Ligue 1: Julien Stéphan officially returns to Rennes and replaces Bruno Genesio

The Rennes football club announced on Sunday that it was parting ways with its coach Bruno Genesio “by mutual agreement”, and that he will be replaced by Julien Stéphan, who had already managed the team from the end of 2018 to March 2021. “By mutual agreement with Stade Rennais F.C., and for particularly personal reasons, Bruno Genesio is leaving his duties as general coach,” writes the Breton club, without specifying the duration of Stéphan’s contract.

This announcement comes a week after a 1-0 defeat at home, during the 12th day, against the red lantern Lyon, the former club coached by Bruno Genesio from 2015 to 2019. This fourth setback in five days, against a opponent who had never won this season, places Rennes in a poor 13th place with 12 points on the clock, far from the European ambitions displayed by the club and its form in the Europa League, where it is at the top of its group after four days.

Immediately after the defeat against Lyon, the club's management and its owner, François Pinault, seemed inclined to continue the road with Genesio, under contract until 2025, but the technician himself seems to have wanted to turn the page. It is therefore Julien Stéphan, whom Genesio replaced in March 2021, who will take over to try to redress the situation. Under his orders Rennes notably won the Coupe de France in 2019, its first major trophy since 1971.