Pablo Correa

Pablo Alejandro Correa Velázquez (born 14 March 1967) is a Uruguayan-French professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is principally associated with French club AS Nancy Lorraine, where he spent the final part of his playing career and later had three spells as head coach between 2002 and 2026.

As a player, Correa made 119 league appearances and scored 28 goals for Nancy, helping the club win the French second division in 1997–98. As Nancy manager he won Ligue 2 in 2004–05 and 2015–16, the Coupe de la Ligue in 2005–06 and the Championnat National in 2024–25. He led the club to three promotions, fourth place in Ligue 1 in 2007–08, and the knockout stage of the 2006–07 UEFA Cup.

France Football named Correa French Coach of the Year in both 2006 and 2007, and he was voted Championnat National Coach of the Year for 2024–25.

Playing career

Uruguay and Argentina

Correa was developed in the youth system of Nacional in his native Montevideo, but did not make his first-team debut for the club. He instead began his senior career with Rentistas, who recruited him while seeking promotion to the Uruguayan top division.

Rentistas won the Uruguayan second division in 1988, with Correa finishing as the division's leading scorer. He subsequently joined Peñarol, the club he had supported while growing up.

Nancy

In 1995, former Nancy player Carlos Curbelo recommended Correa to AS Nancy Lorraine. Correa, then aged 28, moved to France while Nancy were competing in the second division.

Correa retired during the 2000–01 season and remained with Nancy, initially working in an observational role before joining the professional coaching staff. He later obtained French nationality.

Correa guided Nancy to safety during his first season and to sixth place in 2003–04. In 2004–05, Nancy won the Ligue 2 championship and returned to Ligue 1.

Nancy finished 12th in their first season back in Ligue 1. The season's principal achievement came in the 2005–06 Coupe de la Ligue. Nancy defeated OGC Nice 2–1 in the final at the Stade de France on 22 April 2006, winning the club's first major cup since the 1977–78 Coupe de France and qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

In the first round of the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, Nancy overturned a 1–0 first-leg defeat against Schalke 04 by winning 3–1 at the Stade Marcel Picot. Correa selected four forwards for the return match. Nancy subsequently defeated Wisła Kraków and Feyenoord and drew away to FC Basel, becoming the first French club to qualify for that season's UEFA Cup knockout phase. They were eliminated in the round of 32 by Shakhtar Donetsk.

Correa was named French Coach of the Year by France Football in both 2006 and 2007. The fourth-place finish equalled the best league placing in the club's history.

Correa remained in charge until the end of the 2010–11 season. In March 2011 he announced that he would leave despite having another year remaining on his contract, saying that the squad needed a different approach and that he no longer felt able to provide the necessary renewal.

Évian

In January 2012, Correa succeeded Bernard Casoni as head coach of newly promoted Ligue 1 club Évian Thonon Gaillard. Évian finished ninth in 2011–12 Ligue 1, their first season in the top division.

He was dismissed on 3 September 2012 after the club took one point from its opening four league matches of the following season. Sporting director Pascal Dupraz replaced him. Nancy recovered to finish fourth in 2013–14.

After another unsuccessful promotion challenge in 2014–15, Correa led Nancy to the 2015–16 Ligue 2 championship, securing promotion to Ligue 1 and his second second-tier title as Nancy manager.

Nancy were relegated from Ligue 1 in 2016–17, finishing 19th. Following a poor start to the subsequent Ligue 2 season, Correa was suspended from his duties on 29 August 2017 and replaced by his assistant Vincent Hognon. His contract with Nancy was formally terminated by mutual agreement in October.

Auxerre and Virton

In December 2017, Correa succeeded Francis Gillot as manager of AJ Auxerre. Auxerre improved during the second half of the 2017–18 season and finished 11th in Ligue 2 with 47 points.

He remained for the following season but was dismissed on 18 March 2019 with Auxerre 14th in Ligue 2 after four consecutive defeats.

After more than two years away from management, Correa was appointed coach of Belgian second-tier club Royal Excelsior Virton in December 2021, succeeding Christophe Grégoire. He remained in charge until the end of the 2021–22 season.

Nancy: third spell

Correa returned to Nancy for a third spell on 18 November 2023, succeeding Benoît Pedretti. Nancy were then near the bottom of the Championnat National, and the club stated that Correa's immediate objective was to secure survival.

The team recovered strongly, rising from 17th to fourth during the campaign before finishing sixth.

Correa's contract was not renewed. His final match as Nancy head coach was a 3–2 home victory over Dunkerque on 9 May 2026, during which he received an ovation from the Stade Marcel Picot crowd. Nancy subsequently appointed Oswald Tanchot as head coach. The club stated in its end-of-season review that Correa and his staff had achieved the objectives set for the 2025–26 campaign.

Coaching style

During Nancy's rise in the mid-2000s, Correa became known for maintaining a close relationship with his players. A 2006 profile by Paul Doyle in The Guardian described him as unusually informal by the standards of French professional football: players addressed him with the familiar French pronoun tu, he invited their tactical input and was prepared to acknowledge his own responsibility for defeats.

His Nancy teams nevertheless developed a strong emphasis on collective organisation and defensive work. Correa expected defending to begin with his forwards and sought to keep the team compact without the ball. His approach was not tactically rigid. During the 2006–07 season he moved from a five-man defence to a back four and used Brazilian defender André Luiz in midfield. Most notably, after Nancy lost the first leg of their UEFA Cup tie against Schalke 1–0, Correa started four forwards in the return match, which Nancy won 3–1.

Correa has cited Juan Ahuntchaín, who coached him at Defensor Sporting, as an important influence on his management. He praised Ahuntchaín's ability to communicate simply and to give players only the information they needed.

Honours

Player

Rentistas Uruguayan Segunda División: 1988

Nancy French Division 2: 1997–98

Manager

Nancy Ligue 2: 2004–05, 2015–16 Coupe de la Ligue: 2005–06 Championnat National: 2024–25

Individual

France Football French Coach of the Year: 2006, 2007 Championnat National Coach of the Year: 2024–25