Rennes part ways with Julien Stéphan (off)

There was little doubt that the adventure would end. Since last Sunday and the heavy defeat suffered at Auxerre in Ligue 1 (0-4), the days of Stade Rennais coach Julien Stéphan were indeed numbered. This Thursday, November 7, the Breton club informed of the dismissal of the 44-year-old technician, as well as his assistants Denis Zanko and Bouziane Benaraïbi. After a successful first stint between 2018 and 2021 (victory in the Coupe de France, qualification in the Champions League), the former manager of the Rennes reserve returned to business in November 2023 in Ille-et-Vilaine, to take over from Bruno Genesio.

Thanked a year after his return

After missing a European qualification last season (10th) then experiencing a turbulent transfer window with numerous departures, the ex-Strasbourg coach is paying the start of the year far from expectations. Before hosting Toulouse on Sunday (5 p.m.) as part of the 11th day, Rennes occupies a disappointing 13th place with only 3 victories on the clock. Too little to continue an adventure which was initially supposed to end in 2026. A year after his return, Julien Stéphan therefore becomes the second Ligue 1 coach to be fired this season, after Michel Der Zakarian (Montpellier) a few weeks ago. It remains to be seen who will replace him on the Rouge et Noir bench. In recent days, several options have been mentioned, such as Rudia Garcia, Sérgio Conceiçao, a duo composed by Habib Beye and Mathieu Le Scornet or even Jorge Sampaoli. The Argentinian seems to be holding the rope and is close to an agreement with Stade Rennais. “Pending the upcoming decision, training for the professional team will be provided by Sébastien Tambouret (coach of the Pro2 group), assisted by Denis Arnaud (Director of the Academy) and Pierre-Alexandre Lelièvre (assistant coach of the Pro2 group),” the club said in a press release.