Like almost all players in Ligue 1, the Strasbourg coach Julien Stephan full of praise for the six-fold Ballon d’Or who arrives in Ligue 1. He sees his arrival as a golden opportunity for the French championship. “It makes me love it, he smiles. He’s one of the greatest players of all time. Being able to face this type of player is exceptional. It has been there for 16, 17 or 18 years, its competitiveness and its longevity at the high level endure. He is a genius who is able to make the game run anytime, on his own. He also has collective values and grew up in a club with strong collective values. For all these reasons, he represents a lot of things in the world of football. It’s a chance for Ligue 1, for its exposure, for its competitiveness “.
The right time to hope for a feat against Paris?
If he will be presented this Saturday evening to the public of the Parc des Princes, Lionel Messi will not set foot on the lawn to face Racing (“This is probably the right time to play Paris”, advance Strasbourg goalkeeper Matz Sels). Neymar and several South Americans (Marquinhos, Paredes, Di Maria) should also be absent or start on the sidelines.
And even if Racing missed its start to the championship against Angers, it does not want to go to Paris as an expiatory victim. “It’s clear, we are in the position of ultra-outsider, but we must not go there as a victim, I think we have to make the nuance, supports Julien Stéphan. It’s going to be difficult, maybe even more so in the current context. We shouldn’t just defend the whole game. It will be necessary to defend against Paris for sure, because it is a very strong team, which has very great players and a very great collective control. However, when we have the ball in our feet, we will have to be able to pose problems and allow ourselves times too, when we will have to relieve ourselves with the ball and do things collectively. The score seems to be settled in advance for everyone with a large victory for Paris. Well, we will try to pose them some problems ”.
Even if the players and the context are radically different, Julien Stéphan knows how to go about bringing down Paris. He succeeded twice, when he was running Rennes, in the championship and in the final of the Coupe de France.
Zero victories in 30 Ligue 1 matches at Parc des Princes
Racing has often resisted in Paris in recent seasons before breaking down at the end of the match (we remember in particular two years ago of the Neymar’s exceptional acrobatic return at the last second), so why not stick it out this time and ruin the party at the Parc des Princes? History will have to be written, because the Strasbourg residents have not won any of their 30 matches played at the Parc des Princes in Ligue 1 (a record of 7 draws and 23 losses).
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