This Sunday, ASSE recorded 2 new arrivals within its staff. The new Saint-Etienne coach, Eirik Horneland, will be able to rely on two assistants whom he knows very well. Hassan El-Fakiri and Andrea Loberto have joined the Saint-Etienne club. The second will be responsible for set pieces. A choice that is anything but trivial on the part of management.
Hassan El-Fakiri was Eirik Horneland's deputy at Brann. This former defender, who played for Monaco, is a major asset for the Norwegian coach since he is a Frenchman. Andrea Loberto only spent 6 months alongside the former Haugesund coach. The Italian has been traveling to different Norwegian clubs for almost 20 years. He leaves the Scandinavian country for the first time since 2005 to join the Loire and the Forez club.
Strategic choices to support Horneland
Eirik Horneland can count on 2 assistants he knows to instill his vision of football more quickly. A former experienced player, Hassan El-Fakiri started at SK Brann before joining AS Monaco in 2000. He played five seasons there, notably participating in the 2003-2004 Champions League final against FC Porto. The Moroccan had witnessed his team's defeat against José Mourinho's men on the bench. After a stint in Germany, at Borussia Mönchengladbach, he finished his career in Norway, at Os Turn, accumulating more than 400 professional matches.
Converted to assistant coach, he worked at Brann, then at Os Turn, before forming, from 2022, a successful duo with Eirik Horneland, again at Brann. A perfect French speaker, El-Fakiri could become a valuable asset to streamline the transmission of Horneland's playing principles to ASSE.
For his part, Italian Andrea Loberto discovered Norway during a Leeds United training camp in 2005, an experience which led him to join the Vålerenga academy. This marked a turning point in his career, where he observed the professionalization of youth development. He admires programs like Lundslagskula, which offer solid structures and full-time coaches. After 19 years in Scandinavia, the new member of the ASSE Staff has traveled extensively in Norway, with experiences in 7 clubs in the country.
Loberto attributes the emergence of talents like Haaland and Hegerberg to this development. It highlights the importance of structured scouting, although gaps remain. For him, modern football requires tactical adaptability, the key to success in this sport.
Set pieces, a real problem at ASSE
For several seasons, ASSE has been upset with stopped phases of play. His goals scored thanks to a Free Kick or a Corner can be counted on the fingers of one hand. This season, 2 goals and a penalty converted following a corner, of these 3 goals, 2 were scored by Ibrahim Sissoko in Nantes. On the other hand, when it comes to goals conceded from set pieces, the Greens are struggling.
After 15 days of the championship, ASSE conceded 14 goals in a set phase of play and conceded 8 penalties. Gautier Larsonneur only repelled one, directly at the feet of the opposing attacker, who scored in two stages. Which brings the total to 22 of the 34 goals conceded by the Greens this season.
Andrea Loberto will therefore have his work cut out for him to transform ASSE's weakness on set pieces into new strength in the weeks to come. The Greens lack attention and concentration in this area of play.
