Silly question, but why does a coach have suitcases packed?
Let me start again. Jorge Maciel is the interim coach of Olympique Lyonnais. On Sunday at 5.15pm, Lyon play at Brest, at the Stade Francis-Le Blé, for matchday 10 of Ligue 1. At his press conference, he was asked about his future as the number one coach. According to RMC Sport, he answered: “My profession is a life choice, a chance, but we know the suitcases are always packed.” And he smiled.
I wrote the sentence in my notebook, under the tab “Jobs”. Then I opened a new tab: “Interim”. On the 7:32 train, I asked around what it meant. I was told it’s the coach who coaches while waiting for the coach. I asked if he coached less. No, he coaches the same. He gives press conferences the same. He travels to Brest the same. The only difference is the word next to his name.
Basketball has interim coaches too, I looked. But I’ve never heard one talk about his luggage at a press conference.
In my day, a coach had one suitcase. He took it out in June.
So I checked a second thing: if the suitcases are always packed, does that go for every coach, or only the interim ones? Maciel says “we know”. It sounds like something everyone in the trade knows. I asked the newsroom. Everybody nodded. Nobody said where their own suitcase is.
What intrigues me is the “life choice, a chance” just before. He loves his job, and he has his things folded. Both at the same time. I added an asterisk.
Anyway, I still have a lot to learn. On Sunday I’ll watch Brest-Lyon, and I’ll watch the bench.
It’s true, we checked: RMC Sport.
