Blanc extends PSG contract until 2016

Laurent Blanc has extended his contract as coach of Paris Saint-Germain by one year until June 2016, the newly-crowned French champions announced on Thursday. In his first season with PSG, Blanc not only guided the capital club to Ligue 1 success, but also victory in the League Cup and the season-opening Champions Trophy. PSG also reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the second year in succession. With 25 victories in 36 Ligue 1 matches, Blanc enjoys the highest win rate in the history of the club, which has won 39 out of 53 official matches this season. It was also his second Ligue 1 crown as a coach having guided Bordeaux to the 2009 title. "I am very happy to continue with Paris Saint-Germain," said the 49-year-old Blanc, who coached the France national team between 2010-12. "I want to be a part of this project over the long term, the most ambitious project in European football. Together, we will dream bigger." PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi added: "It is perfectly justified to show our confidence in Laurent Blanc. "We are very happy with his results this season, as well as the very attractive football the team has played. We are convinced we will win a lot more trophies together." Blanc, a 1998 World Cup winner capped 97 times by France, replaced Real Madrid-bound Carlo Ancelotti in the Parisians' dugout last summer. PSG are a more fluent, more cohesive side than 12 months ago, and Blanc deserves credit for the job he has done, especially as they were a club in turmoil when he took over following the departure of Ancelotti and the resignation of sporting director Leonardo, combined with the threatening emergence of big-spending Monaco. Blanc could scarcely have been further down the club's list of targets for the job and yet he wasted little time in finding a winning formula, settling on a 4-3-3 formation that brought the best out of the midfield trio of Thiago Motta, Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi, even if it partly meant sacrificing record signing Edinson Cavani. The Uruguayan has had to settle for a role out on the flank with Zlatan Ibrahimovic still the undisputed star of the side, but Cavani has still delivered 16 league goals, while also scoring a brace in the 2-1 League Cup final triumph over Lyon. Source: AFP