Strasbourg enjoyed a very successful season, though that was not necessarily reflected in their final league position of 11th, which was a touch disappointing. Indeed, they won the Coupe de la Ligue, defeating Guingamp in the final, stamping their ticket for European football next season. Thereafter, they never found the same intensity or quality to their play.
Thierry Laurey forged a well-balanced outfit that was largely without superstar contributions, although there can be little doubt that their key figure over the course of the season was right wing-back Kenny Lala, who enjoyed a stellar campaign at both ends of the park. He managed five goals and an impressive nine assists.
Indeed, Strasbourg benefitted from having numerous players chip in relatively minor contributions offensively. At the start of the season, Lebo Mothiba was very impressive but he tailed away as the campaign wore on. Meanwhile, Ludovic Ajorque struck nine times in just 25 appearances, despite not always being first choice. Nuno Da Costa, with eight goals, was the other player in the rotation.
The midfield was best served by Adrien Thomasson, who chipped in five goals and seven assists, though in the second half of the campaign Anthony Goncalves became a valuable box-to-box asset, while Sanjin Prcic impressed after being loaned from. Dimitri Lienard and Benjamin Cornet, meanwhile, were pushed to the side somewhat.
At times they used a diamond in midfield, when they got the wing-backs higher up the field, but they also varied this with a flatter three.
Anthony Caci proved a very useful player for Racing. The France Under-21 was by trade a midfielder before this season but excelled in defence, being used as cover in numerous different positions and generally performing to a good standard in all.
A three-man defence was used almost exclusively over the campaign, with the keystone Stefan Mitrovic. Pablo Martinez and Lamine Kone formed the other two regular members, though the latter is set to be allowed to return to Sunderland after his loan deal.
In goal, Matz Sels is regarded as one of the best signings in Ligue 1 this season, having arrived from Newcastle last summer. He proved a valuable last line of defence.
Laurey’s capacity to build unified and effective teams continues to improve, with this Strasbourg outfit looking good to build for next season. Europe will be both a blessing and a curse for the club, with the squad stretched more than ever. It is an exciting fresh test for the coach, too.
