Since last summer, the Bordelais has been on the bench of FC Sardarapat, leader of D2 after 25 matches out of 30. After seven years in Lège-Cap-Ferret, six in Stade Bordelais, a year in Bastia Borgo, and six months with the Pau FC reserve team, he left France a few days after leaving Béarn. “I’ve always had a thing for abroad in the back of my mind. I had already done observation internships in Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Czech Republic, Benin, and Morocco. There is not just one path to success and everyone paves their own,” he says.
Al Fujairah, after Maradona
The opportunity arose thanks to Jean-Marc Nobilo, former head of training at Le Havre, Auxerre or Ivorian national technical director, then sports manager at United FC in the United Arab Emirates, a new entity based in Dubai, owned by Russian oligarchs, whose coach at the time was Johann Louvel (Andrea Pirlo today). It was a big cultural shock. “There are significant differences in level and form among players, as well as in ambitions: some at the end of their career, some looking to showcase themselves in these markets, locals who stay within their comfort zone. There are many nationalities, each with their own method. You have to adapt, find ways to reach everyone,” explains Torres.
The six months go well and Al Fujairah, a historic club (coached by Maradona in 2017-2018) on the rise after years of drought, gives him the opportunity to be number one. He finished 6th, with Guillaume Odru, now in the Girondins midfield. “There are many layers, I was able to choose a few players but it is very political. It is also very unstable. We are the only staff to have completed the whole season. We didn’t really know where we were going,” he says.
In Armavir, where Sevan Karian, whom he knew, attracted him and where his assistant from Borgo (Paul Tamburini) followed him, he is on “a journey.” Without the unlimited means of the United Arab Emirates, but with “a nice little stadium (3,300 seats),” “a European standard grass field,” and “the club’s desire to move forward.” “When we arrived, there wasn’t really a place for weight training. Today, we have a decent room for it.” The team, mostly made up of Armenian players (plus two Ivorians and two Mauritanians), went on a training camp to prepare for the second half of the season.
PHOTO COLLECTION PERSONNELLE ALEXANDRE TORRES
“The players are very committed, with a culture of work and listening,” he points out. “The top two to three clubs in the country would rival good Ligue 2 teams. Behind them, there is technical talent, not restricted by choices that sometimes go beyond what we see in Europe. Like in the Emirates, it is in tactical maturity that there is a lot of work to be coherent for 90 minutes.” The educators of FC Sardarapat and the best young talents are doing internships at RC Lens to benefit from the technical expertise of the northern cadre while waiting for the Armenian club to possibly host elements who need to mature before Ligue 1.
“A population that has suffered a lot”
Joined by his family during school holidays, Alexandre Torres went from “the desert” to “trees everywhere around.” But also “to another model of society with its good and bad sides” in Dubai, where there is “a population that has suffered a lot, even recently. Many young people are lost, and you can feel it strongly. It makes you grow humanly. You also discover a different way of seeing the world than from France.”
From almost empty stands in Al Fujairah, he went from 1,000 to 1,500 people per match in Armenia. “Armavir had a club with real enthusiasm a few years ago. Matches are often scheduled midweek or in the afternoon due to lack of lighting. If we promote, play at night, there will be many more people,” says the Bordelais, who speaks English, is learning some Russian and Armenian basics, and can rely on former international Zovan Badoyan for translation if needed.
