Football Season Guide

Brest were arguably the surprise package anywhere in European football last season as they finished third in Ligue 1 and thereby qualified for the Champions League. Eric Roy performed miracles last term and now the head coach will have to do much the same given his squad has remained largely untouched over the course of the summer. Ludovic Ajorque, an additional centre-forward, and centre-back Abdoulaye Ndiaye are the only new faces in the squad for this campaign, yet the squad has actually reduced in numbers to this point of the season. Three important players have departed, including starting centre-forward Steve Mounie, whose aerial qualities Ajorque will be expected to replicate, fellow striker Martin Satriano and key centre-back Lilian Brassier. Kamory Doumbia was also a useful option from the bench no longer available to the club after his loan spell from Reims ended. Brest benefited from a virtual clean bill of health throughout last season and will be hoping for similar luck this time around. Given the additional burden of European matches, it is hard to see how that will be possible, especially with no increase in the side of the squad. They were a very awkward team to play against, though. They were well balanced and played in a direct and physical manner unlike many top sides. Key to their efforts were midfielders Romain Del Castillo and Pierre Lees Melou. Neither has had played European football before, so they are stepping into the unknown. Indeed, Brest as a whole are taking a big leap. None of their key players have any meaningful experience of playing in Europe with the exception of veteran midfielder Jonas Martin, who is not typically a starter. This promises to be an exciting season for Brest, but it also has the capacity to be a difficult one.