Zapping Goal! soccer club AS Saint-Etienne: The question of the day
A team beaten at home and its coach rated higher than its opponent and its coach who made paying changes, this may come as a surprise. However, this is the consolation prize awarded to ASSE after its defeat against Lens (1-2), and in which optimists will see cause for hope. The Stéphanois defended very well, the statistics of the League translate it with 67% of their 12 successful tackles against 47% for the Lensois. They were also more specific on their 19 crosses (37%) than the Northerners (16 and 19%). But despite everything, it was the visiting team that had possession of the ball (60%), won the most duels (62%, 72% in the air), made the most passes (598 of which 83% were successful for 392 of which 72% successful). If today football has entered into equations in all clubs with many analysts, it is undoubtedly appropriate to put the figures into perspective by what we feel on and at the edge of the field.
The cool kiss effect of replacing a hated manager with a blessed coach
This is what the ASSE coach and his players did, but also many observers. We can also see a Dupraz effect, that of the replacement of a hated manager by a blessed coach. Even Franck Haise who (like everyone else) found ASSE’s advantage at half-time “rather logical”, believes that “the Stéphanois would have deserved a draw after having played a full game”. Nice, as Antoine Kombouare had been after the success of Nantes “We are sad for this team of Saint-Étienne, they are having a good second period, they deserved at least a draw”, or Christophe Galtier after taking three points from Geoffroy -Guichard “I saw in other matches of the Greens that it was not played out much”.
We can see green nostalgia, solidarity between coaches, even a condescending fair play of the winners. Bruno Genesio, who had exploded alongside us in the press box for each of Rennes’ five goals, also showed his kindness before the match “It’s not the worst team over the first 16 days, far from it. She has real game principles, tries to press high enough, make the game, had little success, deserves to have more points. Or even after the fatal knockdown in Puel “The Stéphanois do not necessarily deserve to be last”.
No reason to give up. Especially not in the derby!
Pascal Dupraz must think so when he says that “there is quality in this workforce” to the point of asserting Thursday “not to fear Lens”, or Saturday claiming “his admiration” in addition to “his love for his players”. which he appreciates that they “applied the instructions to achieve a good first period” after “certain tactical choices which paid off…”. His confidence is contagious “There is no reason to abdicate. As long as there is life, there is hope. I will believe it until the end. And you will see that I did well to believe it. It works if we believe Madhi Camara who describes his coach as a “leader of men” or Ryad Boudebouz who sees in him “a dad, very close, very emotional”. Admittedly, Ghislain Printant, who had also been dubbed by the team’s executives, had received the same praise in his time, but we are not going to add reservations to the bleakness of the ranking. The truth will only be written on the ground and Pascal Dupraz knows it well. He quickly identified some of the problems of his team which are not limited to his long reminder of the measures to be respected in the face of the Covid. More prosaically he admits that “Some people don’t go the distance physically. ‘We need to get better at that quickly.’ Finally, he who had to call little Abdoulaye Bakayoko after saying two days before “There are too many young people launched at once” would be happy to see a few more reinforcements land. In the meantime, he will try to surf on the effect of his arrival in the derby on Friday. Going from virtual to real. »
Didier BIGARD
Realism. pic.twitter.com/5L6nx3f9LK
— 𝑺𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆́ 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 (@SainteInside) January 15, 2022
to summarize
Didier Bigard evokes this week the 20th place of the Greens but also their encouraging match against Lens (1-2), despite the defeat, before the derby. And the optimism of Pascal Dupraz. “There is no reason to abdicate. As long as there is life, there is hope. I will believe it until the end. And you will see that I did well to believe it”, in particular slipped the Savoyard after ASSE-Lens (1-2).
