Eric Roy, Brest coach who led club from near relegation to Champions League, dies at 58
The French football community mourns Eric Roy, the Stade Brestois manager who masterminded an unlikely Champions League qualification, died of pancreatic cancer at 58 on Wednesday. He kept his illness secret for three and a half years.
A three-year secret fight
Eric Roy had been battling pancreatic cancer since around the time he took charge of Stade Brestois in January 2023. He kept the diagnosis private, continuing to lead the team through treatment with a resilience that his family described as "impressive". In a statement, they said his time at the club was "one of the most beautiful periods of his life".
It gave him energy, joy and a reason to keep going, even through the most difficult moments.
From near relegation to the Champions League
When Roy arrived, Brest were widely expected to be relegated. Instead, he secured survival, then delivered an extraordinary 2023-24 campaign that saw them finish third in Ligue 1 behind Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, earning Manager of the Season honours and a historic Champions League qualification. The following season, Brest advanced from the group stage before being eliminated by PSG. In the 2025-26 season, they finished 12th, comfortably clear of danger.
Tributes from the national team and football leaders
France's squad, preparing for the World Cup at their Bentley camp in the United States, paused their training on Wednesday to observe a minute of silence. Manager Didier Deschamps paid tribute to a "very competent technician and a very endearing personality".
Eric fought the illness with a determination that commands respect. I will keep the memory of a deeply human man.
Guy Stéphan, Deschamps' assistant who coached Roy at Lyon, remembered "a great professional, very conscientious", while Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, hailed "a man of passion and conviction" who left "the moved memory of a man always appreciated, upright, and sparkling in spirit".
A player turned director before his Brest homecoming
Roy's football journey began in the 1990s as a defensive midfielder. He amassed more than 300 appearances in France's top division for Nice, Lyon and Marseille, played at Sunderland during the 1999-2000 Premier League season, and also turned out for Rayo Vallecano in Spain. After retiring, he moved into management with Nice in 2010, later holding sporting director posts at Lens and Watford before returning to the dugout for the first time in over a decade with Brest.
Brest says "Kenavo, King"
The club said Roy was "an inspiring personality who contributed enormously" to its history, adding: "You will forever live in our hearts and in the history of Stade Brestois 29. Kenavo, King." Supporters are set to gather outside the Stade Francis-Le Blé on Thursday evening to pay their respects.
