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Damien Comolli

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Damien Comolli
Comolli in 2014
Personal information
Full name Damien Jacques Comolli
Date of birth (1971-09-24) 24 September 1971 (age 52)
Place of birth Béziers, France
Position(s) President
Team information
Current team
 Toulouse
Managerial career
Years Team
1992–1995 Monaco Academy (manager)
1996–2004 Arsenal (scout)
2004–2005 Saint-Étienne (sporting director)
2005–2008 Tottenham Hotspur (football director)
2008–2010 Saint-Étienne (sporting director)
2010–2012 Liverpool (sporting director)
2018–2020 Fenerbahçe (sporting director)
2020– Toulouse (president)


Damien Jacques Comolli (born 24 November 1971)[1] is a French former football coach and scout and the current director of football of Toulouse. He has previously worked with the clubs Monaco, Saint-Étienne, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Fenerbahçe.[2] He has been president of Toulouse since 20 July 2020.

Early life and career

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Comolli was born in Béziers, France, and played as a youth team player at Monaco. In 1992, he began a three-year coaching job with Monaco, where he looked after the club's under-16 squads and won the state championship at that level. Comolli completed a law degree in 1995 and gained his French coaching licence.

Arsenal

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In 1996, Comolli joined Arsenal and spent seven seasons as a European scout and is credited with the discovery of several of Arsenal's players such as Kolo Touré, Emmanuel Eboué and Gaël Clichy.[3]

Saint-Étienne

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Between 2004 and 2005, he was technical director of Saint-Étienne.[4] The club went through a successful period, finishing sixth in the league and reaching the semi-finals of the Coupe de France. During his time there, he also oversaw a number of important first team signings and developed partnerships with junior and amateur clubs, locally, nationally and internationally.

Tottenham Hotspur

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In 2005, Comolli became director of football at Tottenham Hotspur, with overall responsibility for the medical, academy, scouting and club secretarial departments, replacing the outgoing Frank Arnesen.[5] During his time there, he had several disagreements with first-team head coach Martin Jol, who, after his departure from Spurs, complained several players had been signed by Comolli without his agreement and that they had left the squad "unbalanced".[6][7]

Comolli spent three years in the job but with Tottenham performing poorly in 2008–09 and some of Comolli's signings coming in for criticism,[8] he was dismissed in October 2008, shortly after the dismissals of manager Juande Ramos, assistant Gus Poyet and first team coach Marcos Álvarez, as the director of football position was abolished at the insistence of incoming manager Harry Redknapp.[9] During his time at Tottenham, Comolli was responsible for Tottenham's policy of signing young talents.[10] Comolli was also responsible for the signings of former Tottenham first-team squad members Luka Modrić, Benoît Assou-Ekotto, Heurelho Gomes, David Bentley, Vedran Ćorluka and Roman Pavlyuchenko, as well as Dimitar Berbatov.[11]

Saint-Étienne

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On 9 November 2008, it was announced that Comolli would return to Saint-Étienne as sporting director.[12] His appointment led to the departure of manager Laurent Roussey.[13] After leaving Saint-Étienne for Liverpool, the club's co-chairman Bernard Caiazzo said that Comolli was responsible for causing the club's financial problem and told the News of the World:[14][15]

"Damien spent €22 million [£18.7 million] of our money on seven players in summer of last year. Only one is a first-team regular now. We gave him the keys to our club and are now in financial difficulties. My own view of Damien is he favours size and strength as the qualities he goes for first. Perhaps, he will do better with more money at his disposal at Liverpool than he did with us.

Liverpool

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On 3 November 2010, Comolli's appointment as director of football strategy at Liverpool was announced, with part of his remit being to oversee the recruitment of new players to the club.[16] Comolli made an instant impact at Liverpool as he was responsible for the signings of two players, Luis Suárez and Andy Carroll, in January 2011's transfer deadline day, with Carroll's signing breaking the record for most expensive British player ever.[17] On 22 March 2011, Comolli was appointed as the director of football at Liverpool.[18][19]

In the summer transfer window for the 2011–12 season, Comolli helped Liverpool sign Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing, Doni, José Enrique, Sebastián Coates and Craig Bellamy. On 12 April 2012, Comolli left Liverpool by mutual consent.[20] After leaving Liverpool, Comolli spoke out defending the club's record.

Fenerbahçe

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On 12 June 2018, Comolli's appointment as director of football at Fenerbahçe.[21] Comolli made an instant impact at Fenerbahçe as he was responsible for the signings of Islam Slimani, André Ayew and Victor Moses for 2018-19 season. He also signed with Luiz Gustavo, Max Kruse and Vedat Muriqi for 2019-20 season and İsmail Yüksek, İrfan Can Kahveci, José Sosa, Enner Valencia, Papiss Cissé and Mesut Özil for 2020-21 season.

Comolli also played a leading role in the transfers of Giuliano to Al Nassr (€10,5 million),[22] Josef to Al-Ahli (€12 million),[23] Elif Elmas to Napoli (€16 million + bonuses),[24] Vedat Muriqi to Lazio (€17 million + bonuses).[25]

On 16 January 2020, Comolli left Fenerbahçe by mutual consent.[26]

Toulouse

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Comolli joined Toulouse in 2020, following RedBird Capital's purchase of a controlling stake in the club. Two years after his arrival, Toulouse returned to the top tier of French football by winning Ligue 2.[27] A year later, the club won its first ever Coupe de France.[28]

Toulouse under Comolli has become known for its use of statistical analysis in recruiting and managing players. According to Comolli, Toulouse "makes all decisions on the basis of data and statistics".[29]

References

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  1. ^ "Entreprise SCI Cled à Saint-Laurent-du-Var (06700)" [Company SCI Cled in Saint-Laurent-du-Var (06700)]. Figaro Entreprises (in French). 7 September 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
    "Damien Comolli". BFM Business (in French). NextInteractive. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  2. ^ Roan, Dan (3 November 2010). "Comolli takes Liverpool position". BBC News.
  3. ^ Ley, John (20 October 2008). "Tottenham's director of football Damien Comolli needs clear role, says Arsene Wenger". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  4. ^ Rej, Arindam (16 September 2005). "Spurs bank on 'footballaholic' in the Wenger mould". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  5. ^ "Club announce Damien Comolli as Sporting Director". Tottenham Hotspur. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  6. ^ Jacob, Gary (17 May 2008). "Damien Comolli faces questions over future". The Times. London. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  7. ^ Fifield, Dominic (2 November 2007). "Angry Jol says Comolli's 'profit-driven' signings sealed his fate at Spurs". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Transfer frustrations put Comolli's position under threat at Tottenham". The Guardian. London. 4 September 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  9. ^ "Tottenham sack Ramos for Redknapp". BBC News. 26 October 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  10. ^ White, Duncan (13 December 2008). "Damien Comolli looks back in contentment at his Tottenham years". Retrieved 4 January 2020 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  11. ^ "Bale earning his Spurs". BBC News. 3 November 2010.
  12. ^ "Breaking News, World News & Multimedia".
  13. ^ FIFA.com. "Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012.
  14. ^ "St Etienne Co-Chairman Bernard Caiazzo Warns Liverpool: Damien Comolli Is The Cause of Our Financial Problems". Goal.com. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  15. ^ "St Etienne attack on Liverpool F.C. Damien Comolli". Liverpool Echo. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  16. ^ Roan, Dan (3 November 2010). "Damien Comolli takes Liverpool position". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  17. ^ "Damien Comolli and King Kenny work together". Goal.com. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  18. ^ "Liverpool's future is bright, insists Damien Comolli". The Guardian. London. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  19. ^ "Liverpool appoint Ian Ayre as new managing director". BBC Sport. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  20. ^ "Damien Comolli to leave lfc". lfc.tv. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  21. ^ "SPORTİF DİREKTÖRÜMÜZ DAMIEN COMOLLI!". Fenerbahce.org. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Bi̇lgi̇lendi̇rme" [Bilgilendirme] (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe SK. 20 August 2018.
  23. ^ "Bi̇lgi̇lendi̇rme" [Josef De Souza resmen Al Ahli'de] (in Turkish). GOAL.com. 23 August 2018.
  24. ^ "Fenerbahce Confirm €16m Eljif Elmas Transfer To Napoli, Fee Could Reach €19m – Financial Details Revealed". Turkish Football. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  25. ^ "Comunicato 15.09.2020" [Press release 15.09.2020]. S.S. Lazio (in Italian). 15 September 2020. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  26. ^ "KAMUOYUNA DUYURU". Fenerbahce.org. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  27. ^ "Ligue 2. Toulouse veut finir la saison comme un champion sur la pelouse d'Ajaccio". actu.fr (in French). Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  28. ^ "Toulouse surclasse Nantes et remporte la Coupe de France". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  29. ^ "Toulouse: "Si vous ne jouez pas au foot, il faut changer de métier", Comolli livre les clés de la montée". RMC SPORT (in French). Retrieved 2 May 2023.
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