Could the arrival of Jorge Sampaoli revolutionize Stade Rennais? But Football Club provides the first elements of an answer by laying the foundations of the Argentine coach's method. Focus.
No fixed game plan
We might as well say it right away: those who expect to see an offensive game at Stade Rennais with the arrival of Jorge Sampaoli on the bench could be disappointed. “In Marseille, he took time to understand L1 and its transitional football,” analyzes someone close to OM at Ouest-France. At the beginning, it was all fire, in an assumed imbalance. And then he changed his plans, started playing handball (sic) more… It wasn't always very nice, but it paid off. In Rennes, he will be quite pragmatic with the team he has, and he will get results, even if it takes a little time. »
Sampaoli's philosophy is based on several favorites: the grinta, adaptable tactical systems, not fixed on a preferential 3-5-2, with several players used in hybrid or innovative roles and coordinated movements. Concretely, OM supporters have often seen real control of the ball with rather sterile possession and positional play despite a few brilliant shots here and there. The Argentine loves more than anything having control of the midfield and swears by his players' football IQ as well as their mutual understanding.
In this sense, ball exits must be regulated like music paper. The real question is whether Sampaoli has the profiles for the Rennes squad to adapt to his playing principles. “I'm waiting to see,” Rolland Courbis explained to us. There, I see two or three players capable of being interesting but I see all the others really average. In fact, I don't see any complementarity between them. »
A blocked future for Mandanda and young people?
If Jorge Sampaoli immediately made it known that he intended to use Steve Mandanda as goalkeeper to “get the club out of this pitfall”, his choice will have to be judged in the long term given that it was he who was the origin of his departure from OM in favor of Pau Lopez, thanks to his qualities on the foot. Courbis is also waiting to see on this subject… If the Argentine coach will rely on players with versatile profiles and adaptable to each other, in the field, he should proceed with small-scale changes and not revolutionize everything at once.
For his first training session, at La Piverdière, Sampaoli thus incorporated 11 outfield players from the pro group (Matusiwa, Santamaria, Jota, Blas, Hateboer, Nagida, Truffert, Assignon, Meister, Faye and Ahamada, plus the two goalkeepers Gauthier Gallon and Mathis Silistrie). They were joined by three players from the reserves (Cissé, Maboulou, Henrick and Do Marcolino). The Argentine therefore wasted no time in including a few young people for his debut, the current context of the international break being much more favorable to young Breton shoots. “For me, Sampaoli in Rennes is a good idea for the short term, because he is not a coach who has the reputation of building, but he can give new impetus and be interesting to find play and strength again. sensations. Afterwards, we can wonder about the overall project in the long term and the place of training”, already warns Frédéric Piquionne in L’Équipe.
Needs already studied in view of the Mercato
The subject of recruitment came to the table at Sampaoli's presentation press conference this Tuesday. And the former OM coach did not escape: “Yes, we talked a lot with the leaders about the current and future needs to change history and have a more ambitious team in the winter transfer window. » “If there is a need to intervene in the transfer window, the owner (the Pinault family) supports the club, the coach and the managers to try to make better and rapid progress,” added Frédéric Massara. Stade Rennais having a real concern for solidity and experience in central defense and animation in the middle, the corrections could arrive there. “There is enough money in Rennes to recruit two or three important players in the winter transfer window. At that point, we will know better,” concludes our privileged contact Courbis. Visionary?
Bastien AUBERT
