Dimitri Liénard is playing a lot this season than the previous ones.
In 19 days, he played 736 minutes in Ligue 1. -
Jean-Francois Badias / AP / SIPA
Will Dimitri Liénard still be a RC Strasbourg player next season?
He is one of the many elements at the end of the contract in a few months and still has not signed an extension.
Since the start of the season, the native of Belfort has played less than his competitors at the post.
“That does not mean that the coach or the Racing no longer count on him,” nuances his former partner and great friend Jérémy Grimm.
His eventual departure would be disappointed among Alsatian fans.
Like Grégory Walter.
“It is the emblem of reconstruction.
It would be a real blow and it would upset me if he left this summer, ”he said.
“Happy New Year, good health to you and your loved ones!
I hope you are well.
The scene dates back to January 4.
On leaving for training that day, Dimitri Liénard was the only Racing player to stop himself in the press room.
A few seconds… which is almost as long as during his last appearance in Ligue 1.
Last Saturday in Lens (1-0 victory), the midfielder entered stoppage time. Three days earlier against Nîmes (5-0), it was for the last half hour (65th) and while the score was already largely acquired.
What will happen on Sunday (3 p.m.) against Saint-Etienne at La Meinau?
We have to go back before the truce to find him holder, at the Parc des Princes, one evening when the Alsatians had no obligation of result (0-4).
Lagging behind its competitors
It's a statistical reality: with 731 minutes played since August for 1 goal and 3 assists, the native of Belfort, 32, plays less this season.
Less than before and less than his possible competitors as torchbearers, Ibrahima Sissoko (1.426) and Jeanricner Bellegarde (1.229).
The sign of a passing of the baton for the blue n ° 11, arrived in 2013 in a club then in National?
“That does not mean that the coach or the Racing no longer count on him,” nuances his former partner and great friend Jérémy Grimm.
"The fact that he does not play too much at the moment is understandable because the results are there with the Aholou-Sissoko-Bellegarde-Thomasson midfielder that Thierry Laurey has set up", adds Philippe Wolff.
The president of the RCS Fan Federation is not very worried about the rebounding abilities of the darling of Meinau, able in the past to raise his level of play over the climbs.
But time is running out more and more for "Dim", at the end of the contract in June and for which a possible extension has still not been mentioned.
Could he be gone soon?
“We haven't talked too much about it but I know he feels good in Strasbourg and that he hopes to continue there,” continues Jérémy Grimm.
What does the person say?
It's rare enough to be reported: he did not respond to
20 Minutes'
interview request
.
But last year, the southpaw had already answered a similar question.
"It is the emblem of reconstruction"
“If Racing offers me a four-year contract, I sign immediately.
We haven't discussed it yet, but the day I want to see the president (Marc Keller), I'll go to his office, ”said the left-hander, who has become a true symbol of the club.
“It is the emblem of reconstruction.
It would be a real blow and it would upset me if he left this summer, ”said Grégory Walter, historical fan of RC Strasbourg.
“In 2017, his departure was almost announced in Troyes and he had finally stayed,” recalls Philippe Wolff, also very attached to the famous free-kick shooter of the maintenance against Lyon in May 2018. “Dimitri Liénard represents the Racing of the 2010s and a little what we want to keep at the club with its side close to the public, its simplicity and its fighting spirit.
The day he is no longer there, we will lose that spirit.
"
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