Stade Rennais takes on Jorge Sampaoli, former OM coach, as new coach

Jorge Sampaoli is resting his bags in Ligue 1. And it is in Brittany, with the current 13th in the French football championship. Stade Rennais announced Monday evening that the Argentinian had committed until 2026 to the position of coach of the club.

Former coach of Olympique de Marseille, Sevilla FC and the Chilean and Argentinian teams, the 64-year-old technician replaces Julien Stéphan, sidelined last Thursday after a series of poor results.

Spectator of the shipwreck against Toulouse

Chosen at the end of a process in which half a dozen names were considered more or less seriously, Sampaoli was already in the stands at Roazhon Park on Sunday. He witnessed a new shipwreck of his future team against Toulouse (0-2), for the 11th day of Ligue 1, and was able to measure the task that awaits him. A strong man and fan of a spectacular but very physically demanding game, Sampaoli will have to get back on track a team which missed a European qualification last year for the first time in seven seasons.

He is best known in France for having coached Marseille for a season and a half, from February 2021 to the summer of 2022. He had made OM the runner-up to Paris Saint-Germain during the 2021-22 financial year but had slammed the door of the club when he understood that the club management could not offer him the means to really challenge PSG for the championship title.

A “loyal and committed man”

“We are all very happy that Jorge is joining us because he is a coach recognized on the international scene for his professionalism and his humanism,” underlined the executive president of the club, Arnaud Pouille, in the press release formalizing his arrival. “He has a strong attachment to his players, to his colleagues, he is a loyal and committed man. We need his mobilizing energy so that the club moves forward and faces the competition with determination,” added the manager.

Our file on Ligue 1

Sampaoli, who does not speak French but understands it quite well, will be presented to the press on Tuesday at 1 p.m.