Julien Stéphan

In July 2021, Stéphan was appointed as manager of Ligue 1 club Strasbourg. In his first season, he led the club to a sixth-place finish in the top flight, a first since the 1979–80 season. In January 2023, with Strasbourg sitting in nineteenth place with one win from seventeen games, Stéphan was sacked.

Stéphan led Rennes to their first trophy in 48 years on 27 April 2019 in the Coupe de France, beating Paris Saint-Germain 6–5 in a penalty shoot-out in the final after drawing 2–2. He faced the same opponents on 3 August in the 2019 Trophée des Champions, a 2–1 loss. In the 2019–20 season, Stéphan's Rennes team finished in third place when the season was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, therefore qualifying for the first time to the UEFA Champions League. He resigned on 1 March 2021, after four straight defeats and seven games without a win.

On 3 December 2018, Sabri Lamouchi was sacked as manager of Ligue 1 club Rennes due to poor results. While initially given a role as interim manager, Stéphan was given the permanent role nine days later after a string of victories including against Astana in the UEFA Europa League, qualifying Rennes for their first ever European knockout round. After dispatching Real Betis, the club lost 4–3 on aggregate to Arsenal in the last 16.

Julien Stéphan (born 18 September 1980) is a French professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Ligue 1 club Strasbourg. As a player, he was as a defensive midfielder. From December 2018 to March 2021, Stéphan managed his hometown club Rennes, winning the 2018–19 Coupe de France, before managing Strasbourg from July 2021 to January 2023.