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The world of Olympique Lyonnais continues to cry the disappearance of Bernard Lacombe, a tutelary figure of the club, who died at 72 years old. Among moving tributes, that of Bruno Génésio, current LOSC coach and former player (1983-1995) then coach (2015-2019) of the Rhone club, particularly resonates. In the columns of The teamhe shared his deep sadness: “It's very difficult to talk about Bernard this evening. I learned the news and expected it unfortunately. I am very very sad about his disappearance.”
A mentor and a special relationship
Beyond his official role, Bernard Lacombe represented an almost paternal figure for Bruno Génésio. As the current Lille coach confides, this relationship also extended to Rémi Garde: “With Rémi (guard), he was a little our second father, our mentor, an outstanding trainer.” He marked their journey as soon as he arrived as sports director in 1988, while Raymond Domenech was a coach. “He cocooned us, pampered, pampered. He took us under his wing with Rémi,” recalls Génésio, stressing the privileged relationship he had with the former scorer.
This friendship has been strengthened over the years, continuing even when Génésio passed on the OL bench in 2015. “We had established a very special relationship with Bernard. She was a great man,” he said. For Génésio, Lacombe was the very embodiment of OL: “OL was his life. He was the memory, the soul, the Bible of this club. I lose a great friend.” A last personal memory marks his tribute: “I had still seen him not very long ago, we had joined one last time. That he rests in peace.”
To summarize
OL and French football cry Bernard Lacombe. Former player, coach and emblematic advisor of the club, his disappearance deeply moved. Bruno Génésio, who considered him a “second father” and “mentor”, shared a poignant reaction, stressing that European champion in 1984 with the Blues was “the soul, the Bible” of OL.
