Football Season Guide

GFC Ajaccio are looking to rebuild on their return to Ligue 2 after their debut campaign in the top flight ended in an immediate relegation. The Corsicans were always expected to struggle in Ligue 1 and the last few years have been tumultuous for the club, albeit largely in a good way, with two straight promotions and then a relegation. Gazelec saw coach Thierry Laurey, the architect of their rise to the top flight, depart for Ligue 2 rivals RC Strasbourg. He has been replaced by Jean-Luc Vannuchi, who arrives after two years in charge of AJ Auxerre, who he took to the Coupe de France final but was unable to lead to promotion. Gazelec have lost several regulars from last season, with defender Pablo Martinez staying in Ligue 1 with Angers SCO and Khalid Boutaib following Laurey to Strasbourg. But plenty of new faces have been brought in. Some, such as goalkeeper Steeve Elana and defender Francois Clerc, have experience of the top flight. Others bring greater knowledge of Ligue 2, including Creteil defensive duo Christophe Diedhiou and Boris Mahon de Monaghan. "They have been a great club in the past and they have become so again. The aim is to get back into the top flight. We need to build a squad but we owe it to ourselves to be ambitious. The sooner we get back up the better," said Vannuchi after his appointment.