He travelled to Italy, and impressed Juventus chairman Edoardo Agnelli with his idea of exporting the playing system pioneered by Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman. However, not everyone was convinced by his new methods, and some "Juve" players were unwilling to put in the extra work required to make the system work. He nevertheless led the "Old Lady" to a third-place finish in 1929–30. Though he found little success at Stadio di Corso Marsiglia, his methods were built upon by future coaches at the club. He was unable to take to the field as player, as foreigners were not permitted to play in the Italian leagues. He eventually ended up playing and coaching football in France for AS Cannes, Stade de Reims and FC Antibes. At Cannes he was part of the team that reached the Coupe de France final at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir on 24 April 1932, which they won 1–0 over RC Roubaix. They also finished as runners-up in the Ligue de Football Professionnel in 1932–33. With Stade Reims, he won the Championnat de France amateur league in 1935.