Why Strasbourg could win a Ligue 1 title soon
Last season, Strasbourg was on the verge of making the top four in France before a late-season collapse that saw them finish seventh in the standings in France, a remarkable improvement for a team that finished the previous term in 13th spot.
The Ligue 1 side has been in impressive form over the last two seasons and has continued to outperform expectations, thanks to the money coming in from Blue Co. and the players being sent there from Chelsea.
The Americans bought the club in the summer of 2023, a year after they had bought Chelsea of London.
The Blues are their main club in Europe, and they have experimented so much with the club that Roman Abramovich made one of the best in the world.
One of the results of their experiments was having too many players on their books, so they had to buy Strasbourg as a sister club.
They send some fine players who are not developed enough for the EPL there and send them back to Chelsea when these stars are developed.
The Blues have become a home to some of the world’s best players, and Strasbourg has benefited so much from that.
The team is leading the way in the sales of Ligue 1 tickets because of how they have emerged and have been stable.
In France, they are being respected because of their form in the last few seasons, and they could be looking to snap up the league title in the near future.
How good is the Strasbourg team?
In France, PSG rules supreme when it comes to having the best players in the world on their team, leading to them winning the Champions League last season.
They remain in great shape and could even defend that crown at the end of this season, so the likes of Strasbourg have been left to follow them..
When Kylian Mbappe left PSG, Strasbourg was not one of the clubs that we expected to catch PSG at the top.
However, with their current upward trajectory, they could do the unthinkable, like Lille did when they won the last Ligue 1 crown that was not won by PSG.
Strasbourg has some of the best players in France on their team at the moment, and we can all see the quality that the team possesses.
They have continued to show that they are not a team to underestimate, and their draw against PSG in Paris made us all begin to take them even more seriously.
Liam Rosenoir has done an amazing job at the club, and the influx of talent from Chelsea means Strasbourg is one of the top five best teams in France now.
The Chelsea connection
If Blue Co. had not bought Chelsea, they probably would not have bought Strasbourg as well, and the Ligue 1 side would have remained one of the struggling clubs in their country.
However, because Chelsea wanted a place to send some of the talents they are buying around the world to develop further, they bought Strasbourg.
The Ligue 1 side has continued to show that they are benefiting from an important team in the game.
Chelsea’s on-loan players have made them as competitive as they have been since Blue Co. bought the club.
Because of this influx of stars from the Premier League, many fans now buy Strasbourg tickets to watch them.
In the summer, the Blues sold Ben Chilwell to them, with the 28-year-old still considered one of the best English left-backs.
Kendry Páez, Mamadou Sarr, and Mike Penders joined them on loan from Chelsea as well.
These stars have been among the best players on Strasbourg this season and have continued to impress.
With an eye on a return to Chelsea to play there in the future, these stars are putting in the work and impressing, with Strasbourg benefiting from their performances.
Why can they win the Ligue 1?
Tipping Strasbourg to become champions of France in the future will raise a lot of eyebrows, and most people will not think much about it.
At the moment, PSG seems unstoppable in domestic football in France and the likes of Olympique Marseille and Lyon seem closer to becoming French champions than Strasbourg.
However, it would not be smart to write off a team that is continually making steady progress as a collective.
Despite the changes their squad underwent in the summer, Strasbourg has managed to remain one of the top clubs in France this season.
That consistency is a trait that will put them in a position to become the champions of France.
PSG is keen to retain the Champions League crown it won last season, and they will have to work even harder this term to do so.
This means another Ligue 1 side can overtake them as the long season continues, and one of the teams that can make that happen is Strasbourg.
They have the advantage of not being considered one of the main favourites to win the competition, and this means they will play under less pressure and could sneak to the top spot in the second half of the term.
No one can say it will be easy, but if Strasbourg stays focused on themselves and works as hard as they are doing now, they will keep making progress and will be in a position to take over a slip from PSG and the other top French teams.
Liam Rosenior is an underrated manager
Rosenior had a decent playing career before he retired from the game, and the ex-full back has started well at Strasbourg.
When he coached Hull City, it was easy to tell that he had good ideas about the game that would make him thrive at a top club.
When the chance to manage Strasbourg arrived, he took it and has done a brilliant job at the Ligue 1 team.
He led them to Europe in his first full season in charge and has won 48% of his first 50 matches as their manager, losing 13.
This is a fine record for a manager who does not coach one of the top clubs in a top-five league.
His work has largely gone unnoticed on the continent, but if he keeps producing the results and his team makes the top four at the end of this season, he could be appointed to coach a bigger club soon.