiven for having some self-doubts when he stepped into the void left by Lucescu.

Instead of wilting, Fonseca ensured the Ukrainian club didn’t suffer an Alex Ferguson like hangover experienced by Manchester United.

The trophies kept flowing and so did the ethos of attacking football that is why Roma turned to him.

He elected to move to Serie A after three seasons in Ukrainian football, following the underwhelming experience with Roma, Fonseca wisely elected to take a sabbatical year.

Fiorentina and Spurs had come close to offering Fonseca a chance at redemption but both deals collapsed in the final stages of negotiations.

The Lille Rebuild

In the summer of 2022 Ligue 1 side Lille announced Fonseca as their new manager, the French club like Fonseca were in desperate need of another chance.

Fonseca entered Lille at a time when most wise men would have avoided the project, Lille were staring down the barrel of a rebuild after winning the Ligue 1 title under Christophe Galtier in 2021.

Champions Lille’s title defence in the season that followed was underwhelming to say the least with the club finishing 10^th after losing a host of stars.

Sven Botman, Renato Sanches, and Amadou Onana all departed for pastures new, but Fonseca steadied the ship and led the club to an admirable fifth place finish, back to Europe.

The beauty of Fonseca’s Lille lays with the fine tuning he has patiently coordinated over time, he didn’t tear up the gameplan merely elevated it with the tools at his disposal.

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Fonseca The Mentor

The high line gamble, that all Fonseca teams employ is there but so too is the Portuguese’s affinity for youthful energy & development.

He has impressively mentored and coaxed the talent out of several promising prodigies that will inevitably provide Lille with a transfer windfall in the seasons to come.

Short-termism often sees football managers only look at the here and now given they are never too far from the trap door.

Just look at the criticism Fonseca’s fellow countryman Jose Mourinho often attracts with regards the transfer strategy he employs where youth development is mostly sacrificed.

To oversee a rebuild at a club with an expectant fanbase after winning a title is no mean feat, to do it whilst developing youth is simply remarkable.

Lucas Chevallier (22) an academy produced goalkeeper now looks a seasoned pro whilst centreback Leny Yoro (18) who made his Ligue 1 debut at just 16 is one of the most exciting prospects in French football.

Zhegrova’s Breakout Season

Perhaps one of Fonseca’s greatest achievements at Lille to date is regarding his development of tiny Kosovan maverick Edon Zhegrova.

Zhegrova is evolving as a player this season, his level of trickery reaches spell binding levels at times.

What makes the 25-year-old winger’s level of performance more impressive is the fact opposition players know Zhegrova’s poker hand.

He is predominately left-footed despite playing on the right wing, he seeks to cut inside more often than not but he is proving difficult to resist despite his predictability.

Zhegrova is emblematic of Fonseca’s attacking footballing philosophy, trickery and attacking impetus is put before all else.

The two share a close bond as you can see from the video below when Fonseca took his star pupil on a shopping spree after placing a bet with him.

The manager promised the youngster a bout of clothes shopping if Lille managed to defeat giants Marseille.

Fonseca & Zhegrova enjoy a shopping spree.

Lille are now five unbeaten in Ligue 1, after a tricky set of fixtures that looked season defining at the start of March.

Les Dogues faced five titans of this season’s unfolding story in Marseille, Reims, Rennes, Brest, and Lens.

Three wins and two draws are nothing to be sniffed at against dangerous opposition for Fonseca’s charges whilst the squad also balanced the challenges of a Europa Conference League push.

Lille Hitting Their Stride

Lille now fourth in the table are firmly in the hunt for a coveted Champions League place buoyed by their irresistible home form, Fonseca’s men boast the best home form in Ligue 1.

The impressive body of work Paulo Fonseca has orchestrated at Lille is finally starting to get recognition.

On UK shores Fonseca is most widely known as the man who masterminded Shakktar Donetsk’s famous victory over Manchester City in the Champions League in 2017 but in many ways, he has rebuilt his reputation at Stade Pierre-Mauroy after his much-publicised unremarkable two-year stint with Roma.

When Lille hit full flight the Fonseca thumbprint is clear, his teams attack with intent, it is simply ingrained in their DNA.

Fonseca teams are full of gusto, they press the opposition with intensity leading to them controlling tempo of the game, ball playing centrebacks and width are cornerstones of the Fonseca way.

Only PSG and Monaco have scored more than them this season but make no mistake defensively they are not naïve either.

They boast the fourth best defence in France’s topflight at the time of writing, from 28 matches played they’ve leaked a paltry 25 goals.

It seems all of Fonseca’s trials and tribulations to date in his managerial career have moulded him and Lille are the beneficiaries.

At 51, Fonseca is hitting his coaching prime, the once rookie coach and new kid on the block is now infused with a myriad of life experiences, his stock would be higher in many ways if he had of elected to play safe with his career moves but that simply is not part of the fabric of the man.

He has taken on roles many would shy away from, but his genius is not beholden to the vicissitudes of bureaucracy or fear.

Fonseca’s dogmatism adherence to unashamedly attacking intent is profound and at Lille he is now also proving to be the ultimate sensei for the young footballer.

Perhaps his greatest chapter is yet to come.