Former Ligue 2 players – What happens to the coaches who left last season?

The benches have not failed to experience movement this fall, some clubs having taken advantage of the long international break to redefine their sports projects. If the mandates can end from one day to another, the course to find a sidelines is much longer. Many coaches are still waiting for a new challenge.

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They are still in Ligue 2

Last season, Olivier Guegan had not reached the winter break with Valenciennes, sacked after 14 days while the northern club flirted with the relegation zone (16th). The former coach of Reims and Grenoble is the one who has bounced back the best since he is now the coach of Sochaux who are fighting for the rise in Ligue 1. Guégan had been replaced by the coach of the reserve team, Christophe Delmotte who also left the club at the end of the season. While he had extended his contract and decided to return to the training center, the former Lens player left Hainaut a few days later to become László Bölöni’s assistant at FC Metz.

They found a job

The language barrier and a slightly overambitious game project, based on the gegenpressing, had served the short term of Daniel Stendel at AS Nancy a trial. The German technician returned to the country to become coach of the Hanover reserve (Regionalliga Nord, 4th level): a real return to square one for the technician who had coached the club’s first team a few years ago. He is currently 3rd in his championship, neck and neck with the Hamburg reserve. He had been replaced for almost three months by Benoit Pedretti for a long term. The latter found, as he wished, the ASNL reserve, 4th in National 3 Grand Est, while continuing his training as a coach.

Sacked by Bastia a few months after winning the climb from the National 1, Matthew Chabert had found a post a few weeks later, in Châteauroux but was disembarked again a few days ago. The club of Quevilly-Rouen Metropolis wanted to keep Bruno Irlespoached by Troyes in Ligue 1. For the latter, quickly challenged by the public, the adventure on the upper floor was interrupted in November, when ESTAC is 13th in L1 but without a win for seven days .

They are still looking

David Linares was the very first to «  jump” during the 2021-2022 season. In the wake of relegation to Ligue 1 with Dijon and a catastrophic 20-21 end to the season, the former midfielder had failed to raise the bar, forcing President Delcourt to stop the charges after five days. Since then, the former Lyonnais is still without a club. he had been quoted on the side of QRM last spring but it was finally Olivier Echouafni who had inherited the bench.

The trajectory of Pascal Stash was similar to Nimes: deputy (of Jérôme Arpinon) bombarded as head coach for an unsuccessful L1 maintenance mission, he had remained in charge of dying Crocos a little longer before losing his place in January 2022. His successor, Nicolas Usaï, also been thanked. To Grenoble, Maurizio Jacobacci had only lasted half the season, with a less than rosy record, weighed down by a humiliation against Andrézieux-Boutheon (0-3) in the 8th round of the Coupe de France. The one who has spent most of his career in Switzerland was approached at Yverdon in Swiss D2 in June and then preceded by a certain Marco Schällibaum.

Finally, three coaches were able to finish the season before leaving Ligue 2 last June. Dissatisfied with the ambitions and discipline at Dijon, Patrice Garande is free. His name was mentioned on the side of Saint-Étienne, a club he follows very closely. Paul the Gen suffered from a change of direction at the Haven and has been quiet ever since. Finally, Fabien Mercadal, after saving QRM at the end of the play-offs, had left the club for personal reasons. If he did not rule out returning to service, he should stay in the South of France in the short term.

Photo credit: Dave Winter/Panoramic/Imago