The magic of the Cup
The legend of AS Saint-Étienne is sewn with gold threads. Claude Puel and his men will finally settle for money, defeated in the final of the Coupe de France in July by PSG (0-1). History will remember that ASSE had not contested for the title in this competition since 1982, and already lost to players from the capital.
Thirty-eight years, an eternity. It was still three less than the last success at the Vélodrome. Forty-one years of famine before finally seeing the light, on September 17, 2020 and this historic success in Marseille (0-2), the birthplace of Wesley Fofana. It was at home that the central defender had his last tenure in the Green jersey before going off to the English. Head to Leicester for the L’Étrat shaped gem for € 40m (including € 5m bonus), the biggest transfer in ASSE history.
A story in which Loïc Perrin will leave an indelible mark. The Saint-Charles Vigilante kid ended seventeen years of love with his lifelong club after the Coupe de France final he left prematurely. This red stain on a huge green quarry will not tarnish its legend. One of the most beautiful golden pages of AS Saint-Étienne.
THE FLOPS
The Ruffier affair
Discarded at the end of February for his athletic performances, Stéphane Ruffier has not worn the Greens jersey since. He pays for his agent’s shattering statements to Claude Puel, which he never commented on in public. The Saint-Etienne general manager installed Jessy Moulin in goal while the Basque has been sacked twice since July.
This player has taken himself offside with all of the behavior and statements of his agent. I want to work with players who want to move forward, with whom I want to project myself
Claude Puel, September 1, about Ruffier
Free fall
What would Robert Herbin, who died last April and the club’s record-breaking man, have thought of the roller coaster year experienced by Saint-Etienne supporters? The most successful coach of ASSE, columnist of our newspaper for 16 years, explained in his last contribution on March 10 after the draw against Bordeaux (1-1) that it would have taken “more efficiency to hope more “. Nine months later, the Greens are almost at the same point. They take too many avoidable goals, do not score enough outside or in a Geoffroy-Guichard stadium desperately deprived of its home crowd, the usual lung that pushes its heroes to transcendence. 17th at the end of the season truncated by Covid-19, Claude Puel’s players are hardly better placed (14th) at the break after a horrendous series of ten games without a win.
From one year to the next, the causes of the disaster seem the same: injuries to the shovel, major players absent, scorers at half mast and minimum recruitment. The club’s policy change based on training and the end of big salaries has proven to be a financial blessing as French football experiences the worst financial crisis in its history.
Sportingly, this is much less true. While the transfer of Wesley Fofana to Leicester has probably ensured the survival of ASSE, the Saint-Etienne defense is dragging the departure of its best player like a drag. It seems that the benefits of the project initiated by the general manager, who aims for the Champions League, will be seen within three years. Provided that internal and external turbulence spares the Greens.