Ligue 2 resumes this Saturday, the matches broadcast in clear this season

The Ligue 2 teams are back in the stadiums this Saturday, July 24, for the resumption of the championship. This takeover also marks the return of the public to the stadiums, and the arrival of unencrypted matches on television, on the channel L’Equipe. The season starts with the clash between the promoted Bastia and Nîmes, relegated from Ligue 1, at 3 p.m.

The public back in the stadiums

If all goes well, supporters will be allowed to attend the matches of their favorite team, provided they present a health pass at the entrance to the stadium.

For the first time, the unencrypted multiplex on the L’Équipe channel

For the first time, the multiplex matches, on Saturday evening, will be broadcast in clear on the channel L’Équipe, available for free on TNT. Eight out of ten games of each championship day will be visible on the Team. « This is something totally new », estimates with AFP Jérôme Saporito, the director of the TV division of L’Equipe. Bertrand Latour will be in charge of the first multiplex evening, with consultant Régis Brouard by his side. The coach has nearly 150 Ligue 2 matches.

BeIN Sports, which had broadcast all the matches of the previous season, keeps the two posters outside the multiplex, Saturday at 3 p.m. and Monday at 8:45 p.m.

Favorite clubs of the season

Toulouse returns to the fight and is among the favorites, like Dijon and Nîmes, both relegated from Ligue 1. Paris FC, fifth last season after an almost perfect start (eight wins in ten days), can also claim the climb, as Grenoble (4th), now trained by a Swiss almost unknown in France, Maurizio Jacobacci. Caen also stands out for its prestigious recruitment: after ten seasons at Angers, Stephane Moulin takes up a new challenge at Stade Malherbe.

Among the clubs to follow is also Bastia, back on the front of the stage, and in the professional world, four years after filing for bankruptcy and a descent in National 3. The opportunity to find the Corsican derbies against AC Ajaccio.

Enzo Zidane, Alexis Beka-Beka, Mickaël Le Bihan: the players to follow

Enzo Zidane, the son of Zinedine, will obviously be one of the attractions of this championship, while he entered at the end of June with the Rodez Aveyron Football. But the most famous « son of » in Ligue 2 is not there only to attract the spotlight: the 26-year-old midfielder has just relaunched a mixed career, in what will already be his seventh club since his professional debut.

Alexis Beka-Beka is one of the nuggets to discover. At 20, the midfielder from Caen is essential. Strong in the duels, invaluable in the orientation of the game, this pure product of the Caen training should be one of the centerpieces of Stéphane Moulin’s system. Selected with the French Olympic team, he will join Stade Malherbe after the competition.

Mickaël Le Bihan, freshly recruited in Dijon, is also to follow: in Auxerre, he scored 19 goals last season, and became the second top scorer in the championship. But the 31-year-old striker sees his preparation cut short by an injury, which will keep him away from the pitch for a month. The former Niçois, fan of spectacular goals, will partly have the difficult task of relaunching the Dijon machine, completely at a standstill last season, with only 25 goals scored in 38 days.

Yaya Soumare will also play in Dijon alongside Le Bihan. The 21-year-old winger, on loan from Lyon, has already passed through Dijon during his training. He comes back to learn his skills and bring his percussion to a team that was sorely lacking. The Franco-Malian played 4 matches with OL, showing real technical ease and dribbling skills.

Always has Dijon, the experienced Daniel Congré, coming from Montpellier, is also to follow.

Thierry Laurey, Stéphane Moulin, Philippe Montanier: the coaches expected at the turn

Thierry Laurey, 57 years old, is the new coach of Paris FC. In 2016-2017, he managed to bring back the Racing club de Strasbourg, the title of champion as a bonus, and never left the elite with the Alsatians despite a last complicated season. Paris FC, ambitious, will count on the experience of the native Trojan, who is replacing René Girard this season.

Stephane Moulin, 53 years old, is getting a bit of a new life by becoming the coach of Caen. After 10 years at the head of the first team of Angers, where he will have known Ligue 2 then Ligue 1 with a balanced record (151 wins, 149 defeats), the Parisian technician also intends to register on the duration in Normandy. After having narrowly saved his place last year, Caen hopes to live a more serene season. And why not aim for the climb.

Stéphane Dumont, 38 years old, Guingamp trainer, is the youngster of the season. Former midfielder of Monaco and Losc, with whom he was notably crowned French champion in 2011, Stéphane Dumont will experience his first as head coach on the bench at Guingamp, after having played the role of assistant in Lille then Reims. A challenge for those who obtained their Coaching Certificate in 2020, finishing major in their class.

Philippe Montanier, 56 years old, trains Toulouse. The TFC, disappointed by the dam lost against Nantes last season, entrusted him with the heavy task of bringing the club back to the top flight, left in 2020. Sacred best Liga coach in 2013 with Real Sociedad, this experienced technician, passed by Rennes and Lens, will also want to bounce back after a last missed contract at Standard de Liège in Belgium.

Philippe Hinschberger, in Amiens, completes the cast of headlining coaches.