The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Aarón Anselmino did not need any: 8.06, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Aarón Anselmino was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at RC Strasbourg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sebastian Nanasi commits to RC Strasbourg for another 5 years.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at RC Strasbourg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ben Chilwell is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Diego Moreira has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at RC Strasbourg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.59 for the rest of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between RC Strasbourg and OGC Nice, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Julio Enciso has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Julio Enciso was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.20. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Ben Chilwell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
AJ Auxerre will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. RC Strasbourg were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Néhémie Lurika provided it, and the 8.60 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Abdoul Ouattara did not need any: 8.41, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Joaquín Panichelli wants continental football; whether RC Strasbourg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Ben Chilwell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at RC Strasbourg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Joaquín Panichelli is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Diego Moreira has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Mike Penders has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Lucas Høgsberg and RC Strasbourg agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at RC Strasbourg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ben Chilwell is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A 3‑2 win over FC Lorient, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Datro Fofana was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.39. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Aarón Anselmino is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at RC Strasbourg, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 23 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Ben Chilwell falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 32 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
AJ Auxerre paid $5.4M and RC Strasbourg took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The chase for Naouirou Ahamada ended with $2.3M changing hands and AJ Auxerre out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Ben Chilwell was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadWords at RC Strasbourg training over how hard people work
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ben Chilwell and RC Strasbourg agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RC Strasbourg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at RC Strasbourg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ben Chilwell falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.