GFFN Awards | Why was Liam Rosenior elected our Ligue 1 Manager of the Season? | OneFootball

Arriving just a fortnight before the start of the Ligue 1 campaign, Liam Rosenior was given little time to bed in at RC Strasbourg Alsace but has nonetheless guided the club to an unlikely European qualification. The recipient of this year’s Get French Football News Manager of the Season award,  he was elected by all but one of our team, and beat Paris Saint-Germain’s Luis Enrique in the public vote, receiving 50% of the total votes. Here is why he won the award:

Liam Rosenior might have arrived at RC Strasbourg Alsace with little to no reputation to speak of, but when he eventually leaves Ligue 1, it will be with a nation and a league intimately familiar with his work.

The Englishman was fired from Hull City at the end of last season, with the club owner declaring that their vision for how football should be played was incompatible. Acun Illicali told the BBC, “I want an attacking, entertaining team… Liam’s style can be successful, but we want to see different things.” It’s a statement which would surprise any who have watched Strasbourg under Rosenior.

Since joining the club over the summer, just weeks before the start of the season, he has rapidly shaped the youngest squad in the league into one of the most exciting teams in France. Their brand of dynamic and entertaining football has not only been pleasing on the eyes but is also exceptionally successful, with Strasbourg on the cusp of securing European football ahead of the final match of the season.

Rosenior has deservedly earned the plaudits this season, and it was little surprise that with Premier League clubs taking notice of his work, Strasbourg were swift to extend his contract until 2028.

>> READ: All of our winners in the 2024/25 GFFN Awards

GFFN | Nicholas Hartland, Luke Entwistle