On March 10, 2021, French football met an unusual character in Ligue 1, but whose personality seemed to fit perfectly at Olympique de Marseille (OM). After a week of isolation – the pandemic linked to Covid-19 obliges -, spent like a lion in a cage, Jorge Sampaoli played his first championship match in charge of OM, at the Stade-Vélodrome. In his technical zone, the Argentine walked from one side to the other without being able to stay still, before finally achieving victory against Stade Rennes (1-0).
Three and a half years later, the Breton club will discover up close the 64-year-old coach, whose eruptive character contrasts with an institution as wise as an image, accustomed to staying in line, sometimes too much. Jorge Sampaoli, who will be presented at a press conference on Tuesday, November 12 at 1:00 p.m., has signed a contract with Stade Rennais until 2026. Arnaud Pouille, executive president of the club for one month, and Frédéric Massara, its sporting director, They are at the origin of this choice, to say the least surprising, to replace Julien Stéphan.
“We need your mobilizing energy so that the club can move forward and face the competition with determination”stressed Arnaud Pouille in a statement published by Rennes on Monday. The Argentine’s bit of madness will have to take effect to shake up a squad that has been in trouble for several weeks: the red and black have won only one of their last six games and occupy 13th place in the Ligue 1 standings, far from their European ambitions.
When watching his new team’s defeat against Toulouse (0-2) this Sunday, from the stands of Roazhon Park, Jorge Sampaoli confirmed the magnitude of the work that awaits him. His challenge will be to be able to transfer his very particular method to a club that generally does not leave the framework and that welcomes a foreign coach for the first time since the Romanian Laszlo Boloni (2003-2006).
Often short experiences.
In the past, “El Pelado” has often transported his visceral attachment to football to environments conducive to unleashing passions. At the head of the Chilean team he won the Copa América in 2015 – his last trophy – before taking charge of Argentina, several Brazilian clubs, Sevilla FC and OM. Will your recipe work in the more peaceful context that the Ille-et-Vilaine team offers?
You have 55.03% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
