Taking the Auxerre reins
Following the departure of Christian Di Orio in 1961, a 22-year-old Roux persuaded the Auxerre hierarchy he was the man for the job. With little to no coaching experience, the youngster managed to convince the board he was the right man to take them forward as he outlined his vision for the future and offered to work for next to nothing!
After just one season in charge, the novice manager was called for his National Service before being able to re-take the reins for the 1964-65 season. He went on to make the manager’s office his own for the next 36 years.
His first taste of success came during the 1969-70 season, the year that would be his last as a player.
He led his charges to the Ligue de Bourgogne de football and promotion to the French Third Division.
It took the club and their young manager just four more years to secure their place in the French Second Division and entry into the professional ranks of the country’s football pyramid, with a squad that included future Auxerre manager Daniel Rolland. behind the scenes as they were building themselves for the future. Auxerre stabilised themselves in Ligue 2 before gaining national attention through their run to the final of the Coupe de France in 1979, defeating First Division sides Montpellier, Lille and Strasbourg along the way before taking the French champions Nantes to extra-time before falling to defeat.
A year later, Roux led Auxerre to the promised land of France’s top division and he would help the club to consolidate their position over the following decade.
It was in 1980 that Roux began to show the control he had. He refused the opportunity to sign French international striker Olivier Rouyer in favour of improving the facilities for youth development at the club.
One man that Roux did choose to sign was the Polish centre-forward Andrzej Szarmach who joined AJA from Stal Mielic. The 61-cap international spent five years at the Stade de l’abbe-deschamps, scoring on 99 occasions, including 16 as the club finished tenth in their first topflight season.
Roux would bring to a close his second decade in continuous charge by finishing third and qualifying for the club’s first-ever European adventure in the UEFA Cup.