Brest coach Eric Roy passes away aged 58

[p]Roy, ‌who led one of the most unlikely success ‌stories in recent European football, ‌had kept his illness private for three ‌and a half years.[/p][p]Appointed in January 2023 ‌after a decade away from management, Roy took charge of a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brest/Cr4VGaUl/"]Brest[/a] side widely ‌expected to be relegated.[/p][p]He guided ⁠the club ‌to an unexpected third-place finish in Ligue 1 ​in the 2023/24 season, securing their first qualification for European competition ​and earning the league’s Manager of the Season award.[/p][embed guid="3c7f76dc-3538-4cd5-982f-05cfaff28d14" url="https://x.com/SB29/status/2067308321397248504" social-type="twitter" /][p]“[b]His time at Stade Brestois ⁠was one ​of the most beautiful periods of his life. It gave him energy, joy and a reason to keep going, even ‌through the most difficult moments[/b],” his family said in a statement.[/p][p]“[b]With his players, he built a rare and wonderful bond. He loved them deeply, and he was proud, profoundly proud, to be their coach[/b].”[/p][p]Before moving into management and sporting director roles at clubs including [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nice/YagoQJpq/"]‌Nice[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lens/IBmris38/"]Lens[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/watford/UmMRoGzp/"]Watford[/a], Roy had a ​long playing career in the 1990s.[/p][p]A ‌defensive midfielder, he made more than 300 appearances in France for teams such as Nice, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lyon/2akflumR/"]Lyon[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/marseille/SblU3Hee/"]Marseille[/a], and also had a spell with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sunderland/WSzc94ws/"]⁠Sunderland[/a] in ⁠the Premier League.[/p]