Fourteen matches without defeat in all competitions (10 in the championship, 4 in the Cup), a series of 10 consecutive victories from August 31 to November 8, a leading place with four points ahead at the third of the championship: host of the Girondins on Saturday ( 6 p.m.), US Saint-Malo positioned itself in a race for the only climbing place when the other big starting favorites (Bordeaux, Les Herbiers, Bourges and Avranches) suffered a delay in ignition. Pierre Talmont, Rabie Zeroual and Stéphane Lamant, coaches of Locminé, Poirée-sur-Vie and Dinan-Léhon respectively, explain what makes the Diables Noirs strong.
A continued rise in power
US Saint-Malo is enjoying its thirteenth consecutive season in National 2, a record of its kind. Having come very close to the climb in 2016, third in 2018, the Malouins then fell back to the second part of the table before starting a new cycle under the leadership of current coach Gwenaël Corbin, who arrived from Guichen (N3) in February 2022: snatching the maintenance in stride, they finished 5th in May 2023 and second last May with a cannonball final (five victories over the last six days). “They are in continuity” underlines Rabie Zeroual, with in the eleven type three recruits who have come to reinforce the same framework. “Perhaps this is their year,” says Pierre Talmont.
Structurally, the club, chaired by a successful local entrepreneur (Yves Fantou), has not remained still either. Under the leadership of a salaried general director present since 2016, it has increased its budget to 2.5 million euros thanks to some 220 private companies. The women’s team plays in D2, the reserve in R1. Including players under contract, it has around fifty employees and a board of directors which counts in particular on Pierre Samsonoff, former executive of the FFF who has just declared himself for the presidency of the FFF. “I also love their facilities. They give themselves the means and I think they are ready to rise to all levels,” says Rabie Zeroual.
On the ground, a well-established animation
“The most complete collective that we have faced” for Rabie Zeroual, “with no weaknesses that stand out”, notes Stéphane Lamant. Since August 2022, Gwenaël Corbin has installed an immutable 3-4-1-2 system which “is reaching maturity” says Pierre Talmont. “They defend very well with three solid and experienced central defenders,” first notes Rabie Zeroual. And offensively, the system distorts a lot which allows them to create numerical superiorities in certain areas. It’s very constructed, the players know exactly what they have to do. »
Stéphane Lamant goes into detail. “They have a direct game: when the central defenders have the ball, they look for the two attackers who are very good with their heads. And they set off from the second ball with a very present line of 4. defensively, their attacking six carry out pressure that is difficult to get rid of. This forces you to extend towards their central three and the sentry who have impact in the air. »
Pierre Talmont adds “offensive efficiency”: “they do not need 50,000 chances to score and have a mental strength which notably allowed them to return to 10 against 11 in stoppage time in Bourges (1- 1, November 8).
Consistency and a scorer
The three coaches interviewed, all beaten by the Malouins, agree: “there are no big names, but experienced players who know this level well in each position” says Vendée Rabie Zeroual, “a homogeneous group of 16 “N2 +” players for Costa Rican Stéphane Lamant.
However, one name stands out: striker Raphaël Gerbeaud, decisive 8 times at the start of the season (6 goals and 2 assists) and trained with… Girondins before returning to his native Brittany. “For me, he should play higher: he is complete, has both feet, he does not shy away from effort” says Stéphane Lamant, who adds as another “influential” player central defender Bilal Cissé, at the club since 2021.
Rabie Zeroual points to a backbone with a lot of experience: goalkeeper Clément Milon (who came out of six seasons at Châteaubriant, the midfielder who became captain), sentry and captain Edouard Daillet (more than 130 N1 matches at Rodez, Boulogne then at Red Star), attacking midfielder Guillaume Heinry who experienced L2 with Bourg-en-Bresse then the adventure of Chambly up to the antechamber of the elite. Pierre Talmont points to the bench “which allows them to make changes without dropping in level”.
Can they keep up this pace?
This is the question everyone is asking from Bordeaux: is Saint-Malo in overdrive? “We will have to take stock at the break. They will have a difficult schedule until then (Girondins, Saumur, Avranches, Blois, Editor’s note). If they still have so many points ahead, they will be difficult to pick up,” says Locminé coach Pierre Talmont, for whom the match against the Girondins (5th at 8 points with a match late) on Saturday is decisive. “If Bordeaux wins, everything will be restarted. If it’s Saint-Malo, it will be complicated for the Bordelais to come back. »
A Saint-Malo – Girondins match over time for the climb? “It’s on the way” for Rabie Zeroual, who adds Blois (currently 4th with 8 points). Stéphane Lamant (Dinan-Léhon) also does not want to remove Les Herbiers from the race “which changed a lot of things in the off-season, had difficulty at the start but found its rhythm, notably with a very strong match in the Cup against Ajaccio (L2, 2-1)” and Bourges “which I found very interesting. »
Seen from Bordeaux, we are counting on the depth of the squad. “Saint-Malo does not have an expandable squad, they are also in the running in the Cup. It might be a bit tight if there are any glitches,” says Stéphane Lamant. Rabi Zeroual emphasizes, however, that they have the capacity to strengthen themselves in January.” The race is well underway.
