Best passer (6 assists) and co-top scorer (11 goals) in Ligue 2 this season, Jean-Philippe Krasso carries the Saint-Etienne attack on his back. However, the 25-year-old striker had to slowly build himself in the amateur world and then through various loans in order to finally be able to express his full potential with the Greens. With the serious injury of Gaëtan Charbonnier, the responsibilities of the vice-captain of the club will be further reinforced for the end of the season.
He stacks up goals and assists. Nevertheless, Jean-Philippe Krasso could have been on the other side of the field, among those who must on the contrary do everything to contain the talent of the attackers. Born in Stuttgart, Germany, JPK started playing football at the age of four across the Rhine and discovered the position… of central defender! ” As I was the biggest in the team, my coach had therefore decided to put me in this position on the field. But I always wanted to play as a striker.” he recalled at the time on the official site of Lorient. Well he took it! Very fine technically, at ease in the vision of the game and in the finish, his skills carry today AS Saint Etienne in its quest for survival. However, the love story between the Greens and Krasso almost never got started…
A click match in the Coupe de France with Epinal
When he arrived in the summer of 2020, Jean-Philippe left the amateur world after not having received a professional contract with Les Merlus. A stint at Schiltigheim for a season then a signing at Epinal (N2) will change his destiny. SAS’s brilliant career in the Coupe de France in 2019, and in particular its decisive double in the round of 16 against LOSC (2-1), will help to shine the spotlight on its potential. If his friend Mickaël Biron joins Nancy in Ligue 2, he decides to directly cross the course of L1 in Forez. Difficult indeed to refuse the offer of such a historic club. “ Jean-Phi is in the continuity of his very good season, since he must be at sixteen goals scored and seven or assists.. In any case he proved tonight that he had nothing to do in National 2: he is a player with extraordinary potential », said to The team after this match clicked against Lille his coach at the time in Epinal, Xavier Collin. Only here, the march of three divisions between the N2 and the L1 and the increasingly difficult sporting situation of ASSE will not allow Krasso to flourish directly.
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Successful loans in N1 then in L2
With a lot of pressure on the shoulders and little playing time, JPK only appeared six times in the top flight (2 starts). Without having unlocked his counter in the league, the striker was then loaned for the second part of the season at Le Mans, in N1. A first breath of fresh air in the Sarthe and a renewed confidence, with 5 goals scored in 14 games. The machine seems launched, but when he returns to L’Etrat in 2021, the same evils return. Pointed out by supporters for his lack of efficiency and not really in the plans of Pascal Dupraz who succeeded Claude Puel on the bench, Krasso again found refuge far from ASSE. This time, it is AC Ajaccio in Ligue 2 who smells the very good shot at the 2022 winter transfer window. Nobody knew him and we fought for this player. We were sure of ourselves, even if we had been strongly advised against it until the last day. But with the coach, I knew very well that in our philosophy, he was going to give satisfaction. He and he was perhaps the most that got us up to L1 », greets the sports coordinator of the ACA, Johan Cavalli, in Corse-Matin.
A new dimension for the Greens
In Corsica in the space of six months, the center forward makes everyone agree: 15 games, 4 goals, assists and importance in the game which allow the ACA to celebrate the rise. It is therefore with a new label that Krasso returns (again) to ASSE last summer. If he gets access to the field, he chooses to stay with the relegated Greens. ” Indeed, we would have liked to keep it. But he is part of a club that has descended, which has a name, which wanted to sell players for a high amount. For us, it was unthinkable, we did not have the means “, Cavalli regrets. But not the supporters of the Greens. Mocked before, Krasso becomes ASSE’s attack leader. His month of August is stratospheric despite the disappointing collective results. He doesn’t need anyone to score crazy goals and stay the course, like his impressive rushes at QRM (2-2) or Valenciennes (2-2). Armband around the biceps as vice-captain in recent weeks in the absence of Anthony Briançon, the Ivorian international has taken on another dimension and assumes it. ” Personally, I tried to do more in my role as an elder. It was important to give more, that’s what we all do on our side. Me, I’m not used to speaking in front of everyone, but I force myself if it’s necessary for the group. I did it before Annecy (victoire 3-2) », he explained in a press conference before Dijon. Talking is good, responding in the field is better, and JPK knows how to combine the two! In this crucial match against DFCO, it was he who launched the Greens (2-0), before unfortunately seeing his partner Gaëtan Charbonnier seriously injured. So more than ever, the maintenance mission will go through a high-level Jean-Philippe Krasso!
Photo Alex Martin/FEP/Icon Sport
