Jorge Sampaoli is back in France. The volcanic Argentine coach is committed until 2026 on the Stade Rennais bench, the Breton club announced on the night of Monday, November 11, almost two and a half years after his departure from Olympique de Marseille.
The one who was also coach -among others- of Sevilla FC and the Chilean and Argentine national team replaces Julien Stéphan, who left on Thursday after a series of poor results that left Rennais in a shameful 13th place.my place in Ligue 1 at the time of the international break.
After a first term of more than two years, between December 2018 and February 2021, Julien Stephan returned to the Reds and Blacks in November 2023, but this time his return lasted just one year.
Chosen at the end of a selection process in which half a dozen names were more or less seriously considered, Jorge Sampaoli, 64, was already in the stands at Roazhon Park on Sunday. He witnessed a new disaster for his future team against Toulouse (0-2), for the 11thmy matchday of Ligue 1, and was able to measure the task that awaits him with a team that has only won three games in the championship.
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A strong man and fan of a spectacular but very physically demanding game, Sampaoli will have to get a team back on track that last year missed European qualification 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 achieved OM’s runners-up finish against Paris SG during the 2021-2022 financial year, but closed the club’s door. when he felt that the club management could not offer him the means to truly challenge PSG for the championship title.
“We are all very happy that Jorge is joining us because he is a coach recognized on the international scene for his professionalism and humanism”underlined the club’s executive president, Arnaud Pouille, in the statement making his arrival official.
“He has a great attachment to his players, to his teammates, he is a loyal and committed man. “We need their mobilizing energy so that the club can move forward and face the competition with determination.”added the leader of the Reds and Blacks.
