The Argentine coach is preparing to make his big debut with the Rouge et Noir, this Sunday afternoon, against LOSC, during the 12th day of Ligue 1.
Jorge Sampaoli. First. Appointed on the bench of Stade Rennais FC on November 11, in place of Julien Stéphan, the Argentine coach is preparing to make his big debut with the Rouge et Noir, this Sunday afternoon, against LOSC (4e), as part of the 12e day of Ligue 1. And the task that awaits him promises to be particularly difficult. Indeed, after a summer transfer market during which the professional workforce was disrupted – notably with the departures of executives such as Arthur Theate, Benjamin Bourigeaud, Désiré Doué and Martin Terrier and multiple arrivals who have not (yet ?) gave satisfaction – the Breton team had a very poor start to the championship, winning only three of their first eleven matches. It thus points to a disappointing 14e place in the ranking (after this Saturday's matches).
Confidence to emerge from the “crisis”
But if the Rennes leaders have decided to place their trust in him, it is because the former Olympique de Marseille technician has the qualities and experience necessary to turn around the club. “We think he is the best choice to take over the reins of the pro group which has suffered recentlyexplained Arnaud Pouille, the president of Stade Rennais at the time of the presentation of the 64-year-old coach. Above all, we retained in Jorge his love of play, in the demands and work, but in all things, we must rediscover the taste for play and pleasure which seemed to have disappeared a little. What also weighed was Jorge's experience, he worked alongside the best and came with expert and competent staff.»
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In order to redress the situation, Jorge Sampaoli wants, as a priority, to restore confidence to this Rennes team which seems so mentally fragile since the start of the season, as illustrated for example by his humiliation on the pitch of AJ Auxerre (4 -0) early November. “First, we need to identify the problem and reassure the team, give them more security, so that they can then become protagonists in lasting change.», Said the man who is known to be one of Marcelo Bielsa's disciples. Before specifying: “In a moment of crisis with a team in pain, it is important to determine what is wrong and transform this suffering into security, consolidate the group and energize it.»
Finding a gaming identity
Beyond confidence, the new coach of the Rouge et Noir has the ambition to give a real style to his team, as he did at Canebière, when he took over from André Villas -Boas, in March 2021. “The first objective is to know perfectly the team and the organization to put in place to have an identity“, he said. But what identity? Everywhere he went, the Argentinian technician sought to monopolize the ball, to constantly attack with a well-established positional game – which also allows him to defend, like Pep Guardiola at Manchester City FC – while allowing himself to play rapid transitions in order to take advantage of the spaces left by the opposing defenses, and to harass the opponent to the loss of the leather to recover it as quickly as possible.
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With players such as Adrien Truffert, Glen Kamara, Baptiste Santamaria,
Albert Grønbaek, Ludovic Blas, Jota or even Amine Gouiri and Arnaud Kalimuendo, he has elements whose qualities seem adapted to his requirements. It remains to be seen whether he had time, in two weeks, to radically change Stade Rennais. We will have the answer this Sunday, at the end of the afternoon, after the shock against LOSC, one of the fittest teams at the moment.
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