This summer, a new breath swept through Maine-et-Loire.
After ten years of valuable and loyal service, Stéphane Moulin and Angers-SCO have ended their collaboration.
It is - almost - a novice who replaced him: Gérald Baticle, who apart from a meager professional experience as head coach of Stade Brestois in Ligue 2 in 2008-2009, was especially known in the profession for having managed teams of young people and being deputy to Olympique Lyonnais for a decade.
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A remarkable start to the championship
The bet was risky. From an outside point of view, it is always difficult to know the principles of play of an assistant coach; assess their skills and transfer them to a possible function of senior technician. But it is clear that at the dawn of the tenth day of Ligue 1 this decision does not suffer from any dispute. With 16 points on the clock, the SCO is in fourth place in the standings. However, the calendar of the Angevin club was not easy on paper with the receptions of Olympique Lyonnais, Stade Rennais or Olympique de Marseille. Each time, against the big teams of the championship, the men of Gérald Baticle made a strong impression: a large victory against the Gones (3-0), a great success against the Rouge et Noir (2-0) and a draw. interesting against the Phoceans.Three good performances without conceding a single goal.
A defensive legacy ...
This defensive base - which is not really reflected in the statistics due to a heavy defeat against FC Nantes (1-4) - is the legacy of the Stéphane Moulin era.
At the time of his induction, Gérald Baticle had assured to want "to
keep a large part of the defensive animation which makes the SCO a difficult team to play
".
For the moment, it is successful.
His team remains difficult to maneuver.
But for the 52-year-old technician, defending well is not an end: “
I'm looking for defensive balance.
For me, being defensive doesn't have to be going backwards.
It's having a good block, good coverage from one another, being strong in the duel.
When we have this defensive balance, we are more free to be able to attack
, he explained during an interview with
Eurosport
.
We feel stronger.
We can attack with more confidence, in greater numbers.
"
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The strength shown by his team is undoubtedly the consequence of the state of mind that reigns there;
of this famous "
Angevin slab
" which pushes the players not to let go until the end.
Apparently, she did not disappear with the handover between Moulin and Baticle.
As proof, it was in extra time that the SCO snatched its victory against FC Metz in early October, after being behind twice.
“
The victories snatched at the end are superb in terms of the scenario and the emotion.
And the fact of coming back twice before to score shows the mental qualities of the group, the character of this team.
You have to have the strength to come back twice and keep pushing,
”he rejoiced after the match.
... and an offensive personal touch
Of course, the former U19 coach of AJ Auxerre was not content to rely on the defensive principles of his predecessor and on the mental qualities he had been able to instill in his group. He also added his touch. And it is especially in the offensive compartment of his team that this is noticeable: "
And I have offensive principles: taking risks in the last thirty meters, playing forward when possible with a use of the width to stretch the opposing block and create opportunities for passes in the intervals
, he told
Eurosport. For me, modern football means finding players thrown behind the back of the opposing defense. Here are the bases that can be adapted to different systems
. "
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In order to create his own style, Gérald Baticle was inspired by the greatest current technicians. Admirer of Pep Guardiola, whom he considers "
an obsessive
", the former striker was influenced by "
the precision
" of the Spaniard "
in his search for the game
". He also particularly appreciates the style of Jürgen Klopp: “
I really like Jürgen Klopp's philosophy, his playing principles, his style and his management. When I talk about the forward game to my players, I often quote Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp,
”he told
Eurosport
. A method that works for the moment. Enough to cause problems for Paris Saint-Germain this Friday evening (9 p.m.), at the start of the 10th day of L1?
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