SALTCITYSOCCER

Like Thomas Tuchel (see the 8:59 p.m. news item), Luis Enrique is also a philosopher. The Paris Saint-Germain coach now has quite a big effect to keep the matches going.

« It’s a controversy that I wouldn’t want to get into. There is a calendar, it is as it is. All players want to be international and play for their country. I too wanted to play for my country. from l, I do my job as a coach which is to try to generate a reasonable load on my players. I try to control what I can control, but everything else, I cannot control », indicated the Spanish technician at a press conference.

« The team has sufficient resources for all these problems that arise. Whether I like it or not, I’m not going to talk about it because people have decided that the schedule will be like this. In my case, I adapt the “This means that the children of the Cuprer as quickly as possible, not only those of PSG but all the children who have been injured at any time of the season,” added Luis Enrique.

In order to win two Ligue 1 matches, the Olympique Marseille team was led by Gennaro Gattuso, who also won a successful match against Strasbourg on the same day.

The defeat against RC Lens before the international break (1-0) affected OM, especially in terms of statistics. Currently in the middle of the table after a difficult start to the season, the Marseille players are only four points ahead of the relegation zone, while the podium is now one point away. There is no reaction in Alsace.

The Strasbourg side are not in good hands, the team led by Patrick still has a record of its victory in September, for three matches without problems and four defeats. For this meeting, the visitors will be able to count on the return of Azzedine Ounahi, after a moment of absence.

A reinforcement in midfield

Indeed, according to information from CMR And France Blue Provence, the midfielder returned to collective training this Wednesday. Then you are absent due to a back injury suffered at home, the old boy from Angers will therefore be part of the group which will go to Strasbourg, barring any last minute unforeseen circumstances.

Training #OM fully opened. He misses the internationals but Ounahi is back with the collective. #RMC pic.twitter.com/FEWFAYVmBk

– Florent Germain (@flogermain) November 22, 2023

An additional solution in midfield for Gennaro Gattuso, who looks good in the injury of Valentin Rongier (until February 2024) and in the suspension of Pape Gueye (who returned on Wednesday for the match in Lorient). It is likely that the Moroccan title will kick off the match. The Marseille instructor should renew the duo Geoffrey Kondogbia – Jordan Veretout.

As a reminder, Azzedine Ounahi, unhappy with his playing time, would be open to leaving OM during the next winter transfer window. The semi-finalist of the last World Cup should not be retained by his club if a double-digit offer arises.

It’s really hard to see the national team in such a state.

With all due respect to Austria, who played a great match – but are also largely made up of average players. A Sabitzer looks like Ronaldinho at his peak against us. Our boys play with maximum insecurity.

Criticizing is always easy. Is it because of the tactics? Yes, certainly to some extent. The game is way too complicated for our boys. Is it because of the staff structure? Yes too. Good players simply have to play in their traditional positions – including clearers like Andrich or Groß in front of the defense. And including the AV learned. Is it because of attitude and mentality? Certainly. Maximum insecurity and zero self-confidence.

The only solution I can think of is the one called for by many couch coaches, pundits and journalists: establish a simple system, for example 4-2-3-1 and performance-based positioning. True to position.

Apparently I’m different from many other users here: I’ve always loved watching national matches. But I really have to say that today I saw the worst match I can remember. And I lived through the turn of the millennium. At least there was fighting there.

Total disaster today. I am really served…

Presented to the press on Monday, Julien Stéphan, intern appointed from Rennes and replacement for Bruno Genesio, a guarantee that there is nothing “no revolution” at the club.

“I feel like I’m inactive and when I’m an entrepreneur it’s free, it’s ready, it’s determined, it’s motivation and that’s all I talk about,” a technology guaranteed for 43 years, free since the end of his contrasting experience in Strasbourg, at the beginning of 2023.

“Reverse the curve of results”

The coach returns to a club where he has already spent new years, including more than two years at the head of the first team (2018/2021), which he had won a coronation in the Coupe de France and participation in the league. of Champions.

Recovers a sluggish Rennes in the -13th championship of Ligue 1, with a point ahead of the play-off place, but on course to qualify for the round of 16 of the Europa League. “Initially, (the objective will be) to reverse the curve of results, try to restore everyone’s confidence, improve the situation and regain consistency,” he detailed.

If he admitted to having « already a small idea of ​​how (Rennes) could evolve », the coach, who is committed until the end of the season, clearly stated that there was « no revolution to wait for.”

Florian Maurice absent from the press conference

The president, Olivier Cloarec, has now returned to the conditions of Bruno Genesio’s departure, stressing that « it was not the position of the club at the base, clearly », but a wish of the technician.

“It is available in the form of use,” explains the conductor. “The battery is not enough to charge enough energy.”

The director also commented on the absence of Florian Maurice, the club’s sporting director, who spoke with Genesio, who flourished. “I don’t have a conversation in Florian’s place. If he is not present at the press conference today, that perhaps means that he is heading towards departure,” admitted Olivier Cloarec.

After criticism from the Turkish board

Turkish association board member Hamit Altıntop rejected Stefan Kuntz’s criticism of his dismissal in September. In an interview with ‘t-online’, the former Bundesliga professional explained that they parted ways with the 61-year-old because they wanted ‘a change’ so they could take the next step . We communicated this to him openly.

Kuntz was fired two months ago after two years in office, despite averaging 1.95 points in 20 games. On Friday, he criticized the association’s management: “The board of directors who signed me was no longer there after a year. The next president served for one year before being elected for four more years. I had the feeling that he did not want to succeed with the coach of the previous committee, that is to say me, but that he preferred to present his own coach. In the nuances it was clear to me that this would not last long. Whether it was loyalty, support or respect, I had no support. Then I realized that my tenure as Turkish national coach was coming to an end. And this regardless of sporting success.

Altintop confirmed that with the new leadership of the association, « expectations had developed in a different direction », but at the same time, the last matches under Kuntz were no longer satisfactory. So much so that “as a member of the board of directors, I had to say: we need a little more courage, a new impetus.” After a 1-1 draw against Armenia in European Championship qualifying and a 2-4 friendly defeat against Japan, Kuntz had to leave and Vincenzo Montella took over.

These criticisms surprised Altintop. “He left a team intact, he gets credit for that, and he was told the same thing. But we also explained to him that our expectations have changed and that we need to make a change with a change of coach.

To the home page

Lionel Messi spends a sales evening on Thursday at the Monumental Stadium. Firstly because of the defeat conceded by his team against Uruguay. While they had won all their matches since their triumph at the World Cup in Qatar, achieving seven successes without conceding a single goal, Lionel Scaloni’s men in fact lost 2-0 against their neighbors, who ‘had won the most in Argentina for 36 years.

“It was a difficult match. They played with great intensity. We never felt comfortable and we could never find a way to have long possessions. It’s a very physical team,” he confided after the meeting.

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I didn’t understand, Manu pic.twitter.com/X5dFR86trb

– RumoreATM 🔴⚪ (@MercadoATM) November 17, 2023

As is often the case, the clash between the two rivals was particularly heated. This is evidenced by the clash between Manuel Ugarte and Rodrigo de Paul. Often present as Lionel Messi’s bodyguard, the Argentine midfielder actually saw the PSG player throw him “Messi’s successor” by matching action with words. An attitude that does not belong to the recent Ballon d’Or. “It’s normal for these kinds of matches, the qualifiers… Against Uruguay, it’s always like that. I prefer not to pay as much as I do,” confided the former Barcelona player, adding: “Young people must respect elders. This course is very intense, major, but also very beautiful in terms of respect. They need to learn a little.”