Ahead of Saturday night’s “special” centenary celebrations, AS Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro discussed the club’s past, it’s present, and it’s future in an interview with Monaco Life’s Sports Journalist Luke Entwistle.

Earlier this season, the Principality club celebrated its centenary. But whilst the club was officially founded on 23rd August 1924, they didn’t play their first game until 20th September of the same year. As a result, further celebrations are planned on Saturday, when Les Monégasques will take on Montpellier HSC in Ligue 1.

“It will be a special night. It will be a moment to celebrate some good moments and some important people from our history,” began Scuro in an interview with Monaco Life, before outlining those plans.

“[We will be] hosting some iconic players from our history, and coaches that have made history over these past 100 years. A special jersey on the pitch in order to show our respect for our past. We will have Arsène Wenger, one of AS Monaco’s former managers and who became a legend. There will also be players like (Marco) Simone, (Eric) Abidal, (Delio) Onnis, (Claude) Puel, and (Jean-Luc) Ettori.”

“There will be around 40 former AS Monaco players from different moments of our history. There will also be an exposition of the trophies in the stadium during the match, all of the iconic jerseys, and other animations both before and after the match to surprise our fans,” added Scuro. 

‘The club represents the Principality forever’ – Scuro

It is a night that transcends AS Monaco as a club and that has a greater importance for the entire Principality, as Scuro recognises: “It is special and it is also important to highlight how important it is to Prince Albert II, who is strongly connected to the club. The club represents the Principality forever. There has been a deep relationship with him and his family since day one. And also the our president Dmitry (Rybolovlev) that after 10 years here in Monaco leading the club, supporting the club, having the chance to be here means a lot to him too.”

Amid the festivities, Adi Hütter and his squad have the task of focusing on matters on the pitch. “This is the most important thing. We are working a lot on not distracting ourselves from the football project. Everything around [the club]: the excitement, the celebrations, it is important to the Principality and to our fans but we need to keep focused on our job on the pitch,” admits Scuro

It has been an excellent start to the season for Monaco, who are joint top in Ligue 1 after four wins and one draw, whilst the victory over Barcelona means that Les Monégasques are so far unbeaten. It is a run that means that Hütter has the best percentage of any Monaco manager in the 21st century. Whilst the legends of the past will be honoured and on show at the Stade Louis II, the Austrian is in the process of making his own history at the Principality club.

“Adi really fits well with the way we work, the way we are in terms of an organisation. He has a clear playing idea and he is very simple in the way that he shares this with the players. Has also a very positive leadership skills […] strong compliments to our coach Adi, who is building a strong history here at AS Monaco,” Scuro told Monaco Life. The Brazilian’s first appointment has certainly been a successful one.

Monaco’s unwavering youth strategy

Under the Austrian manager, the club’s youth are featuring prominently and flourishing. As has been the case historically, developping young players through the prestigious La Diagonale or investing in youth, as they did with this summer through the signings of George Ilenikhena, Lamine Camara and Christian Mawissa, remains a central pillar of the club’s strategy.

The club’s participation in this season’s Champions League not only allows those young players to grow, but it also gives them increased exposition. There is no question of a deviation from the Monaco model. “Sometimes [the youth-centric recruitment] goes against fans’ expectations but we believe in this way. That’s the way we have the opportunity to see an 18-year-old striker scoring against Barcelona at the Stade Louis II. This is the history of the club,” said Scuro.

“This is the way we believe we should keep working. So having so many young players on the pitch playing a game of this level for sure will be a big, big step to allow them to become higher-level players in the future.”

A Ligue 1 title challenge?

And those players, notably Camara and Ilenikhena, as well as academy products Eliesse Ben Seghir and Maghnes Akliouche are already contributing to the club’s current success.

After a strong start to the season, there is already talk of a title challenge, with vice-captain Thilo Kehrer admitting that such talk had reached the dressing room, even if he believes he and his teammates remain unperturbed.

“At this stage, it is too soon to discuss the possibility [of a Ligue 1 title challenge]. PSG continue to be a strong club in the league, as they have been in previous years,” said Scuro, who nonetheless recognises the “clear potential” in this current cohort of Monaco players.

Scuro provides update on AS Monaco sale talks

Les Monégasques have a glistening past and in the present they remain at the cutting edge of French football, whilst also once again flourishing on the European scene. But there are uncertainties surrounding the future.

As reported earlier this year, owner Dmitry Rybolovlev received unsolicited interest to purchase the club, and talks over a potential sale have been ongoing. Scuro provided an update on the situation. “The process is ongoing; nothing concrete has been announced or has happened,” said Scuro, before providing assurances.

“What I want to highlight is that, throughout the whole process, the transparency and the support of our president. The president was part of the summer strategy, decisions, and investment. He is very connected to us and I speak to him basically every week about key decisions that we must take together here at the club. The president, Adi, and I had a conversation last week in terms of what we are doing for the season. This is what we need at this stage – clarity and support from the president. This will make AS Monaco stronger and this is our main focus,” said Scuro.

As Monaco celebrate their past, Scuro is unequivocal in his positive outlook for the future.

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Photo source: AS Monaco