Julien Stéphan (born 18 September 1980) is a French professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Ligue 1 club Rennes. As a player, he was as a defensive midfielder. From December 2018 to March 2021, Stéphan managed his hometown club Rennes, winning the 2018–19 Coupe de France, before managing Strasbourg from July 2021 to January 2023. In November 2023, he was reappointed as manager of Rennes before being sacked a year later.

Julien Stéphan
Stéphan as Strasbourg manager in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (1980-09-18) 18 September 1980 (age 44)[1]
Place of birth Rennes, France
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[citation needed]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder[citation needed]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2001 Paris Saint-Germain B 6 (0)
2001–2002 Toulouse 4 (0)
2002–2003 RC Paris 19 (1)
2003–2005 Stade Briochin 51 (3)
2005–2008 Drouais
Managerial career
2012–2015 Rennes U19
2015–2018 Rennes B
2018–2021 Rennes
2021–2023 Strasbourg
2023–2024 Rennes
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

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Stéphan was born in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, France.[1]

Managerial career

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On 3 December 2018, Sabri Lamouchi was sacked as manager of Ligue 1 club Rennes due to poor results. While initially given a role as interim manager, Stéphan was given the permanent role nine days later after a string of victories including against Astana in the UEFA Europa League, qualifying Rennes for their first ever European knockout round.[2] After dispatching Real Betis, the club lost 4–3 on aggregate to Arsenal in the last 16.[3]

Stéphan led Rennes to their first trophy in 48 years on 27 April 2019 in the Coupe de France, beating Paris Saint-Germain 6–5 in a penalty shoot-out in the final after drawing 2–2.[4] He faced the same opponents on 3 August in the 2019 Trophée des Champions, a 2–1 loss.[5][6] In the 2019–20 season, Stéphan's Rennes team finished in third place when the season was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, therefore qualifying for the first time to the UEFA Champions League.[7] He resigned on 1 March 2021, after four straight defeats and seven games without a win.[8]

In July 2021, Stéphan was appointed as manager of Ligue 1 club Strasbourg. In his first season, he led the club to a sixth-place finish in the top flight, a first since the 1979–80 season.[9] In January 2023, with Strasbourg sitting in nineteenth place with one win from seventeen games, Stéphan was sacked.[10]

Personal life

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Stéphan is the son of France national team assistant manager Guy Stéphan and the brother of Guillaume Stéphan, also a former footballer.[11]

Managerial statistics

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As of 3 November 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win % Ref.
Rennes B 1 July 2015 3 December 2018 97 43 28 26 142 109 +33 044.33
Rennes 3 December 2018 1 March 2021 110 46 28 36 157 130 +27 041.82 [12][13][14][15]
Strasbourg 1 July 2021 9 January 2023 58 19 21 18 81 75 +6 032.76
Rennes 19 November 2023 7 November 2024 41 18 7 16 70 57 +13 043.90
Total 306 126 84 96 450 372 +78 041.18

Honours

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Manager

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Rennes B

Rennes

References

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  1. ^ a b "Julien Stéphan". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Stade Rennais: Julien Stéphan confirmé comme entraîneur". L'Équipe (in French). 12 December 2018.
  3. ^ Smyth, Rob (14 March 2019). "Arsenal 3-0 Rennes (agg: 4-3): Europa League last 16, second leg – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Rennes 2 PSG 2 (6–5 on penalties)". BBC Sport. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Mbappé, Di Maria work their magic to gift PSG French Super Cup victory". France 24. Reuters. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  6. ^ Coiquil, Alexandre (3 August 2019). "Grâce à Mbappé et Di Maria, le PSG remporte le Trophée des champions". TF1 (in French). Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  7. ^ Carrier, Fanny (5 May 2020). "For Rennes coach, Champions League dream is not quite how he imagined it". Yahoo!. AFP. Retrieved 31 August 2020.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Fortune, Gregory (1 March 2021). "Stade Rennais : Julien Stéphan, de la Ligue des champions à la démission" (in French). RTL. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Strasbourg sack Julien Stephan". SportsMax. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Struggling Strasbourg sacks Julien Stephan". beIN SPORTS. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Le Télégramme - CFA. STADE BRIOCHIN - GUINGAMP (B), SAMEDI (18 H) Stéphan et Stéphan : les enfants de la balle". Le Télégramme (in French). 14 November 2003. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  12. ^ "2018–19 Ligue 1". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  13. ^ "2018–19 Coupe de France". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  14. ^ "2018–19 Coupe de la Ligue". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  15. ^ "2018–19 Europa League Cup". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
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