Jean-Marc Furlan: the neurodegenerative illness revealed by his wife in a book

For nearly three years, clubs and national teams approached Jean-Marc Furlan. He turned each offer down without saying why. The answer arrives on Thursday in “Jean-Marc Furlan, le don d’une vie” (éditions Amphora): the 68-year-old French coach suffers from a neurodegenerative illness. The book is written by his wife, Cécile Traverse Furlan, with the journalist Clément Commolet, and prefaced by Raphaël Varane.

“I didn’t want him to be turned into a fairground attraction,” she told RMC Sport, explaining three years of silence. That silence began with his departure from Caen in November 2023, after thirteen matches in charge. Since then, the illness is what has kept him away from the dugout, the book says.

An illness nobody names

None of the outlets relaying the extracts names the illness. On its causes, accounts differ: RMC Sport reports that, according to those close to him, it was probably linked to the concussions he suffered as a player; Foot Mercato also points to the intensity of a manager’s job. In his preface, Raphaël Varane warns about the risks that concussions and heading the ball carry for a footballer and those close to him.

The promotion record-holder

Furlan built his career on taking teams up: three promotions with Troyes, including the Ligue 2 title in 2015, one with Brest and one with Auxerre, a record between the two top French divisions. He also managed Strasbourg and Nantes, in 2009-10. His wife, a doctor in psychology, describes what she saw: “The more stress he took on, the more he let go, like a torrent I could not stop.”

“Jean-Marc Furlan, le don d’une vie” is published on Thursday 1 October.