This Friday (21:00), Grenoble (4th) welcomes FC Metz (10th) for the seventeenth matchday of Ligue 2. An important meeting for the two teams to close the year 2022 well. Grenats and Grenoble meet contend for a common goal: the ascent in Ligue 1.
A few days after the sad resumption of Ligue 2, FC Metz travels to Grenoble to revive the victory machine started at the end of October. However, the players of Laszlo Boloni will face a surprising team from Grenoble (4th, 4 points from second place).
Grenoble charts its course with ambition
After a disappointing 15th-place finish last season, Grenoble are back at the top of the league. Indeed, the residents of Grenoble are currently fourth in Ligue 2 (W7, D5, L4). A great performance that can be explained in part by a race to rise in Ligue 1 that is more open than expected. With the arrival of relatively young players (average age of 22.7), the club has managed to balance its workforce between young and experienced while retaining management.
Also, his coach Vincenzo Hognon has finally found his feet after a complicated arrival in December 2021. The former coach of AS Nancy-Lorraine (2017-2018) and FC Metz (2018-2020) returned to France a year ago after a failed experience with l ‘Hesperange (Luxembourg) from July to September 2021.
The player to watch
Arrived in January 2022 from Superstars Academy FC (Gambia), Abdulie Sanyang he is Grenoble’s best player this season. The versatile 23-year-old striker has scored five goals in twelve Ligue 2 matches. Despite his current performances, his adjustment to French football has taken longer due to muscle strain which has kept him sidelined for two months. He arrived in the Alps with this injury as the club struggled to support themselves. In the 2021-2022 fiscal year he will still play twelve games for three goals and two assists.
sanyang he is a regular in European football thanks to his two loans in Belgium (Lommel 2019-2020, Beerschot 2020-2022). And this season he proves it, as evidenced by his status as the GF38’s top scorer. Quick and formidable in one-on-one play, the Gambian international (8 caps since 2020) is one of the linchpins of Isère’s manpower this season. The executives also trust him as he extended his contract by two years this summer.
History of the clashes between Grenoble and Metz
Grenoble and Metz have met 23 times since 1957. The record is 5 wins for the Grenats, 9 draws and 9 wins for the residents of Grenoble.
Old talents in common
Many former players and coaches have passed through Metz and Grenoble. Philippe Hinschberger he made his fortune at FC Metz as a midfielder from 1977 to 1992. He then became manager of the Grenats (2015-2017) before moving to Grenoble (2018-2021). He has been the coach of Amiens since 2021. We can also quote Gregory Wimbeegoalkeeper of FC Metz (2004-2006) and Grenoble (2006-2009), where he will participate in the ascent to Ligue 1 in 2008. At the age of 51, he has now been the reserve goalkeeping coach of LOSC since 2017.
Former defensive midfielder Albert Baning he passed through Grenoble (2008-2009) and Metz (2012-2013) during his career. The 37-year-old Cameroonian has been without a club since 2020. Julien Francois he also passed for both teams (Grenoble 2002-2006, FC Metz 2006-2009). The former defensive midfielder, 43, has been coaching Thionville (R1) since 2021. The former Brazilian defender Matteo Viviano followed the same path (Grenoble 2005-2007, Metz 2007-2010). Not to mention the Congolese defender Bruce Abdoulaye, Grenoble twice (2002-2004, 2015-2016) and Metz in 2011-2012. The current coach GF38 Vincenzo Hognon led the Grenats from 2018 to 2020 in the absence of Federico Antonetti.
