Southampton Legends Le Tissier, Benali Start Sports Agency
Southampton legends Matt Le Tissier and Francis Benali started a new career venture Wednesday, announcing their partnership in a new sporting agency.
The pair, who spent most of their careers on the South Coast, made the announcement on deadline day two days ago.
The new venture, christened 73 Management after the sum of the numbers the two wore, plans to work closely with young players as well as their families and associates, The Mirror reported.
“We’re really looking forward to introducing our first-class services to players and their families,” partner Matt Le Tissier told The Mirror.
“Francis and I are keen to use our in-depth knowledge of the game…to mentor players and help them make the right decisions for their football careers,” Le Tissier continued.
Benali, who played as a defender for Southampton from 1988-2004, had similar sentiments.
“We have a real passion for the game and feel we have a responsibility to pass on our knowledge and experience to the younger generation,” the 47 year old Saint told The Mirror.
“We’ve been in their boots and will aim to take as much worry and stress away from them as possible, so they can focus on football.”
Both career-men for Southampton, Benali and Le Tissier have an intimate knowledge of life as a professional footballer and have had productive careers after the boots were hung up.
Matt Le Tissier, who scored the second-most goals in Southampton history, retired in 2002 and currently works as a Sky Sports pundit, having unsuccessfully tried to purchase his alma mater in 2009.
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Francis Benali left Southampton in 2004 and retired four years later after a short spell with non-League Eastleigh from 2006-08. Since retirement he has held the position of under-12s coach at Southampton and contributed to numerous charitable organisations. In 2004, the former Saint ran to all 20 Premier League grounds, covering more than 1,600km and raising £100,000 for Cancer Research UK.
While sporting agencies are a dime a dozen in the world of European football, Benali and Le Tissier have a solid plan and no end of connections with the Southampton youth academy. Here’s hoping their new post-football venture meets with success.