Strasbourg: the Stéphan era begins
On the banks of the Krimmeri, a small Alsatian river, the beginnings of the 40-year-old coach convinced all levels of a club that expressed the need to start a new era after five years under Thierry Laurey, the last of which was ended with a pitched battle to be a drop – and a divided locker room.
“I don’t know if we can speak of a new era,” former Stade Rennais coach Stéphan told AFP and France Bleu. “In any case, there is a willingness to build on the quality legacy left here by all coaches over the past ten years.”
“Professional and complete”
This translates into “little changes, little touches”, such as the introduction of breakfasts and lunches all week at the Meinau stadium.
“We are looking to make progress in all areas, on and off the pitch,” said Stéphan, who came from Rennes with assistant Mathieu Lescornet and his performance and video analyst Rudy Cuni. “We need to have the most professional and complete organization possible to put the players in the best conditions to express themselves on the pitch.”
This intention is further reinforced by the arrival of Grégory Dupont as a performance consultant, formalized on July 22, which clearly confirms the club’s desire to optimize in this area.
On a personal level, Stéphan returned to work this summer with “peace and serenity” four months after his painful resignation from Stade Rennais FC, but for the young and innovative coach, ups and downs are to be expected.
“This job is made of good times but also times when you have to live with other goals,” he explained. “But that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities to do great things here in Strasbourg.”
Signatures expected
The arrival of the new coach has also convinced some big names to stay in Alsace, like the talismanic midfielder Dimitri Liénard, 34, extended for two seasons. Jean-Eudes Aholou, on loan from Monaco last season, returned in mid-July for a new loan with an option to buy this time.
“We have achieved great things with Thierry Laurey,” the midfielder told AFP. “After that, the club decided to do something different, and we are very happy.”
After the capture of the renowned signing Kevin Gameiro, who completes a well-stocked attack (Ajorque, Diallo, Waris, Mothiba, Thomasson, Sahi), Strasbourg is still on the track of “a central defender, a left-back and a midfielder. offensive ground “, according to Stephan. In defense, only Lucas Perrin, loaned by Marseille, and the Polish Karol Fila arrived while Mohamed Simakan, captain Stefan Mitrovic, Frédéric Guilbert, Lamine Koné and Lionel Carole left.
Tight mesh
“We want a fairly small squad with 17 confirmed Ligue 1 Uber Eats players and a few youngsters from the club,” said the new Strasbourg boss, also dismissing rumors about the departure of squad pillars Ludovic Ajorque and Alexander Djiku. “It seems to me that this is the right number to improve.
The good news for Racing is that the Stéphan method seems to be paying off, with the team recording a promising 3-2 friendly victory over a strong Bundesliga side Frankfurt. They will be there to support this result on Saturday against Friborg, another German team, before starting the season at La Meinau against Angers and then going to challenge PSG at the Parc des Princes.