Rémi Garde

Rémi Garde (French pronunciation: ​[ʁemi ɡaʁd], born 3 April 1966) is a French professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Premier League club Aston Villa.

He played as a defender and defensive midfielder, spending most of his career with his first club Lyon, with whom he won the 1988–89 French Division 2. In 1993 he moved to Strasbourg, reaching the Coupe de France final and winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup in his second season. He joined Arsenal in 1996, where he won the 1997–98 FA Premier League before retiring through injury a year later. Garde was capped by the France national team, featuring in their squad at UEFA Euro 1992.

After retiring, he worked as a coach and assistant manager at Lyon, before taking the managerial position there in 2011. He won the Coupe de France and Trophée des Champions the following year, and left in 2014 for personal reasons, being hired by Aston Villa the following year.

Playing career

Club

Born in L'Arbresle, Rhône, Garde started his playing career at nearby Lyon in 1982, helping the club achieve promotion to Ligue 1 in 1989. Playing as a defensive midfielder or sweeper, he became club captain. Garde left Lyon in 1993 to join Strasbourg, where he spent three seasons and reached a Coupe de France final in 1995. In the summer, the team won the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup, defeating Austria's Admira Wacker in the final.