First team

Bruno Genesio: "Show something different"

Stade Rennais F.C. host Maccabi Haifa at a packed Roazhon Park on Thursday evening. Less spectacular in recent times, the Rouge et Noir want to take advantage of the UEFA Europa League to rediscover their lustre. Here's a look back at the press conference with Bruno Genesio.

Published on 20 September 2023

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Update on the squad:
"We regret one absence with Arnaud Kalimuendo. We're a little unsure about Nemanja Matić. He took a knock on Saturday, so we'll see if he's fit to play, but on the face of it, he should be fine. Martin Terrier is training with the group. His return is not on the cards but there could be some surprises."

SRFC's 6th consecutive appearance in Europe:
"We're still not the most experienced club in terms of appearances. There are still a lot of French clubs ahead of us. We're going into it with a lot of determination, desire and motivation because these are competitions we enjoy. And we often like to play one match after another. We're going into it with a feeling of wanting to progress and show something different from what we've been offering for some time. It's interesting to play at home to see how we measure up.

Who will be in the starting 11 against Maccabi Haifa?
"There will certainly be two or three adjustments at kick-off, but I'm not going to shake up the whole team and all the entertainment either."

The opponent:
"They're a team used to playing in Europe. They caused Paris a lot of problems last year in the Champions League. They have some good footballers, particularly in midfield, with technical, intelligent players who handle the ball well. Up front, Frantzdy Pierrot is a good anchor. They're a dangerous team and they're going to cause us a lot of problems, we know that and we've prepared for them. We also have some qualities to bring to the table that will enable us to make the most of what we've seen from them. We're expecting the opposition to be as tough as the other two teams, because they're a very evenly matched group. We have an advantage in that Fabian Rieder played against them in the preliminary round of the Champions League, so he'll be able to give us more details."

Rennais timid in their play:
"We went into this season saying that we had to be more impervious, that we had to lose fewer games if we wanted to be at the top of the table. Our training methods have changed and, to some extent, that has inhibited the players. We've forgotten our spontaneity and creativity. We're going to find them again. There were also a lot of positive things in the match against Lille. I'm sorry that we're only showing what didn't work well. In previous seasons, we had a lot of trouble getting back into games. Since the start of the league, we've shown the character to come back in difficult situations. We're making progress at this level and we're aware that we need to do a lot better in the game. We're only at the start of the season, so there are things that need to fall into place, and that's quite normal."