Savoir-faire does not translate directly from French. The closest English equivalent would be “know-how” but the French phrase carries a sense of graceful adaptability, an ability to respond seamlessly and appropriately to any situation. Few teams in football embody savoir-faire more than Strasbourg under Thierry Laurey. Having fought back from liquidation and relegation to the sprawling fifth tier in 2011, the Alsace club are edging towards Europe and perhaps even silverware thanks to their versatile and intelligent coach. Their 5-1 win at Monaco on Saturday, which takes them up to fifth in Ligue 1, is simply their latest eye-catching achievement.
The thought of playing in Europe would have been a dumbfounding dream for Strasbourg supporters throughout the last decade. After being relegated in 2008, the club plunged down the divisions amid spiralling debts. Former player Marc Keller stepped in and took over the club, but they resumed business as fifth-tier amateurs in 2011.
Two straight titles took them back to the third tier, where they boasted record crowds – one gate in the fourth tier even exceeded 20,000. However, a 16th-placed finish in the third tier in 2013-14 seemingly meant relegation back to French football’s wilderness. But their luck started to change. Financial irregularities at other clubs gave Strasbourg a reprieve and, after winning two more titles in the next three seasons, they were back in Ligue 1. Astonishingly, they won the Ligue 2 title in 2016-17 as a newly promoted club.
Laurey joined Strasbourg at the start of that remarkable promotion campaign. Prior to guiding minnows Gazélec Ajaccio into Ligue 1 for the first time in their history in 2015, success had long been illusive for the manager. He even spent 21 months unemployed after leaving Amiens in 2009. Despite the hard times, he never considered changing careers. “I remember telling my wife: ‘This is what I want to do and I’ll continue.’ It’s hard, the phone doesn’t ring, relationships at home are tense and then one day it starts again.”
Strasbourg head coach Thierry Laurey joined the club in 2016. Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images
Last season, Strasbourg’s first campaign back in Ligue 1 for nearly a decade, was dramatic. Their 2-1 win over PSG at the typically boisterous Stade de la Meinau was the highlight – along with the 3-2 victory over Lyon on the penultimate weekend of the campaign that secured their league status after a worrying 11-game run without a win.
Laurey has built Strasbourg’s success on vigilance, adaptability and pragmatism. His players are well drilled and organised, yet fluid and capable of achieving results by varying means. He was unapologetic after a stoic, bus-parking goalless draw away at the freewheeling Lille in November. “When I play someone who is superior to me, I try to be smart. We knew that if we left spaces we would be in danger. We are Strasbourg, the day we call ourselves Chelsea or AC Milan we’ll play differently.”
He adopted a similar tone after wrestling another point from PSG in December. “We knew we were going to defend. It’s not a sign of weakness. I am very happy to take a point.” Laurey exudes an honest and intense persona, like his club, “I wanted to be at a club with lots of enthusiasm, fervour and passion,” he explained before he extended his contract in December. “And my wish is more than fulfilled.”
Laurey often reminds his players not to get carried away. “The goal remains the same,” he said after a 2-1 win at Toulouse in January. “To stay up by doing better than last season. We would like the bottom three to be even further away. We’re managing matches better, we have a more mature team. We have the second best attack in Ligue 1, this is satisfying.”
He even remained cautious after the 5-1 mauling of Monaco – Strasbourg’s sixth win in a row in all competitions. “We lost the ball easily,” he said. “There are ways to improve the team’s performance. I was not happy at half-time because we let Monaco back in the game.” Victories over better resourced sides have become something of a specialty for Laurey, so much so that Strasbourg’s only two defeats since late September have come against promoted teams Nîmes and Reims.
Their win over Lyon in the Coupe de la Ligue quarter-final earlier this month may prove especially momentous. After PSG’s defeat to Guingamp, Strasbourg are the highest ranked team left in the competition and perhaps even favourites to win their first major trophy in 15 years and the accompanying place in European – assuming qualification does not come via the league. They are the second highest scorers in the league behind PSG so a Champions League spot is not fanciful.
Wherever their season takes them, Strasbourg will not get carried away. “Whoever gets drunk will quickly sober up,” Laurey said of his players’ joy at beating PSG last season. His constant drive for improvement and mastery of savoir-faire will see to that.
Ligue 1 talking points
Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappé take a ball each after they both scored hat-tricks in PSG’s 9-0 win over Guingamp. Photograph: Michel Euler/AP
• What now for PSG? Yes, a 9-0 win over Guingamp is a nice rebuttal to the leaders’ elimination from the Coupe de la Ligue last week, but an ankle injury suffered by Marco Verratti took much if not all of the joy from the result. The Italian’s status is still to be determined; his absence could be as brief as two weeks, but Thomas Tuchel has also ominously hinted at a more lengthy time away. Given that PSG are already saddled with the uncomfortable situation of Adrien Rabiot, and the sometime reinvention of Marquinhos and Julian Draxler as central midfielders, the club’s summer transfer policy continues to undermine their potential progress. Idrissa Gueye and Leandro Paredes have both been linked but there is no doubt that should either of the pair arrive this month, PSG will undoubtedly be paying over the odds, again perhaps limiting their future options.
• If it is not Memphis, it is Memphis. His chameleonic nature was once again on show this weekend as Lyon won at Saint-Étienne. After an indifferent first half, in which he flubbed a presentable chance early on, he moved from centre-forward to the left wing after Moussa Dembélé was brought on from the bench and he started to impress, combining well with Ferland Mendy, giving Lyon genuine width and putting Loïc Perrin under serious pressure. Lyon have looked decent at times with Depay as a centre-forward, but an attacking side with Depay, Nabil Fékir and the former Celtic forward would give any opponent serious concerns, and allow Lyon to balance potential fixture congestion while still maintaining their place in the top three. More food for thought for Bruno Génésio. It was surely to the manager’s great relief to see a committed performance in the Rhône-Alpes derby.
Ligue 1 results
PSG 9-0 Guingamp
Lille 2-1 Amiens
Saint-Étienne 1-2 Lyon
Monaco 1-5 Strasbourg
Rennes 0-0 Montpellier
Caen 0-1 Marseille
Reims 1-1 Nice
Bordeaux 1-0 Dijon
Nîmes 0-1 Toulouse
Angers 1-0 Nantes
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