Position
Last season they wrote a French football fairy story that so wonderfully suits Brittany. In the world of the legendary magician Merlin. In the homeland of Asterix, Obelix and Miraculix. In the land of the giant menhir stones. No, the players will not have imbibed the magic potion of the Druids. But what has happened in the Département Finistère, in the western top corner of France, is somehow magical. Stade Brestois 29 were often tipped to go down from Ligue 1 in previous seasons. But under coach Eric Roy the little club was in second place behind Paris Saint-Germain in the spring of 2024. Roy took over the Pirates, as the club is known in France, a year ago when they were in seventeenth in the top flight and he succeeded in keeping them up. The Frenchman was previously a coach in his hometown of Nice in 2011. He later became the sporting director at OGC and then worked as the sporting director at Watford in England and RC Lens.
In his first full season in Brest, Roy led the team to European competition for the first time in the club's 74-year history. And that on the biggest stage: the Champions League. On the final matchday of the Ligue 1 season, Stade Brest beat FC Toulouse 3-0 to secure third place and qualification for the Champions League. The football fairy story continued. The 2-1 win in the opening match against Sturm Graz from Austria was a historic event. Brest sprang a surprise on matchday two with a 4-0 victory away to FC Salzburg, also from the Austrian Bundesliga. Six points, six goals scored and one conceded – the Bretons were suddenly second in the Champions League table behind Borussia Dortmund.
The start to the Ligue 1 campaign has been not as successful. The opening four matches ended in three defeats against Olympique Marseille (1-5), RC Lens (0-2) and the champions Paris Saint-Germain (1-3). On the plus side, there were wins against newly promoted Saint-Etienne (4-0), FC Toulouse (2-0) and Le Havre AC (2-0). Last weekend, Stade Brest only managed a 1-1 draw at home in the Brittany derby against Stade Rennes. The hosts, who took the lead through a penalty scored by Romain Del Castillo, conceded the equaliser minutes before the final whistle. Stade Brest are currently eleventh in the French top-flight with ten points from eight games.
Personnel
There are no big stars in the Stade Brest squad where players like Franck Ribery, Julio Cesar and Claude Makelele played in the past. Nevertheless, Brest do have a very good squad. Best known from the Bundesliga are Ludovic Ajorque and Edimilson Fernandes on loan from Mainz 05. Ajorque, the 1.97 metre giant, has established himself as a regular starter up front, scoring twice in ten games and also providing three assists. Last season he was on the losing side twice with Mainz in the Bundesliga fixtures against the Werkself (0-3, 1-2). "They are a very big club, it won't be easy," said Ajorque ahead of another meeting with Bayer 04. But: "I watched the game against newly promoted Kiel and they could only manage a draw so anything's possible for us!"
Ajorque’s former and new teammate Edimilson Fernandes has made four appearances in holding midfield, including in the two games in the Champions League. The Bretons also signed Soumaila Coulibaly on loan from Borussia Dortmund. The 21-year-old central defender was in the starting line-up in the Champions League against Sturm Graz and RB Salzburg. The captain Brendan Chardonnet is a first choice at the centre of defence. New signings Julien Le Cardinal and Massadio Haidara (both from RC Lens) are key players in defence as are the experienced full-backs Kenny Lala (33) and Jordan Amavi (30), who joined Stade Brest from Olympique Marseille. In midfield, Mahdi Camara and Hugo Magnetti are almost indispensable in terms of structure in the way the team plays. The latter is vice captain of the team and has played for the club since 2017. Magnetti scored the first European goal in the history of his club in the 2-1 against Sturm Graz.
A new face and already very valuable to the Bretons is the Senegal international Abdallah Sima. The 23-year-old striker, on loan from Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion, has scored three of the six Brest goals in the Champions League. Sima missed last Saturday's game against Rennes due to a thigh injury.
Problems
Because the Stade Francis-Le Blé, with its capacity of 15,000, is not approved by UEFA as a venue for matches in the Champions League, Stade Brest have to play at Guingamp over 100 kilometres away. The Stade de Roudourou is the home ground of second division En Avant de Guingamp. Eric Roy's team played the home game against Sturm Graz there. That has not proved to be a disadvantage. The atmosphere there was outstanding after the 2-1 win. The Bretons have had more problems this season in terms of defending – also in the Champions League. Even in the 4-0 victory in Salzburg, Stade Brest had to thank their outstanding goalkeeper Marco Bizot and the poor finishing of the Austrian side for the clean sheet. The Brest defence has also not been as solid as last season. The team has conceded 14 goals in eight games. Last season they let in just 34 in 34 games.
Performers
Under Eric Roy, Brest have a very intense style of play mostly in a 4-3-3 formation. Aggressive pressing, fast transition, perfectly executed counter-attacks – are qualities of the side on top of their team spirit. And their collective strength. And they recently demonstrated clinical efficiency in the 4-0 win in Salzburg. Ludovic Ajorque and Abdallah Sima once again showed how good they are as a duo.
