Kisnorbo makes history with Troyes bow
Patrick Kisnorbo created history this week when he became the first Australian to coach a side in one of Europe's top five football leagues.
The former Melbourne City coach and Australia international player took the role of head coach at Ligue 1 side Troyes, and earned a point in his first game in charge on Thursday (AEDT), a 0-0 home draw with Nantes.
It was Troyes's first clean sheet of a difficult season, and could have been even better had Andreas Bruus and Xavier Chavalerin not hit the woodwork for the Australian's side.
"Our first clean sheet, which is very important I think, which is good to see. I've only been here one month and we're changing a formation, but it was a great attitude by all," he said after the match.
"You have a very good league here, Ligue 1 has a lot of good players and a lot of good teams, I expected this, but it's good to be a part of it, to test myself and to test the team."
Troyes sits 14th on the Ligue 1 table as it resumes after the FIFA World Cup break, and is just two points clear of the relegation places.
It has not won a league match since a 3-1 defeat of Clermont Foot on 18 September (AEDT), and Kisnorbo has yet to see a goal scored having overseen two friendlies against Leicester City and Paris FC during the Ligue hiatus caused by Qatar 2022.
The games don't get any easier, though, with Strasbourg up next on 3 January, followed by two matches against Lille – one in the French Cup – and Marseille during a packed January.
Kisnorbo will have to wait a while to test his side against the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, though, with the club's next match against Paris Saint-Germain currently set for 7 May 2023 (AEDT).
