When is too old to coach?

[georg]

Age-old question in French soccer: When is too old to coach?

JOHN LEICESTER

http://www.therecord.com/sports/soccer/R062839AU.html

PARIS (AP) - Guy Roux would be a revered coach with a U.S. sports team. In France, he could be out of a job.

The 68-year-old was hired June 5 as coach of Lens, which finished fifth this season in the nation's top soccer division. But the league's legal panel voted 3-2 on Wednesday night against approving Roux's work contract because of his age, a decision that even the panel's president says violates French and European law.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy deplored the decision Thursday. Sarkozy's finance minister, Christine Lagarde, called the ruling "stupid."

To remain economically healthy, European and other nations with aging populations need workers to stay on the job longer and retire later, economists insist. But as Roux can testify, getting over the barriers of ageism and the idea that workers are past their best at age 65 can be far tougher, say, than scoring a winning goal.

France's anti-discrimination body says it gets almost as many complaints based on age as those based on sexism. The body, known by its French initials HALDE, described Roux's case as "particularly emblematic of discrimination linked to age."

It wasn't a problem for France that Jacques Chirac, as president until last month, still had his finger on the nuclear trigger at age 74. But kicking a ball around, it seems, is different.

"It is not possible to coach a club above the age of 65," the legal panel's president, Andre Soulier, told The Associated Press, citing article 653-5 of the league's charter for professional soccer.

But Soulier, a lawyer, also said he does not expect the decision to stand. Soulier turns 74 this October and was one of the two panel members who voted to approve Roux's contract.

"This article 653-5 has become inapplicable because it runs counter to the law," Soulier said.

Economically, sending older workers like Roux off to pasture can be a big mistake, economists say. As baby boomers age and people live longer, pension and health costs risk heading skyward. One key way to compensate is to not terminate workers when they reach 60 or so.

Unless more older people work, "we're facing rising levels of taxation, a slowdown in the increase in living standards and employers finding it harder and harder to recruit enough labour," said Mark Keese, an expert on the issue at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,

"We've gone from a baby boom to a baby bust and that has led to a rapid aging in the population," he said. "Our conceptions of age also have to change."

In baseball, Jack McKeon took over as manager of the Florida Marlins at 72 in 2003 and helped them win the World Series. Casey Stengel managed until he was 74 and Connie Mack to age 88. The Yankees' Joe Torre turns 67 next month.

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno is 80 and Florida State coach Bobby Bowden is 77. The Washington Redskins' Joe Gibbs was 66 last season, and the Golden State Warriors' Don Nelson is 67.

"There's going to come a day, perhaps in 2040 or 2080, where people will live to 120 and work to age 80 - because they're still full of bounce," Soulier said. "I still go running with my friends and kick a ball around."

He said there were several reasons why Roux got voted down, some related to his age but others more personal.

"You can't say that Guy Roux hasn't annoyed a lot of people . . . Some people aren't inclined to open a door for him," Soulier said.

Lens said it will appeal to the French Olympic Committee.

"I am convinced that good sense will prevail," said the club's president, Gervais Martel. He said Roux is "in full possession of all his faculties, I guarantee it."

Roux signed a two-year contract with Lens. He trained Auxerre for more than 40 years, transforming the club from an amateur team in the lower leagues to first-division champions in 1995-96. He created a flourishing youth system that produced many internationals.

He also is famous for his wit, soccer anecdotes and a love of Burgundy wines.