The Blues have decided to replace Maresca with the coach of the French club, which is owned by the same owners as the English club. The protests of the ultras, which began months ago, are now joined by L’Equipe

He has already arrived in London with his assistants. It is now up to Liam Rosenior to take the helm at Chelsea, succeeding Enzo Maresca. However, this solution creates a problem for Strasbourg, which is now without a coach. These are the dictates of multi-ownership, contested in the fall by the fans of the Alsatian club, but now also openly criticized by L’Equipe, which speaks of drift and illusion. Why is Strasbourg finding itself without a coach halfway through the season, despite its good run in Ligue 1 and first place in the Conference League?

But Strasbourg certainly couldn’t oppose it, being controlled by BlueCo, the US fund that owns Chelsea. And the Blues naturally take priority over satellite clubs, such as the French one. This subordinate role has been strongly contested in recent months by the ultras, who decided to boycott the stands to protest against the risk of losing their identity. The protest was not understood at the time, because Strasbourg had just come out of an explosive summer transfer market, where it had spent more than anyone else on new signings and various buybacks. Even more than PSG. And on the pitch, Rosenior’s team was producing points and spectacle. It was therefore difficult to agree with the theory of ultras concerned about ending up with a team of young mercenaries, destined to go and bolster Chelsea’s ranks, such as the Dutchman Emegha, in June.

Illusion—  The good results had then allowed the rift to be mended, but Maresca’s dismissal and the decision to entrust the Blues to Rosenior prompted L’Equipe to react: “They were right from the start.” Strasbourg, the sports newspaper points out, has become “part of an interchangeable cog in a multinational corporation that mocks identity.” This is also because Rosenior “was the only one who represented stability.” An illusion, therefore. Strasbourg is looking for a coach who can take over the project, but also revive the team, which is certainly at the top of the Conference League, but has fallen to seventh place in the league and has not won since November 9.