Jorge Sampaoli is officially back in Ligue 1. Just over two years after his departure from Olympique de Marseille, the Argentinian coach was installed on the Stade Rennais bench on Tuesday, where he has committed himself until June 2026.. “We’re in a less-than-ideal situation that needs to be resolved as quickly as possible. This new stage will require a lot of work”.said the 64-year-old Argentinian coach at a press conference.

Sampaoli’s first priority “to get to know the team so that we can develop an identity, a playing culture”.. Then we need to instill confidence. “This team is suffering because it’s not achieving its objectives, diagnosed Sampaoli. The idea is to transform this suffering into security. We need to transform the group so that they feel comfortable on the pitch.” Asked about his goal of a top-five finish in the league, the Argentinian shrugged it off.

Sampaoli admits he is “often too ambitious”.

Having played for Sevilla FC and the Argentinian national team, Sampaoli slammed the door on OM in the summer of 2022disappointed that Marseille’s directors were unable to offer him a recruitment package worthy of competing with Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. He had, however, made the Marseille team the runner-up to PSG and taken them to the semi-finals of the Ligue Conférence (C4).

“My standards are often too high. I need to improve on that”.admitted the Rennes coach, Julien Stephan’s successor and eager to make a long-term commitment to Brittany. Rennes, 13th in the French league with the 6th-largest budget after eleven rounds, travel to Lille on November 24 after the international break.