They are finally breathing. For the first time since the fourth day of Ligue 1, the players of AS Saint-Etienne will approach a meeting without being in a relegation position. Traveling to the Parc des Princes, Saturday February 26 (at 9 p.m.), the Greens seem to be in a good dynamic, after four games without defeat in the league (three wins, one draw).
How to explain this regain of form which seemed impossible just a few weeks ago? The arrival of a new coach, new experienced players, and an adapted game system are among the reasons that have allowed the Greens to believe in better days and in staying in the elite.
Pascal Dupraz, the maintenance man
Arrived in mid-December at ASSE to succeed Claude Puel, the Haut-Savoyard stood out in the eyes of the leaders of Saint-Etienne by his experience when it comes to allowing clubs in bad shape to get by. exit.
Pascal Dupraz discovered Ligue 1 as coach of Evian Thonon Gaillard during the 2012-2013 season. He had obtained two maintenances before being relegated at the end of the 2014-2015 season. In March 2016, he took the reins of Toulouse Football Club, ten games before the end of the championship and ten points behind the first non-relegation club. The coach had achieved a feat by maintaining the club on the last day.
Dupraz stands out for his outspokenness, but also for his closeness to the players. This image has stuck with him since his famous speech before the match which had allowed Toulouse to maintain itself.
#ASSEFCN “I want the players to starve to death” pic.twitter.com/f0ntc7QnYO
— Pascal DUPRAZ (@CoachDupraz) December 21, 2021
“He does not hide, he takes responsibility. It’s good to feel protected by your coach. (…) You know he loves you, outside of the job we do”Ryad Boudebouz explained this week about his coach, during an interview on RMC Sport.
New players who make the difference
During the winter transfer window, the new coach of the Greens was able to expand his workforce with the arrival of several reinforcements. Seven experienced players joined Forez in January, free or on loan, which denotes with the summer transfer window during which only the Uruguayan striker Ignacio Ramirez had been recruited. The situation is reminiscent of the winter transfer window of the 2017-2018 season, which allowed ASSE to raise the bar, under the orders of Jean-Louis Gasset, after a complicated first part of the season.
At the beginning of February, ASSE was the Ligue 1 club having used the most players since the start of the season. The use of young, inexperienced, in the first team during the first part of the season explains this fact. Since the start of the year, the newcomers have had much more experience, such as during ASSE’s victory against Montpellier (3-1) where two of the substitutes made the difference: Arnaud Nordin (more than 120 L1) with two assists and a goal, Romain Hamouma (almost 400 L1 games) with a goal.
Finally, with fewer and fewer players in the infirmary and the return of those who played in the African Cup of Nations, Pascal Dupraz has an experienced squad which, on paper, is capable of seeking maintenance. Pascal Gastien, coach of Clermont, another team looking to stay in Ligue 1, noted this at a press conference after his team’s defeat against the Greens on February 13: “With their recruits, we no longer box in the same category.“
Rediscovered efficiency
In the last four L1 games, Wahbi Khazri and his teammates have found the net eight times, as many as in the eleven previous league games. If the Stéphanois do not shoot more than before, they are more incisive in the last 30 meters and project themselves quickly towards the opposing goal.
The joy of the Stéphanois after the opening of the score #ASSERCSA (1-0) pic.twitter.com/jRzKoeja1D
— Ligue 1 Uber Eats (@Ligue1UberEats) February 20, 2022
In a system with three centre-backs and two full-backs, the team also seems to be calmer defensively. Sometimes accepting to suffer the opposing game, with a low block, the Greens are also able to carry out a high pressing.
After declaring on Prime Video not wanting “go to PSG to swap shirts with Messi, Neymar and Mbappé“, Pascal Dupraz will try to pose a problem for the capital club. We can expect a low block system, with individual markings, like those used in the last two games, but also pressing and counter phases. -attacks.