RC Strasbourg faces FC Metz this Friday evening at the opening of the 6th day of Ligue 1.
Arrived this summer to replace Thierry Laurey, Julien Stéphan has gradually implemented his method.
How does it work?
Decryption with players and one of his assistants, Mathieu Le Scornet.
He is there, in the middle of the field and his players.
To send balloons, give instructions, sometimes discuss.
Without raising the tone.
Two and a half months after discovering RC Strasbourg, Julien Stéphan seems to be perfectly acclimatized there.
With its style, which contrasts with that of its predecessor.
Where Thierry Laurey wanted to be directive with his group, he advocates participatory.
This is one of the strong characteristics of his method.
“He communicates a lot and likes to talk to see if we agree with what he offers.
Even if it is he who has the last word of course!
», Confirms the captain Dimitri Liénard, delighted with these attentions which primarily concern the executives of the team.
But not only.
“The coach takes care of everyone.
"
A desire of the entire staff.
“We have to take the players into the project.
To be able to listen, to meet their needs, while remaining a minimum of directive.
Modern coaching is about combining forces and not dividing them, ”continues one of the two assistant coaches, Mathieu Le Scornet.
"We have faith in what we do"
The current game system, in 5-3-2 (or 3-5-2 eh!) Was thus developed in consultation. And seems to convince those who are on the ground. "We take pleasure in the field, we all agree, we are happy", summarizes Liénard. "We have faith in what we do", supports his partner Jean-Eudes Aholou before acknowledging that the results follow moderately (4 points in 5 days). “But we are on the right track, we hope it will pay off now. "
In this tactic, already used with success by Thierry Laurey, the expectations of the new coach are very different.
They can be summed up in one word: intensity.
“Because it is a guarantee of performance.
We can either impose it on our competitors, or at least compete with them.
The idea is to develop an attractive football with a total commitment on the part of the actors ”, continues the faithful right-hand man of Julien Stéphan, met at Stade Rennais.
"He wants us to have more possession, control of the game, and that we go look a little higher up the opponent", further details Liénard, referring to these daily training from which he comes out "washed".
“It's super dynamic, it sends.
We are always with the ball but the sessions are very hard.
The coach wants to save life, does not want us to get pissed off.
"
"He takes us to the guts and knows how to touch us"
This permanent awakening continues until the pre-game talks.
Where Julien Stéphan is presented as a particularly inspired speaker.
As he had been during his famous speech at half-time in the final of the Coupe de France against PSG in 2019. "There are many legends around that", modestly nuance the person concerned.
“I try to give a guideline, a game plan but it is the players who make the effort and the result.
"
Dimitri Liénard insists.
“He takes us to the guts and knows how to touch us.
His talks are incredible.
They really make sense.
They transcend you.
He is really strong on his way of speaking and managing.
"The Strasbourg captain, decidedly seduced by his new coach, still describes him as" a quiet force ".
For the moment.
“It's true, we haven't seen him in anger mode yet.
We often discover the character of people when we are in the rough.
"A defeat against FC Metz this Friday evening at La Meinau and that could come ...
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