Juninho applauds Le Guen coup

Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Juninho Pernambucano believes Rangers FC have pulled off a major coup by appointing his former coach Paul Le Guen as manager.

Great signing
Le Guen has signed a three-year deal with the Scottish Premier League club and will take over from Alex McLeish at the end of the season. And even though the 42-year-old has not worked since relinquishing his role at the Stade Gerland last summer, Juninho is sure Le Guen is the right man for the job. "In my opinion Le Guen is one of the best managers in the world," Juninho told uefa.com. "The secret of his success is hard, serious work. He seems to be able to make everybody work their socks off for him, and for the team. He has a lot of sincerity in dealing with the players and the staff too.

'The best'
"He is the best manager I have worked with at club level, and I was relieved that Lyon managed to bring in a very respected professional like Gérard Houllier to replace him because he was a loss. When he was at Lyon, we even talked about signing a letter asking him to stay but it never happened for one reason or another." Le Guen will become only the 12th manager in the Glasgow side's 134-year history after turning down offers from Germany, Italy, Russia and Greece.

'A good choice'
The Brazilian is confident the former French international has made the right decision to move to Ibrox. "Paul could have gone to manage in a bigger footballing country, but Rangers seems to be a very good choice," Juninho, 31, said. "Some people were surprised he joined them, but I wasn't because they are a club with a strong tradition. They proved in the UEFA Champions League this season that they have quality and determination. That's the kind of challenge I think Paul thrives on."

Huge influence
Le Guen played a major part in establishing Lyon as a force in French football, leading the Ligue 1 team to three successive titles in his three years in charge. Free-kick specialist Juninho, who came to France from CR Vasco da Gama in 2001, admits he will always be grateful to Le Guen for the influence he had on his career.

Surprise decision
Juninho said: "Le Guen gave me the chance to win trophy after trophy in recent years. Need I say more than that? When he left it was a surprise, but I wasn't disappointed because it was his decision. After all he did for me and for Lyon, I could not be upset with him. I'm sure everyone Paul Le Guen has worked with wishes him luck in Glasgow. I hope he has a wonderful time there."