For its entry into the competition in the Coupe de France, the Racing Club de Strasbourg inherited this Thursday, December 16, a trip to the 17th in Ligue 2 Valenciennes. The teammates of Dimitri Liénard, 7th in Ligue 1, will logically be favorites, especially as coach Julien Stéphan has announced that he will not upset his team (“just a few rotations to bring freshness”).
Julien Stéphan will not run much
But faced with a VAFC team, which includes some regulars from Ligue 1 (Matthieu Debuchy and the former Strasbourg resident Baptiste Guillaume in particular) and who has recently changed coaches (Christophe Delmotte replaced Olivier Guégan at the beginning of November), the Strasbourg residents will have to show the same seriousness and the same involvement as in the championship.
Watch out for the trap
“If we relax, we will go by the wayside, insists Julien Stephan. Quite simply because we meet a professional team with good players, who train every day like us, with the same conditions of recovery. Especially since a number of players from Valenciennes know Ligue 1, the high level and are able to climb there. I honestly think that in a match, the difference between Ligue 2 and Ligue 1 can be very minimal. A fortiori when Ligue 1 moves to Ligue 2. They will play in front of their audience, in a stadium where they have their bearings. All this must mean that we must be very very attentive “.
In his short coaching career, Julien Stéphan has already known the happiness of winning the Coupe de France in 2019 with Rennes (against PSG in the final). To see Racing shine in the competition and win it, we have to go back to the beginning of the century, it was against Amiens in 2001.