Nicolas Usai indeed decided to throw in the towel following yet another frustrating result at home against Grenoble (20th matchday on January 23, 2026). With an average of 1.40 points per match, the Marseille coach had managed to steer the club towards an easy survival without ever dropping out of the top 10 (7 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses. 29 goals scored to 33 conceded). Serving as an assistant to Usai since early November 2025, Thierry Debes was then entrusted with the keys to the team alongside his pursuit of the DEPF (Professional Football Coach Diploma). In his 14 matches at the helm of the team, the former goalkeeper did not fare as well as his predecessor with 1.21 points per match (5 wins, 2 draws, and 7 losses. 19 goals scored to 29 conceded).
Blessures
To his credit, the Alsatian coach lamented numerous physical setbacks in his squad towards the end of the season and notably had to finish the campaign without the leading offensive spearhead, Giovani Versini, with Ousmane Kante as the only valid central defender in the final two matches.
Thierry Debes also inherited a squad not truly built to play in his preferred 3-5-2 system which had led to a miraculous survival at the helm of AC Ajaccio last season. And it showed: despite the intentions displayed by their new head coach, the Palois sometimes struggled to take control of the game and often found themselves on the back foot.
A Balance to Regain
Pau FC also proved porous with 2.07 goals conceded per match under the guidance of Debes, who was introduced by the club’s management as a coach with a less attacking and more balanced philosophy than his predecessor. Nonetheless, with 45 points accumulated this season (1.32 points per match), Pau FC approached their record in terms of points which was set during Nicolas Usai’s first season (1.34 points per match in the 2023/2024 season).
/2026/05/09/69ffa96a2582b264349098.jpg "Table tennis: close to the exploit, the French mens team fails to upset China in the semi")
