Laurent Blanc Thinks Big at Bordeaux

Saying no to Sir Alex Ferguson does not normally improve a person's career prospects at Manchester United, but it probably has in the case of Laurent Blanc. Last summer the Frenchman turned down ­Ferguson's invitation to replace the departed ­Carlos Queiroz as his assistant manager, and because of that rejection he was able to continue proving himself as a ­manager at Bordeaux, who last night clinched the French league title to put Blanc among the prime candidates to succeed ­Ferguson ­whenever Old Trafford's overlord relinquishes power.

The offer to become Ferguson's No2 came at the end of Blanc's first season as a No1, five years after the close of his exalted playing career. His debut in the dug-out was a sensation as he guided ­Bordeaux to second place in Ligue 1 behind serial winners Lyon. Last night he surpassed that as Bordeaux, needing just a point to secure their first title in a decade, forced a 1-0 away win over struggling Caen in the last game of the season. Victory came thanks to a header from Youan Gouffran five minutes after half-time.

The championship triumph marks Blanc out as the most successful of all the players who have graduated to management after playing under Ferguson. But it is not only what Blanc has done that excites, but the way that he has done it.

Fellow former Fergie charges ­Gordon Strachan and Alex McLeish have also won top-flight titles, but guiding an Old Firm club to the top of the Scottish ­Premier League is far less an ­achievement than leading Bordeaux to the peak of Ligue 1. And neither Strachan nor McLeish, nor other United alumni such as Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce or Roy Keane, have produced teams who reflect United's ­ideals as brightly as ­Bordeaux. Blanc's side secured their crown with panache.

"For me, playing football means ­having the ball, conjuring moves, ­harnessing your strengths, posing problems to your opponents, scoring goals and ­taking risks," he said last week. "Obviously I want my team to win, but I also want them to play ball. That's a state of mind, a fundamental principle, and Manchester United and Barcelona share it."

Blanc's predecessor at Bordeaux, the Brazilian Ricardo, did not. His results were decent, but his ­defensive ­disposition alienated fans and ­several players, and he left in 2007. In a sense, Blanc was an ­obvious choice to replace him – he had been one of the most ­popular and elegant players of his ­generation and the ­leadership qualities he displayed when guiding France to victory at the 1998 World Cup had earned him the nickname Le Président. Yet in the four years since hanging up his boots, a host of clubs had ignored his applications and it seemed his managerial ambitions would go unfulfilled. Blanc stopped applying for jobs. Bordeaux were snubbed by at least one other manager before a friend suggested that the chairman Jean-Louis Triaud give Blanc a call. "God, I never even thought of him," exclaimed Triaud. A deal was quickly struck.

Blanc's determination and decisiveness made an immediate impact. At his unveiling he shocked Triaud by declaring, in characteristically composed but emphatic tones, that "we need at least five new players" ("Er, maybe three," stammered Triaud) and then called back all the existing players from their summer holidays for extra fitness work. His approach is uncompromising, but not confrontational, and despite the abrupt beginning his relationship with his employers and staff, and even the local press, has been harmonious.

Blanc was a 35-year-old on the wane when he joined United for free in 2001, but signing him realised a long-standing Ferguson aim; the Scot had tried to lure him three times previously, only to be trumped byBarcelona, Marseille and then Inter. Though fans might feel his subsequent performances for United shirt hardly justified the wait, his influence behind the scenes made an enduring impression on Ferguson, who often discussed tactics with Blanc and credits him with helping several younger players, notably Rio ­Ferdinand, to fulfil their potential.

Blanc did not only teach. He also learned. He now subscribes to what he calls "the Anglo-Saxon management mode". This means he craves control over tactics and, most of all, transfers, and plays little direct role in training, which he finds unchallenging because "these days anyone can pick up training ­manuals in a high-street bookshop". Instead he delegates training to his coaches, including his experienced assistant Jean-Louis Gasset, who 24 years ago was Blanc's manager at Montpellier. "I will discuss training with the coaches," says Blanc, "but my main role in that regard is to supervise and pre-empt any negative reactions players might have to what's being done." Few, if any, players have had reason to be negative. The secret of Bordeaux's success this season was not simply that Lyon were afflicted by fin-de-regime blues and Marseille and Paris St-Germain shot themselves in the foot at crucial times, but that Blanc has imbued a relatively green squad with what L'Equipe described as "a rage to conquer".

Bordeaux were the only team in the league to go unbeaten at home this season and, after ­losing 3-0 at Toulouse in March, responded by winning their next nine matches, a French record.

The nature of many of those ­victories had clear United qualities: five weeks ago at Rennes, for example, Les Girondins fell behind after 17 seconds, had a man sent off after 27 minutes and went 2-1 up in the second half before conceding an 89th-minute equaliser, but won 3-2 thanks to a spectacular injury-time winner. Two weeks later they were ­trailing at Valenciennes but hit two brilliant late goals to win. What makes the record-breaking run-in all the more extraordinary is that it has been accomplished with a squad ­featuring only two players with title-winning ­experience and weakened by injuries to key performers such as the ­Argentinian striker ­Fernando Cavenaghi and the ­Brazilian set-piece ­specialist Wendel. ­More­over, Marseille, despite sporadic hiccups, were breathing down their necks right up until yesterday.

If Bordeaux's collective resilience and slickness have been remarkable, so, too, has the progress made by many players. Blanc's preference for a ­narrow midfield means full-backs Mathieu Chalmé and Franck Jurietti have had to add enterprise to their game to provide a threat down the wings. In the centre, ­Liverpool and Lyon reject Alou Diarra has released the colossus that had ­hitherto lurked unseen within him. Centre-back ­Souleymane Diawara is unrecognizable from the defender who floundered at Charlton two years ago. Marouane ­Chamakh never a regular goal-getter, yet under Blanc he has become the team's top scorer and Tottenham are pursuing the striker. The longest line of admirers, however, is for Blanc's most astute signing, Yoann Gourcuff.

After demanding greater influence in transfers, Blanc lured Gourcuff on loan from Milan, where the gifted French midfielder had only flickered following a move from Rennes, who were managed by his father, Christian. Blanc made him Bordeaux's chief conductor and the 23-year-old has been a revelation, ­scoring 12 goal sand drawing comparisons with Zinedine Zidane, including from Zidane. He has been voted France's player of the year and Milan, finally realising their misjudgment, dispatched a delegation to France to try to convince Gourcuff not to sign permanently for Bordeaux, who can buy him for €15m (£13m) under a clause in the loan deal.

Reports claim Milan offered the player not only a huge salary hike to return but also a guaranteed starting place alongside Kaká next season. All in vain, as Gourcuff signed a four-year deal with Bordeaux on Thursday

Still, Gourcuff is ambitious and it is ­inevitable he will join one of Europe's giants soon. Especially as Blanc is also ambitious and has repeatedly expressed his dismay that French clubs "can no longer fight against" richer rivals from England, Italy and Spain. Bordeaux's elimination in the group stages of this season's Champions League rankles and though the club have big plans to progress, including a vast new ­stadium, Blanc does not hide his ­impatience. Last week he did not deny reports that he has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave if a big foreign club comes calling.

"My ideal career path would be to start in France, then manage abroad and then return to head the national team," he said. Are you listening Manchester?