Jean-Marc Furlan’s wife says she believes football made him ill

“I’m convinced that football is what made him ill,” says Jean-Marc Furlan’s wife. In interviews with Le Parisien and L’Équipe, Cécile Traverse Furlan describes daily life with the former coach, who has not taken on another role since his time in Normandy ended, despite approaches from clubs and national teams.

In a biographical book published on October 1, his wife revealed that he has a neurodegenerative disease. She describes a daily life that has been profoundly changed. “It’s a bit like living with a child,” she told Le Parisien. Jean-Marc Furlan is among other things affected by poor balance and struggles to orient himself in time. “But with a child, you support them in their future life and development. Here, the further the illness advances, the more you have to care for him from the moment he gets up in the morning until he goes to bed at night,” she added.

The disease has also affected his ability to communicate: Jean-Marc Furlan now struggles to form even a sentence and can no longer write. His wife says there is no family history and that tests showed atrophy in his frontal and temporal lobes. Several specialists reviewed his case; when it was returned, she says, they explained that the findings were compatible with the disease.

His care is an ongoing concern. “As his disease is neurodegenerative, the game is lost. The question is how to keep him as connected as possible cognitively and physically to slow the disease,” Cécile Traverse Furlan told L’Équipe. She also stresses the value of activity and time together: “The key, in addition to medication, is activity. I’m also trying to share moments of connection with him, such as adapted yoga. Our home has become a wellness and sports centre.”

His withdrawal from coaching followed his departure from Stade Malherbe in November 2023, after 13 matches in charge of SM Caen and a falling-out with a member of his staff. Since then, despite approaches from several clubs and national teams, he has not taken on a new challenge, his wife confirmed.