Stade Brestois head coach Eric Roy has passed away at 58, his family has announced in a statement. After a decade-long break from management, Roy joined the Bretons in 2023. Despite operating on a shoestring budget, he led Brest to the 2024-2025 Champions League campaign after an exceptional Ligue 1 season, in which Brest finished third. This achievement secured him the Ligue 1 Manager of the Season award in 2024.
Roy was battling pancreatic cancer since three-and-a-half years and kept his health issue a secret from the public. “For all this time, he kept living with a strength that continue to impress us, carried by his family’s love, by football and the passion he never let go of.”
As a player, Roy had a long career as a defensive midfielder, with spells at Marseille, Lyon and Sunderland in the 90’s. Roy also embraced a career in management at OGC Nice, RC Lens and Watford. He also tried his hand at punditry.
