“It should help us achieve promotion – that is our goal for this season – and then help us establish ourselves in Ligue 1.” The expectations that President Bernard Serin has for the new coach of FC Metz are high. Luc Holtz receives the trust for this mission. On Friday morning, the former Luxembourg national coach was officially introduced as the new head coach of the traditional French club at a press conference in the Stade Symphorien. He will be supported in his new role by assistant coach Mario Mutsch, who wore the FC Metz jersey for over two years (2009 to 2011) during his active career. Mutsch will not extend his contract as U21 national coach with the FLF, which expires on June 30th.
After relegation from Ligue 1, Metz had been looking for a successor to Benoît Tavenot for several weeks. The club is said to have shown interest in Holtz a few months ago, but according to “kicker” he did not receive approval from his club Waldhof Mannheim at the time. President Serin confirmed at the press conference that the Luxembourger had been the desired solution for a long time: “He is our first choice.” After the German third division team and Holtz parted ways almost two weeks ago at the end of the season, the path to Metz was clear. After 15 years at the helm of the Luxembourg national team and a season in Germany, a new chapter begins for the 56-year-old.
His involvement with the “Grenats” was a “great honor” for him, Holtz said at the press conference. “For me, FC Metz is a club close to my heart. I will give everything to be successful with this club and to make the fans proud – through the way we play, but of course also through the results.”
Orientation to Paris Saint-Germain
Re-emergence is the clear goal. “It’s important to find a good balance between experienced players and young talent,” explained Holtz. Not least because of his many years of work with young players in the national team, FC Metz sees him as the right man for the new task.
“It is also important that everyone pulls together,” says Holtz, who cites Paris Saint-Germain as a role model. “PSG has won the Champions League twice in a row – mainly because the coach has managed to form a strong and united team in which everyone pursues the same goal. The result is known. Only when everyone works together in the same direction can the team and each individual get the best out of themselves.”
Holtz also sees the Parisians as a reference point in his own role as a coach in a new league and a new country. He refers to Luis Enrique, who initially had to make do with no experience in French football when he moved to France. “Everything was new for him. Today you can see what he has achieved.”
