Official: Julien Stéphan replaces Bruno Genesio at the head of Stade Rennais

Announced Sunday morning by “Le Parisien – Today in France”, the replacement of Bruno Genesio by Julien Stéphan was made official by Stade Rennais via a press release, published around 4:30 p.m. “By mutual agreement (…) and for particularly personal reasons, Bruno Genesio is leaving his position as general coach,” indicates the Breton club. The former OL coach failed to give his team the same momentum as in previous seasons. According to “L’Équipe », Sports director Florian Maurice could also leave the club.

Official press release from Stade Rennais FC

— Stade Rennais FC (@staderennais) November 19, 2023

13th in Ligue 1 and struggling in the game, Rennes has only won twice in 12 days and remains in five games in a row without a victory. Good health in the Europa League (first in its group) is not enough to satisfy the ambitions of Stade Rennais, which is aiming for a seventh qualification in a row in the European Cup. Genesio therefore leaves the club with a record of 64 victories in 124 matches managed since March 2021. He then replaced… Julien Stéphan.

The new coach will be presented Monday afternoon at a press conference. The duration of his contract has not been specified by Rennes, but it is expected to extend until the end of the season. Stéphan comes out of a one and a half year mandate in Strasbourg. After an excellent first season (6th, three points behind Europe), the machine crumbled and the coach was fired in January, leaving his club in a worrying 19th place.

Winner of the Coupe de France in 2019

In Rennes, Julien Stéphan won and left an excellent memory between December 2018 and March 2021. He won the Coupe de France in May 2019 against PSG on penalties, the club’s first trophy since 1971. He reached the round of 16 of the Europa League that same year, before qualifying Rennes for its first Champions League a year later. He resigned in the spring of 2021, following a bad series.

Stéphan will begin his second visit to Rennes with a hearty menu, starting with the reception in Reims. This will be followed by matches against Maccabi Haifa, Marseille, Monaco and Villarreal.