In Ligue 2 for 10 years, the Burgundy club has the opportunity to find the elite of French football against Saint-Etienne, another legendary club in France.
A major French football club will play in the second division next season. It remains to be seen whether it will be AJ Auxerre or AS Saint-Etienne. And if ASSE is playing big at the end of the season to avoid relegation, AJA is also at a turning point in its history. The aftermath of Guy Roux hurt in Burgundy… In 2012, the club was relegated to Ligue 2 and never managed to recover. But since the arrival of James Zhou, the Chinese president of AJA, a new wind of freshness has arrived at the club, and it is felt this season, which has led the Burgundians to the play-offs with a first act scheduled for this Thursday at the home (7 p.m., return Sunday at 7 p.m.).
Ten years of waiting
Ten years. It’s long, very long for a big club like Auxerre. From this Thursday, May 26, the men of Jean-Marc Furlan have the opportunity to restore the image of AJA by finding the elite of French football. A whole people believes in it and will be behind them. At the Abbé Deschamps, there will be around 18,500 pushing their team, and even more with those who could not get a place. Because, at noon the day after the victory against Sochaux, all available places had been sold. The match against ASSE will therefore be sold out, to the delight of Jean-Marc Furlan. “The enthusiasm of the supporters is fantastic, enthuses the technician. Here, this fusion in the stadium, I have rarely experienced it even in the other clubs I have crossed.To thank its fans, the club also offered the trip to Geoffroy Guichard for the return match.
Jean-Marc Furlan, fine tactician and climb specialist
If AJ Auxerre is having such a good season (3rd in Ligue 2 and qualified for the last round of the play-offs for accession to Ligue 1), it is largely thanks to the work of their coach Jean-Marc Furlan. A recognized technician and trainer, the 64-year-old coach is also and above all a specialist in climbing in Ligue 1. The only one to climb an L2 club four times in L1, three times with Troyes (2005, 2011, 2015), where he made its reputation, before joining Brest (climb in 2019). The interested party remains cautious, however, although a possible return of AJA to Ligue 1 is eyeing him.
«I approach this barrage with less tension than the last matches. I think the players have been achieving something exceptional with this progression for 2 years. I’m a little more relaxed for this deadline. We play a Ligue 1 team, a prestigious club with big individuals. You have to be able to transcend yourself and go above the environment“, assured the former coach of Troyes at a press conference this Wednesday, May 25. Confidence and relaxation therefore for coach Furlan before facing Saint-Etienne in an Abbé-Deschamps certainly in fusion.
