Taking Stade de Reims back to the top after 50 years

Now a big eight-match update.

STADE DE REIMS 0-1 ASTON VILLA (Friendly)
A very dull match, Villa got lucky with that one goal.

After this match Lucas Deaux and Silviu Lung returned to training and Reims officials announced that defender Nelson Rivas has joined dutch side AZ Alkmaar for 10.75M after being at Reims for just 18 months.
Also several staff menbers signed contract extensions.

STADE DE REIMS 2-3 FEYENOORD (Verratti, Igor pen) Friendly
A good performance but two massive mistakes from new signing Roman Shirokov gave away two goals.
Shiva-Star N'Zigou and Shirokov both picked up injuries and were sidelined for 5 and 2 weeks respectively.

STADE DE REIMS 7-0 CHARLTON (Deaux, Pedrinho, Vera, Khazri x2, Nikao x2)friendly
A great performance with lots of goals.

After the match it was announced that Stade de Reims youngsters Marco Verratti, Wahbi Khazri and Nikao have all signed new contracts at the club.

STADE DE REIMS 3-1 SPORTING TOULON VAR (Giuliano x2, Nikao)et
This was supposed to be an easy cup game but Toulon took an early lead, we controlled the game and had loads of shots on goal but we only managed to equalize in the second half. Fortunately in extra time Giuliano and Nikao scored with confidence. Shots on goal 33-4. Verratti was denied six times by the right post. Also Havard Nordtveit picked up another injury, this time he was going to be out for two weeks.

STADE DE REIMS 1-1 AS MONACO FC (Giuliano)
Anything could have happen in this match against struggling Monaco. They weren't very dangerous on the attack and Khazri was one-on-one with the keeper three times but failed to score.

STADE DE REIMS 1-2 LE MANS UC 72 (Vera)
The board had decided to arrange a fan-day and the stadium was sold out for the second time this season. But our efforts were canceled out by the same referee who was in the charge of the OM game earlier this season. Alessio Cerci illegally pushed Vera of the ball and scored, then Kiko Femenia was denied his first goal for the club when wrongly ruled offside and a ridiculous penalty was given but Lung saved it well. Sebastian Vera managed to equalize in the start of the second half with a nice header, unfortunately Le Mans managed to score one legal goal too. This marked our first loss in 12 games and it has now been 6 games since we last tasted victory.

Wahbi Khazri and Hamed Namouchi were now leaving for African CUp of Nations duty with Tunisia.

TOULOUSE FC 1-2 STADE DE REIMS (Verratti pen, Vera)
A long awaited win against another underperforming team. Did concede an early goal but Lucas Deaux earned an penalty in his 100th career appearance and Vera sealed the win with his second ever goal for Reims.

A few days after the match Stade de Reims hit the headlines with news that they have successfully completed the signing of Toulouse FC's Moussa Sissoko for a club record fee of 12.5M. Many people are wondering were do Reims take the money from but those who follow the club closely know that the club doesn't have any loans to pay off and the manager has made massive profits on well thought through player sales.

FC LORIENT 2-6 STADE DE REIMS (Costil og, Deaux, Vera, Sissoko, Pedrinho, Pires)
The last match of the month was the Coupe de France fixture against Lorient. The first half of the match was a quite average game by Stade de Reims standards. Poor defending and silly mistakes. The score was 2-2. Some inspiring words to the team at half time and two subs made a massive change. Vera went on to score his third goal in just as many games, Sissoko scored on his debut, Pedrinho scored a powerful effort from the edge of the area and the club's veteran captain Robert Pires finished the scoring in extra time.
Stade de Reims will meet AJ Auxerre in the next round.

Before the end of the month it was revealed that new signing Roman Shirokov who had played extremely poorly in his first three games for the club and was having trouble settling in has already left the club and joined FC Timisoara on loan until the end of the season. Timisoara can make his move permanent for 1.2M

I finished the month in ninth place, four points off the last Europa League spot. So if things go well from now on then Reims might be playing continental football again.
 
i have just realised i've bought almost the same players as you; Aquino, Kakuta, Verratti and Femenia!
 
Chaz Sexington said:
i have just realised i've bought almost the same players as you; Aquino, Kakuta, Verratti and Femenia!
Click to expand...

I was going to buy Aquino too but my scouts found Wahbi Khazri and he was available on free. Quite similar players in my opinion.
 
February: it was a busy and tough match with six matches to be played including the top two teams in the league.

GRENOBLE FOOT 38 0-4 STADE DE REIMS (Sissoko, Kakuta, Pedrinho, Derijck og)
The was enable to continue with the good goalscoring form displayed in the previous match. Giuliano had another goal ruled out for offside.

STADE DE REIMS 4-5 GIRONDINS DE BORDEAUX (Sissoko x3, Nikao)
We were clear underdogs going into this match but I had a couple of tactical suprises in hand. I opted for a bit more defensive formation and picked a physically big and strong squad. Bordeaux took a two-goal lead in the first twelve minutes but Moussa Sissoko managed to equalize first with a header from very close range and then with a well placed shot in the six-yard box. Bordeaux took the lead again just a couple of minutes later but Sissoko pulled us back level with another header. Bordeaux scored their fourth goal just before and fifth right after half-time. With fifteen minutes to go and nothing to lose but pride I made a radical change in tactics and went all out on attack. Nikao scored from the edge of the area with five minutes to go but we were unable to score more. Sebastian Vera received a red card in the last minute of extra time.

Pedrinho picked up an injury in this match and will be out for up to three weeks.

USBCO 1-2 STADE DE REIMS (Verratti x2)
This was supposedly the easy match of the month with USBCO sitting in last place. Marco Verratti gave us an early two-goal lead and it was sufficient enough to win the match.

STADE DE REIMS 2-1 OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS (Giuliano, Kakuta)
Took the same approach as with the bordeaux game and this time it payed off. I denied them any space on the pitch and Giuliano and Kakuta both scored lovely goals. A massive win which put us in sixth position.

LOSC LILLE METROPOLE 6-0 STADE DE REIMS
Humiliating. Nothing more to say really. We actually played quite well but their finishing rate was 100% ours 0. Krivets bagged for in the first half an hour.

STADE DE REIMS 3-1 STADE DE RENNAIS (Igor, Jonatas1+1og)
Made eight changes in the starting line-up and managed to bounce back immediately with an important win.

Finished the month in seventh. There were some crazy matches this month and hopefully we can climb another one or two places up the table before the season ends.
 
March update:

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE 2-0 STADE DE REIMS
Conceded two in the first half, couldn't apply the finishing touches in the second although statistically we were on par with OM(except the goals of course).

STADE DE REIMS 1-0 AJ AUXERRE (Sissoko) Coupe de France 11th round
A poor display but Sissoko managed to score another goal. We were drawn against Marseille in the quarter final.

STADE DE REIMS 1-1 OGC NICE (Sissoko)
Another poor performance but again Sissoko scored. We were leading until in the 85th minute Loic Remy scored a long range curve shot. I wanted to sign him as his contract is expiring at the end of the season but Roma had a deal in place already.

AJ AUXERRE 4-2 STADE DE REIMS (Verratti, Nikao)
Auxerre were probably mad at us as we kicked them out of the cup and were 4-0 up by halftime. I brought out the hairdryer at half time and made two substitutions. Verratti and Nikao did score two but despite pressing the entire second half we couldn't get near the goal anymore. Nordtveit got injured again for another two weeks.

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE 4-1 STADE DE REIMS (Sissoko) Coupe de France quarter final
Another extremely poor display packed with stupid mistakes. We are having serious issues with inconsistency, not a single player except Sissoko has been able to put in a good performance for more than two games in a row.

AS NANCY LORRAINE 2-0 STADE DE REIMS
The same problems still persisting, we couldn't convert a single chance we had.

A very disappointing month. We managed to earn only one point. One point! Now dropped into tenth place and our tiny hopes of European football seem to have vanished.
Though there were some good news too this month. Lukman Haruna and Thimothee Kolodzieczak have agreed to sign for Reims as their contracts at their current clubs AS Monaco and AS Nancy Lorraine are running out at the end of the season.
 
April: after all the disappointments of last month I came to the decision that some radical changes are needed. When the season ends I will completely re-evaluate the team and start from scrap with a new tactical setup. Currently I have decided to limit the players creative freedom and change from fluid to balanced.

STADE DE REIMS 2-0 FC NANTES (Vera, Ielsch)
A well-controlled match but considering the opposition the scoreline should have been bigger.

After the match Stade de Reims announced the signing of Liverpool forward David N'gog on a free transfer.

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 1-1 STADE DE REIMS (Nikao)
A dull match. Both teams had their chances but until the 85th minute the score was still 0-0. PSG then scored a screamer and I replied with going all out on attack and two minutes later Nikao equalized.

STADE DE REIMS 1-1 SAINT ETIENNE (Kakuta)
I was missing Sissoko, Vera, Femenia and Nordtveit from the line-up due to suspensions but still managed to grab the lead against third-placed St. Etienne and hold until the second half when we conceded another late goal. Wahbi Khazri also picked up a small injury in this match.

RC LENS 2-0 STADE DE REIMS
An extremely unfair scoreline. The match started well with both Pedrinho and Verratti lobbing the keeper but unfortunately hitting the bar. On the 20th minute Jonatas was brought down in the penalty area. But no penalty was awarded. Replays showed that the RC lens defender should have received a red card too. Despite playing with 11 men against twelve we dominated the match but were unable to score. Instead we hit the bar another 5 times. Lens only had two chances at goal and they took them both.

I'm satisfied with the five points we picked up this month but our performances could and should have been better. With three rounds to go I'm sitting in tenth place. Hopefully I can move up a place or two before the season ends.
 
May:

STADE DE REIMS 1-1 FC LORIENT (Verratti)
A frustrating result. Giuliano had a goal disallowed for offside early in the game. I had serious doubts over that decisision. Verratti scored a screamer later on in the game but Lorient did exactly the same two minutes later. A disappointing draw. Later I was handed a one match touchline ban by the FA for my post-match comments.

AS MONACO 1-0 STADE DE REIMS
I was to serve the my ban and had to leave my *** man in charge. He did well, making some interesting substitutions but couldn't make it to the end as Monaco scored in Fergie-time. Moussa Sissoko picked up an injury that meant the end of his season.

STADE DE REIMS 3-1 VALENCIENNES FC (Jonatas, Vajs og, Kakuta)
Had to win the final match as I was holding the tenth position only on goal difference and I could have dropped two places. Luckily already relegated Valenciennes FC didn't pose a major threat.

So my first season in Ligue 1 ends in tenth place. A bit more than the board and media had expected but considering some poor performances and unlucky draws and defeats I believe we should have been a couple of places higher.

Some of my better players this season:

Marco Verratti: number two goal creator in the league with 15 assists, 20 assists and 8 goals in all competitions.

Pedrinho: the Brazil Under-20s captain was my top scorer but with only nine goals in all competitions. Despite it he hit 72% of his shots on target being the best player in the league.

Wahbi Khazri: definitely the signing of the season. Scored one goal and created 16. Was selected in the Ligue 1 team of the season first eleven.

The Stade de Reims Board had some good news too. They had decided to upgrade the clubs youth facilities for 625k and also announced a new three year sponsorship deal at 675k per season.
 
Mahmoud ElHamawy said:
great story mate going for europe next season i guess... keep up the good work...
Click to expand...

Thanks and you're right, the board minimum was a top half finish but I opted for European qualification and the board backed my aspirations with 13.5M to spend. So a top six finish is required. When the time came to dive into the transfer market I had some quite clear thoughts on what areas need to be strengthened. In the pre-season meeting my staff had pointed out that my squad is one of the youngest and physically weakest in the league so some strong and experienced players were needed.

TRANSFERS OUT:
Igor to Sunderland for 550k. He was a quality player but as I prefer lone striker formations then it was better to let him go.
Shiva-Star N'zigou to USBCO for 825k. The pacey winger had helped the club up to Ligue 1 but wasn't quite up to standards.
Roman Shirokov to Cagliari for 2M. The russian defenders had serious problems settling with life in France and spent half the season on loan in Romania.
Josh Lambo to Reggina for 2.7M. It was better to let the young keeper go as he was always going to remain in the shadow of Silviu Lung jr.
Johann Truchet to Montpellier Herault SC for 2.7M. The versatile defender had been at the club for long time but new arrivals were pushing him out of first team action.
Hamed Namouchi to Chievo for 3.4M. The Tunisian winger was a key factor in the clubs rise through the divisions but lack of first team football last season had made him unsettled and it was best to sell him whilst we could get some decent cash for him.
Benjamin Drouet to Toulouse on loan. The young Frenchman who recently made his first international appearance and is probably the most talented player in the clubs youth setup went on season long loan to gain first team experience.

TRANSFERS IN:
Going into the transfer market I was amazed of all the players available on free: Rafael Marquez, Rene Adler, Hatem Ben Arfa...

Lukman Haruna on a free from AS Monaco FC
Thimothee Kolodzieczak on a free from AS Nancy-Lorraine- two young talents who can become key players in a couple of years time.
David N'gog on a free from Liverpool who offers us a bit more pace and aerial ability on the attack.
Christian Poulsen on a free from Juventus. An experienced defensive midfielder. Him and Moussa Sissoko should really lock up the midfield.
Sidney Govou on a free from Chelsea. I wanted to sign the winger two years ago but he wasn't interested in joining a Ligue 2 club at the time.
Didier Drogba on a free from Chelsea. Does he need an introduction. At the age of 34 still a threat to any defense and could also help my young strikers develop as a footballer.
Mickael Landreau on a free. After selling Lambo I needed a backup goalkeeper but the France international wasn't quite what I had expected to find.
Sebastian Corchia on a free. A young French right-back.
Pape Diakhate for 10.5M from Gladbach. My ninth signing of the summer and the first one I actually paid for. He is just what my defensive line needs-a good mix of quality and experience.

Screenshots of all players bought below and the pre-season update is coming very soon. All opinions are welcomed.
 
And now the pre-season report.

After a string of very disappointing results and extremely poor defending at the end of last season I decided a massive change in tactics is needed. I went through Tactical Theorems and several sites looking for a solution for my defensive problems. More and more I became fond of what is probably the greatest defensive approach ever - the Catenaccio. But in the first two pre-season matches I used the tactics Pellegrini is using currently.

STADE DE REIMS 1-4 GIRONDINS DE BORDEAUX (N'gog)
I used the offensive and creative asymmetric 4-3-3 in this match and despite showing some great moves we still lost the match. This match would have been the perfect test for the catenaccio.

SWV MANNHEIM 0-4 STADE DE REIMS (Nordtveit, Vera, Pedrinho x2)
The same tactics as the last match and it worked very well against a weaker opposition.

STADE DE REIMS 2-0 FREIBURG (Nikao x2)
First game using the catenaccio. It lacked finesse but it was clear that this thing can work although it shouldn't be used against such a weak opposition.

STADE DE BRESTOIS 29 1-2 STADE DE REIMS (Giuliano, Igor)
The team wasn't match fit but our performance was better. Brestois was limited to three shots on target but one of them went in too.

SPORTING TOULON VAR 0-0 STADE DE REIMS
When both teams are out to defend then this is the most likely outcome.

NIMES OLYMPIQUE 1-1 STADE DE REIMS (Govou)
These results seem to be the downside of the catenaccio. You don't create many clear-cut chances yourself yet that one shot on goal could be enough for the opposing team.

STADE DE REIMS 7-0 FC VERSAILLES 78 (Nordtveit x2, Drogba, Sissoko, Govou x3)
I went back to formation used last season but reset everything else. A good goalscoring display to finish of the pre-season.

I'm thinking of using the catenaccio against the top teams and sticking with the 4-3-3 against the others. But then again we weren't playing poorer than the other teams, we just made more mistakes. The only team we couldn't do anything against was Bordeaux. All the other matches were basically winnable.

Also I'm thinking of one last signing, Sotitiris Ninis. I have no experience with him in earlier games but I have seen him mentioned here on fmbase a couple of times. Anyone got screenshot of him around 2015?

And it's going to be a while until the next update. Probably not before Monday as the rest of the week is going to be really busy for me.
 
reno2512 said:
what tactic are you using ? can you post it plz ?
Click to expand...

I've been using JP Woodys high scoring 4231. I'm using the same formation now but I have changed it to suit my team a bit better. But if the catenaccio will produce some good results then I'll be uploading that.
 
My second season in the top flight finally got underway. The media predicts me to finish 9th my personal minimum is fifth or a cup win and sixth or seventh.

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS 0-1 STADE DE REIMS (Nordtveit)
A tough match to start the season with. I used the catenaccio but the game looked quite bad Lyon only had a couple of chances in-game but the amount of free-kicks and corners was horrible. Somehow we managed to clear the set-pieces and Nordtveit scored from a corner.

STADE DE REIMS 3-2 LOSC LILLE METROPOLE (Giuliano, Drogba, Haruna)
I wasn't too impressed with the catenaccio and opted for a more familiar formation, the 4-3-3 but with central midfielders pulled back to the def-mid position and a revised back four. Lille has always caused me problems but this time we took a two-goal lead in the first half. The team got a little carried away in the second and Lille managed to equalize but with five minutes to go debutant substitute Lukman Haruna lobbed the ball into the back corner from the edge of the area.

RC LENS 1-2 STADE DE REIMS (Kakuta, Giuliano pen)
I continued with the 4-3-3 and Kakuta, making his first appearance of the season after coming back from the London Olympics. Wahbi Khazri earned a penalty for Giuliano to slot in. Unfortunately Khazri fell really badly later in the game and broke his arm. He's now out 6 to 7 seven weeks.

In general I have to be happy with the first month of the season, I've won all games and am sitting fourth on goal difference. But our performances need serious polishing. The has some gelling to so I'm hoping to start showing some really classy performances in the end of September and in October.
 
September&November update:

STADE RENNAIS FC 1-2 STADE DE REIMS (Giuliano, Drogba)
Conceded a goal in the first minute but we kept fighting and win the game in the second half.

STADE DE REIMS 1-1 FC LORIENT (Giuliano)
Giuliano scored his fourth of the season early in the game but our performance was quite awful. In the second half we conceded one of the freakiest goals I've ever seen. Fabien Robert ran to the right corner flag and Kolodzieczak was marking him, he was a yard from the flag when he crossed the ball, it took a small deflection off Kolodzieczak and somehow went in at the near post. Crazy.

STADE DE REIMS 2-1 AS NANCY LORRAINE (Giuliano, Nikao)
It wasn't the best performance we've shown but we still won the match.

STADE DE REIMS 3-1 USBCO (Giuliano, Pedrinho, Nordtveit) Coupe de la Ligue third round
Got the expected victory but couldn't keep a clean sheet again. Moussa Sissoko pulled his hamstring and will be out for a month.

AS MONACO FC 0-2 STADE DE REIMS (Kakuta, Drogba)
It took us quite a while to get going but we got the result in the end. It was the fifth consecutive loss for Monaco, Their manager will get sacked soon.

STADE DE REIMS 2-1 OGC NICE (Pedrinho, Sissoko)
Pedrinho opened the scoring with an 40 yard effort when he took the ball from the keeper who had come rushing out of the area. Sissoko scored the winner from a corner and Kakuta missed a penalty. We won the game but we should have been a lot better against the relegation candidates.

TOULOUSE FC 0-0 STADE DE REIMS
Silviu lung was out with a minor injury so Landreau got his first competitive start for the club. A disappointing result as we made way too many mistakes and conceded dangerous free kicks.

STADE DE REIMS 2-1 GRENOBLE FOOT 38 (Nordtveit, Giuliano)
Better than the last match but still should have been far better considering the opposition.

In the end of October I'm sitting in third place four points behind the leaders with a game in hand. November is going to be a really hard month with six games to be played in eighteen days including matches against my closest rivals Bordeaux, PSG and OM. This month shoukd show where we're really at.
 
Really enjoyed your story, interesting and easy to read with a nice layout. You've got high ambitions for this season but looks like that confidence is shared by your players! Great start, keep up the good work and good luck.

PS: I'd be interested in seeing the catenaccio tactic if you were thinking of posting.
 
Pompey_Dan said:
Really enjoyed your story, interesting and easy to read with a nice layout. You've got high ambitions for this season but looks like that confidence is shared by your players! Great start, keep up the good work and good luck.

PS: I'd be interested in seeing the catenaccio tactic if you were thinking of posting.
Click to expand...

Thanks. The competition is really tough. I'm in November now and the difference between 1st and 5th is one point. And yeah I've got quite high ambitions but I'm worried that the confidence might be replaced with complacency.

Regarding the catenaccio I've only used it in one competitive match and it didn't really look that good. It is pretty much set out as the catenaccio in the Tactical theorems and frameworks. If I have used it a bit more then I'll post it. At the moment I don't dare to give any guarantee's that it will work.
 
November and December

OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE 2-1 STADE DE REIMS (Drogba)
First of the tough matches this month and I was completely overrun by Marseille. We made stupid mistakes and were extremely lucky to escape with such a scoreline and even luckier to score.
Wahbi Khazri got injured and is out for a month.

STADE DE REIMS 2-1 PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (Vera, Verratti)
An excellent result against the league leaders. A header from Vera and a Verratti freekick gave us the victory. PSG put us under heavy pressure in the last fifteen minutes but we managed to hold on.
In this game Moussa Sissoko got injured and is out for a month too.

STADE DE REIMS 4-1 ESTAC (Verratti, Kakuta, og, Vera)
A good performance against the relegation candidates but still no clean sheet.

GIRONDINS DE BORDEAUX 3-0 STADE DE REIMS
I'm still unable to do anything against the Bordeaux team. They went in hard on my players and both Christian Poulsen and Giuliano were forced to come off with injuries.

LE MANS UC 72 0-2 STADE DE REIMS (Drogba, Diakhate)
Despite all the injuries and the team struggling to regain fitness we managed to win this match and the victory sent us temporarily to the top of the table.

STADE DE REIMS 0-0 MONTBELLIER HERAULT SC
Complacency kicked in for this match and our performance was very poor.

AJ AUXERRE 3-3 STADE DE REIMS (Drogba, Nikao, Jonatas)
We took an early two goal lead in this match but Auxerre soon equalised. Jonatas put us ahead again but they managed to pull back once again. Despite pressing for the last ten minutes we weren't able to score that one last goal.

STADE DE REIMS 2-0 FC SOCHAUX-MONTBELLIER (Drogba, Kakuta)
Took what was ours in this match but should have scored a few more.

STADE DE REIMS 0-2 SAINT ETIENNE
Both teams played well and score was 0-0 until the 65th minute when Etienne scored two in three minutes and we were unable to respond.

LOSC LILLE METROPOLE 1-0 STADE DE REIMS
We didn't play very well but Lille still weren't a major threat. But a horrible mistake from Kiko Femenia gave away the goal.

With 20 games played and the halfway mark passed I'm sitting fifth. I've got a bit of a buffer to sixth place and am in striking distance of the top four should one of the slip up just once. Looking forward to the transfer window I don't have any specific targets but I'm keeping my eyes open should some good offer come up. I will probably offer a contract to Jano Ananidze who's current contract at CFR Cluj is ending in the end of the season. And maybe offload or loan out one or two players that haven't seen much first team action recently.
 
December-January-February
A few days after the time the previous post was made I got an offer worth 4.1M from AS Saint-Etienn for Mickael Landreau. He had only been at the club for five months but was getting unsettled as I preferred Lung in goal. I managed to negotiate the deal to 5.5M. Not a bad profit for 32 year old as I had signed him on a free. The same day the deal was finalized Silviu Lung got injured and was going to be out for a month so I quickly needed a new backup keeper. I didn't want to waste any money on a backup so I looked at the free agents and there I saw Rene Adler, without a club for six months. SI have overcooked it a bit. I offered him a 40.000 p/w deal but now, after he has been available for free for six months, now Man City make bid and sign him. Argh. So I kept looking and found a 27 year old french keeper Alexis Thebaux. I also sold left-back Julien Ielsc to La Berrichone for 200k.

As the year ended and different awards were handed out Moussa Sissoko was named Ligue 1 Revelation of the Year.

Other clubs don't seem to understand what unavailable means as I keep reading news articles about reported bids for Sebastian Vera, Havard Nordteit and Giuliano. Vera and Nordtveit have stated their need to leave in order to win trophies. I've told them to shove it, Nordtveit responds very well every time but Vera cries like a baby. Dinamo Kiev are reportedly ready to make 20M bid for Giuliano so I've raised his asking price to 35M.

There was another fixture pileup in the end of January but luckily there were easy cup games amongst the matches played.

STADE DE REIMS 6-0 STADE BRESTOIS 29 (Haruna x2, Glauber, Govou x2, Pedrinho) Coupe de la ligue
An easy game and i took the opportunity for some squad rotation. Unfortunately Wahbi Khazri got injured again. He is now out for up to 2 months. He has only played in ten matches this season and I really hope he can get over his injury problems. I was to face Lyon in the quarter finals.

STADE DE REIMS 0-2 RC LENS
If you don't score yourself then someone will score against you. That should illustrate this match very well.

STADE DE REIMS 4-1 NIMES OLYMPIQUE (Drogba x2, Vera, Jonatas) Coupe de France
Another good win against a Ligue 2 side. An unfortunate goal conceded though.

STADE DE REIMS 2-1 STADE RENNAIS (Giuliano pen, Vera)
Back to winning ways in the league with this win. Although it needed a winning header in the 88th minute.

STADE DE REIMS 1-1 OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS(Pedrinho) Coupe de la Ligue quarter final
I had mixed feelings going into this match. The team was in a race against time to return to fitness and Lyon were on a high. But on the other hand I had won the season opener against them. The cup holders did take an early lead. But I went from defensive to overload and Lyon started struggling to create chances. But it wasn't until the 85th minute when substitute striker Pedrinho scored with a lovely poachers effort. Now we good take breath for a second before going to extra time. In the start of the second half of extra time I made my last substitution by bringing on Christian Poulsen to take a penalty when required. With a couple of minutes to go Lyon won a corner, Lung blocked it but the ball was left loose at the penalty box. Luckily Fabiano Santacroce had committed a foul before someone reached the ball. and we were in the penalty shootout. Lyon started and had now problem scoring the first three. Lukman Haruna, Sebastian Vera and Gael Kakuta replied, though Vera needed the help of the post. And then- Vukojevic stepped up to take the fourth penalty for Lyon but Silviu Lung made an amazing save. Giuliano had no problem taking advantage of it. So the all the pressure lied on tireless Lyon midfielder Kim Källström but he failed to cope with it and his shot flew wide of goal. We made it to the semis. Final score 4-3
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Top