Football Season Guide

Auxerre won promotion to Ligue 1 via a dramatic penalty shootout against Saint-Etienne in June, having been one of the more enterprising teams in the second flight last season. They finished the league just a point behind second-placed Ajaccio and scored 61 goals, which was second only to leaders Toulouse and seven more than the next most prolific side. AJA were consistent performers whether they were home or away. Indeed, their defeats were split evenly between them, although their four home losses were all by a single goal. Jean-Marc Furlan, meanwhile, has tweaked and improved his squad. They have retained the services of the vast majority of their regular starters, with Carlens Arcus at right-back the exception. Brayann Pereira has arrived from Lens as cover but is inexperienced. Indeed, the recruitment has focused on defence, with Denys Bain arriving in the heart of the defence and Kenji-Van Boto coming in as a supplementary left-back. Undoubtedly their key signing defensively, though, is goalkeeper Benoit Costil. In midfield, Kays Ruiz-Atil has arrived as something of a wildcard addition. Regarded as a player with enormous potential, he has now been dumped by both PSG and Barcelona in recent years. His attitude this season could be decisive for his career. Meanwhile, 31-year-old Youssouf M’Changama will get an overdue crack at Ligue 1. He carried a middling Guingamp team in the second flight last season, scoring nine times and creating 15 more. Up front, Gaetan Charbonnier was Auxerre’s ace last season, finishing the campaign on 14 goals. Leaning on him, though, is risky. At the top level previously, he has scored only 29 times in 173 games – a rate below half of that he has managed over a similar number of Ligue 2 fixtures. If Auxerre are to survive comfortably, they need a striker who will chip in more than five or six goals, although they did spread the goals around the team nicely last term.