Rennes (AFP)
Bruno Genesio, 54, a former OL technician, has officially been the new Stade Rennes coach since Thursday evening, after the resignation of Julien Stéphan.
The former coach of Olympique Lyonnais (2015-2019) signed until June 2023.
"The new Rouge et Noir coach will be presented to the press at a conference to be held on Friday March 5 at 2 p.m. at Roazhon Park. He will be accompanied by technical director Florian Maurice," the club said in a statement. .
Since Monday, the name of Genesio circulated as the first choice to take place on the bench of the club owned by the Pinault family.
Former midfielder, born in Lyon, the technician returns from an experience in China at Beijing Guoan (2019-2021).
Chance of the calendar, the Breton club moved to Lyon on Wednesday for the 28th day of the Ligue 1 championship, with the interim Philippe Bizeul, ex-assistant to Stéphan, on the bench.
The Breton club lost 1-0.
Appointed in December 2018, Julien Stéphan threw in the towel after a new defeat last Friday against Nice (2-1) which had worsened the Rennes results crisis in 2021 with only one victory in ten matches.
After the announcement of Stéphan's resignation, Florian Maurice, also a former Lyonnais, had drawn the robot portrait of the future coach: someone "capable of developing the game and trusting the young people of the training center".
Genesio's profile.
At OL, the technician has contributed to the launch of many talents "made in Lyon", from Tanguy Ndombélé to Houssem Aouar.
Genesio himself is a product of the "Gone" house: he spent ten years as a professional (1985-1995) between Saône and Rhône, notably contributing to the rise of OL in the first division in 1989.
But his coaching career struggled to take off, between disappointing periods in Villefranche-sur-Saône (5th division) and Besançon (4th division), until he joined the staff of his favorite club in 2005 .
Assistant to Rémi Garde then to Hubert Fournier, he took on the role of number one at the end of 2015. Under his orders, OL will go from 9th place to 2nd at the end of the season.
- Ineluctable departure from Lyon -
If his results are constant, noted in particular by a feat on the field of Manchester City in C1 in 2018 (2-1) or a semi-final of the Europa League in 2017, there will be a feeling of mistrust between Lyon ultras and the coach. .
His departure becomes inevitable after the semi-final of the Coupe de France lost against Rennes, where the promising ... Julien Stéphan operates in April 2019.
Genesio then bounced back in China, at Beijing Guoan, where twice he narrowly missed the title, finishing runner-up in 2019.
Coach with a virgin track record, but with solid references, Genesio finds again Ligue 1 in a club that has not been successful as an opponent (3 wins in 8 confrontations), but never too far from Lyon either: he will collaborate with Florian Maurice, another "Gone" pure juice, which he worked with for more than ten years at OL.
Called to take the vacant place within the triumvirate made up of President Nicolas Holveck and Maurice, Genesio inherits a team to be rebuilt.
"I sincerely hope that with another speech and another method, the players will return to results more in line with their level," Julien Stéphan said on Tuesday in a statement sent to AFP.
The task is far from obvious for Bruno Genesio.
Especially since his predecessor leaves behind an aura of a promising technician, with the title won in the Coupe de France in 2019, the club's first trophy for 48 years, and a convincing 3rd place in Ligue 1 acquired in 2020.
© 2021 AFP