French football coach Eric Roy died on his 58th birthday after a long battle with cancer
Eric Roy, the Brest coach and former Sunderland player, has died of cancer on his 58th birthday.
Eric Roy, coach of French football club Brest and former Sunderland midfielder, has died on his 58th birthday, his club announced on Wednesday. A month after the end of Liq 1 season, Roy passed away after a long battle with cancer. Roy, whose cancer diagnosis was private, enjoyed a distinguished playing career in France with clubs such as Naas, Toulon, Lyon and Marseille, before playing for Sunderland in the 1999–2000 season. After retiring from the game, he held a number of sporting director roles and had an outstanding spell as head coach of Brest. At the start of 2023, he took over at Preston after an iconic spell as Watford's sporting director. After being appointed in January, he secured the team's 2023-24 season with a brilliant third-place finish and qualification for the Champions League play-off round. The following seasons under his leadership saw ninth and 11th place finishes. Roy also worked for beIN Sports and France Televisions, winning 60 of 143 matches for Preston. In an emotional statement shared on Brest's official X account, the club shared its deep sorrow: "It is not easy to express all the grief we feel after the death of our coach Eric Roy. The president, the management and all Stade Brestois 29 members share the pain of his family, his wife, his two children and all his loved ones." The statement added: "Eric Roy was an inspirational figure who gave so much to Stade Brestois. Loved and respected by the supporters, he helped write the most beautiful pages in the club's history and took it to historic levels. "Many things can be said today, but mainly, the feeling and grief of losing a loved one overwhelms us. Eric, we will never forget everything you gave to the club and the man you were. You will always be in our hearts and in the history of Stade Brestois 29"
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