AS Saint-Etienne : a great unpacking of Ruffier could hurt the Greens very badly | ASSE News

Stéphane Ruffier will leave ASSE with mixed memories. More than two weeks after his dismissal, the Basque goalkeeper will remain as a strong link in Saint-Etienne for the past ten years before being one of the biggest mess in the end. Guest of RMC Sport on Wednesday evening, Claude Puel probably commented for the last time on this sensitive issue of the Loire club.

Alonzo defends Ruffier

“I stick to managing a group,” he said. There is a player who did not agree to be substituted for a match and it took on proportions that it should never have taken. In a club, the sporting aspect must be respected by everyone, it is a collective discipline. Decisions were taken in the steering committee as they should. “On the side of Ruffier, radio silence is required since his case will go to justice in the coming months. However, will silence be a viable option until the end of time? Jérôme Alonzo would like not, to have at the end the two tones of the bell.

“I am impatiently waiting for Stéphane to give us his truth one day”

“We’re not in the locker room, we don’t have all the ins and outs. But if Stéphane Ruffier was a bad guy, if 15 people told me he was a bad guy, I would have known for 20 years, he explained on La Chaîne L’Équipe. In the industry, when there are bad guys, we know them. Stéphane is not one of them, and I have nothing to sell, he is not a friend. This story bothers me a lot because he is a quality goalkeeper who still had three, 4 or 5 great seasons to offer at a good club in L1. Sportingly, I do not think Saint-Etienne has found it. It’s nebulous. And he was a player who brought you back to the forefront almost on his own. It was still 10, 12 or 13 points per season. Claude Puel defends his steak by saying: “I fulfilled my role as manager by removing from the group a player who was doing harm.” It’s not his style, but I can’t wait for Stéphane to tell us his truth one day. “