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FCK - AJ Auxerre

The Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise has been uninterruptedly playing in the highest French soccer division since 1980. Having finished third last season, AJ Auxerre has also secured a Champions League berth. AJ Auxerre has repeatedly claimed successes like that during the previous 30 years in the French Ligue 1. For a club from such a small town like Auxerre (almost 40,000 inhabitants), this is a truly remarkable performance.

In 1996, Auxerre won the French Championship. In addition to that, AJA has secured the national Cup title four times (1994, 1996, 2003 and 2005). The success of the club based in Burgundy is closely linked to Guy Roux, who has been coaching AJA from 1961 through 2005 with short interruptions. Focusing on training young talents, AJ Auxerre made its way from Division d’Honneur (Association League) to the top flight with Roux at the helm.

Even if Roux has stepped down with a total of impressive 895 games as a coach, Auxerre sticks to his philosophy. The side of boss Jean Fernandez is in no way star-studded as the squad consists of young French soccer players as well as African professionals. The latest success proves that AJA’s recipe is the right one. Hence, the Red Devils are facing a real challenge on Saturday.

However, that is exactly what FCK boss Marco Kurz wants it to be since his coaching staff and the entire squad are meanwhile working on the tactical fine tuning for the forthcoming season. After a short time on the sidelines, Srdjan Lakic, Jan Simunek and Leon Jessen are finally available for selection again on Saturday. The team has displayed fine combinations and excellent interplay last weekend, and that is what they want to build upon on Saturday.