Football Season Guide

Amiens were one of the standout teams of the 2017-18 campaign as they secured safety comfortably in Ligue 1, yet for the northern minnows they face another season of battling against the drop. They will again have one of the lowest budgets in the league, while over the course of the summer they have lost arguably their most important attacking player in the form of Gael Kakuta, who was the offensive pivot in this side. Their real strength, though, was the togetherness and spirit that they displayed in each match, a talent fostered by head coach Christophe Pelissier, who showed himself to be one of the most talented in the dugout by extracting the absolute maximum from his players. The way the summer transfer window has initially gone, he will need to maximise all those skills this year as he has lost a number of useful squad players who filled in when life got complicated. So far, though, he has managed to keep a hold of Senegal international striker Moussa Konate, whose finishing power was so crucial in winning games deep into the season. He may well leave before the campaign begins simply because the club need the money from his sale. Juan Ferney Otero has been added from Estudiantes, although he arrives very much as an unknown quantity. Pelissier has managed to make such arrivals a success in the past. Amiens’ main strength otherwise was their defence, which is set to go unchanged. Goalkeeper Regis Gurtner, in particular, had a fine season and was considered to be one of the revelations of the campaign, while Bakaye Dibassy, Khaled Adenon and Prince Gouano rarely let their team down in the back four. The midfield looks somewhat short on numbers, although the return of Guessouma Fofana after long-term injury is a boost. He played nearly half of last season’s games but was not at his peak, while Guy Ngosso and Bongani Zungu will be aiming for better luck on that front too.