Historically, OL has had little success with the RCSA, which has lost six out of ten games between the two teams since its comeback in 2017, across all competitions (two wins and two draws). But the Alsatians have several times relied on confrontations with the Rhodanians to make progress. This season, when they have six points more than their opponent of the day, a win could enable them to stay in the race for Europe and sack Les Gones.
May 2018: Liénard . free kick
Dimitri Liénard often recalls this legendary free kick, registered in a Meinau farmers with relief for his team, promoted nine months earlier. Every supporter who comes to him tells him about this goal etched in his memory forever, this parabola of the inside of his left foot in the skylight and this crazy race by kissing the Racing decal 50 times (3-2 , goal in the 90th+4).
Three years after offering the RCSA to stay in this way, Liénard (34) will welcome OL as the captain of a club of which he is the soul, adopted by the whole region, albeit a native of Belfort. “Dim” symbolizes both the history of Strasbourg and his new era, he who was hesitant to renew his contract last summer. But he knew what the new coach, Julien Stéphan, would bring. A technician who gave him a lot of responsibility and converted him into an excellent left-hand piston.
January 2019: on the way to the League Cup
Installed in Ligue 1, Racing dreams of offering a new title to its warm supporters, who have been weaned from it since the 2005 Coupe de la Ligue. The 2019 edition will be the good one. In the quarterfinals, Strasbourg goes to Lyon, one of the favorites still in the running. Ajorque and Koné scored in a match in which they did not give up despite Traoré’s equalizer (2-1).
It was a click for the players, who were then nicknamed “head cutters”, having previously knocked out Lille (2-0, in 16th) and OM at the Vélodrome (1-1, 4-2 pens, in 8th) . “This cup was not a target at the start of the season, especially given the draws, but we have had an incredible journey”, then the president rejoices. Confident, his players then left Bordeaux in La Meinau (3-2) and won the trophy by beating Guingamp (0-0, 4-1 on pins). The first of the Keller era.
The people of Strasbourg celebrate their final victory in the Coupe de la Ligue in 2019. (P. Lahalle/L’Équipe)
November 2019: The Simakan Monster
Rising to power just like the first team, the Strasbourg training center released a gold nugget in the summer of 2019: Mohamed Simakan. It is against OL that the defender explodes. His twelfth match in L1, played at the age of 19, led to an epic duel against Moussa Dembélé, then top scorer in the championship. “He is serious, he listens, he has a great future ‘, assures coach Thierry Laurey after the narrow defeat of his team (1-2).
A few months later, Simakan was transferred to Leipzig for €13.5 million (plus €2.8 million in bonuses). A windfall that allows the club to limit the financial damage caused by the crisis (TV rights, Covid). “We had reserves, we were well helped by the state and we made salesMarc Keller analyzed on France Bleu in October. We end up with a loss (€30 million in 2020-2021) which we can bear because we have worked well. † This allows the club to compete for the podium this season.
