Oleg Petrov and Paul Mitchell: ‘You only go to Bruges if you have the potential to come back to Monaco’
Acquired in 2017 by Monaco, Cercle Bruges has just finished in tenth place in the Belgian championship, a few points from the playoffs. Either the best result of the club since its entry into the bosom of the ASM. On the occasion of the five years of this partnership and almost a month after the end of the championship, Oleg Petrov, the vice-president of the ASM, and Paul Mitchell, its sporting director, are donated to Goal on the evolution of the partnership between the two clubs and the project they have set up.
Five years ago, AS Monaco took over Cercle Bruges in the Belgian second division. What was the club like and how did you modernize it to progress?
Oleg Petrov: I wasn’t there at the very beginning of the adventure and Paul arrived shortly after me. Cercle Brugge was a good club but we wanted it to develop faster. From my point of view, many things had to be done to better professionalize it. So we brought our experience to bring more quality in the team but also in the management and the organization. Simply to have a real strategy and that’s what Monaco did. Establishing this structure took time, we had to bring in the right players, improve the sporting part off the field. As soon as he arrived, Paul (Mitchell) was involved in the development of Cercle Bruges. And I am very happy with the change we have been able to make in our management with the appointment of Ben Lambrecht (who was appointed general manager in April 2021) but also an experienced, motivated and well-differentiated team around him. All of this takes time.
Not to miss
Besides loaning players, what skills do you bring to Cercle Brugge?
Paul Mitchell: Between Monaco and Bruges, we wanted to modernize the strategy that existed between the two clubs but also allow the Cercle to progress. When we are (him and his team) arrived in Monaco, we started by presenting a clear strategy. First on how we wanted our teams to play. Then, on the profiles that we wish to recruit, namely talented, promising, dynamic young people who wish to develop and see their career progress. We wanted to create an infrastructure around them composed of professionals who bring their expertise to improve our performance. In particular, we focused on improving our medical team by bringing in specialized doctors, physiotherapists, a person in charge of player nutrition and hydration, for example. We have tried to go as far as possible in the various performance-related sectors in order to create a sort of 360-degree organization that serves the young talents that we recruit or develop with AS Monaco.
“We never forced the players to go to Cercle Brugge”
If we look at the evolution of loans from AS Monaco to Cercle Bruges, we see that since your arrival (Paul Mitchell), they decreased. Why ?
PM: Bringing ten or fifteen players from Monaco and dropping them at Cercle Bruges without infrastructure or a stable strategy does not work. It was contradictory with what we are trying to do and that is what history has taught us. The most important part for us has been keeping the volume down while we focus on building the environment and culture necessary to bring back players who can thrive and succeed. It’s a strategy that pays off, as we’ve shown with Popovic and Utkus who ended up signing up with Cercle and are playing excellently.
This summer will you lend players from your training or your recruitment at Cercle Bruges? Was this the meaning of Cercle Bruges’ visit to the Rock a few weeks ago?
PM: Yes ! Every year, when the season ends, the entire technical team of Cercle Bruges comes to spend a week in Monaco. We take this opportunity to make a complete analysis of the season delivered but also to present the technical team to all of our academy and our National 2 team. This allows them to discuss, to get to know the players and then we do recommendations on players who could be ready or come in pre-season to integrate, develop and bring something to the Circle. I think there are four or five interesting profiles that we will loan out next season.
Does this mean that Cercle Brugge prefers the players they want for next season?
PM: It’s a balance! We have never forced players to go to Cercle Brugge. It was never the right position. It’s a collaboration. We make recommendations because we have known the players for much longer and we know the organizational principles of the whole club. The interest is that this loan is a good step for the player and for the club because we want to capitalize on our successes of the season.
“The Cercle’s objective is not only to get AS Monaco players on loan”
Some players have sometimes been reluctant to be ready for Cercle Brugge, do you have more arguments today to convince them to play there?
PM: Yes, that’s a fair bit! There was negativity on both sides because we didn’t perform well. During our first season, it was more difficult to convince the players that it was an interesting step out of the training center or even for some who work alongside the Monaco first team. We sought to explain to our young players the advantages they could have by going to a higher league like Belgium and how it could develop them. And now we can rely on examples: last year, Pavlovic (he was loaned out in January to Basel) was loaned out for the second half of the season. He was one of the best young defenders in Belgian football. He returned and became a senior Serbian international qualified for the World Cup. Utkus and Popovic, who come from our academy (they arrived during training at ASM) came in pre-season on our recommendations and signed contracts with the Cercle. And both are now highly regarded. All of this is the result of a new culture, a new environment and a real focus on player development. I think everyone recognizes that we are doing extremely well, whether in Monaco or in Bruges.
PO: It took me a long time to convince, even before Paul arrived. Some players refused to go to Cercle Bruges. We have repositioned the Circle as a club that is extremely strategic and important. Now players must earn the right to join the Circle. We don’t plug the holes. Now we say to a player: Ok, you go to Brugge only if you have the potential to come back to Monaco for the first team. »
None of the Monegasques who went on loan to Cercle Brugge have managed to impose themselves on the Rock or even make it into the rotation on a regular basis. Is this now the goal?
OG: Of course ! And not just now. We recruit talents from different backgrounds. Brugge’s goal is to ensure that talented players, whatever they are, can play in the Belgian league, in the Monaco project or in bigger clubs in Europe. It’s not just about performance, but also about being a place where talent can grow and flourish.
So Cercle Bruges only has one vocation to receive AS Monaco players on loan?
OG: The Cercle’s objective is not only to get AS Monaco players on loan. It’s about being successful in the Belgian championship with a team, whether recruited directly by the Cercle or made up of players from Monaco or elsewhere. We use this championship to see the players at work and possibly the developers for Monaco.
Three weeks ago, the staff of Cercle Brugge came to Monaco to talk about the improvements and the players who could come on loan. What will Brugge apply to next season?
PM: I think he will be a year older and will therefore have a little more maturity. This week was dedicated to an in-depth look at performance, individual matches, rating each player and how we would have built the squad, upgrades, players out of contract, players who need to be renewed. And in the transfer window which opens in a few weeks. We want The Circle to grow and be an attractive destination for players who believe they can grow and have an ambitious mindset. We also want to be a dynamic team that is exciting and that people are enthusiastic about the style of play.
“We both expect to be here and continue the work”
We talked a lot about the future of the link that exists between Monaco and Cercle Bruges, will you be there next year to guarantee its continuity?
PM: (Laughter). Our plan is not to be anywhere else. We are carefully planning the future to continue the development of our clubs. We knew when we started the project that we might need time, patience, because there is a lot of work to be done on both sides. Our goal is undoubtedly to continue the work to which we are committed and to achieve success. I was hired to build all the infrastructure, on both sides of our organization, to make it financially viable in difficult times and to bring both teams to a high level of performance. So yes, we both want to be here and continue the work we signed up for. We both know this is a long term project.
PO: I agree and the plan is to continue our work in Monaco and Cercle Brugge. The goal is to continue and build.