AC Le Havre - France's Footballing Factory is back in business
The Storming Normans are putting on a performance
When you think of football in France, your mind instantly transports you to Paris and PSG.
Though they haven’t completely dominated French football over the past decade, it’s hard to look past the Qatar-funded juggernaut and their poster-boy Kylian Mbappe when talking about sport in the country.
If you can look past the capital, it’s likely that Lyon and Marseille aren’t far behind. Though in recent years both have failed to live up to their rich history, the fact it exists affords them some well-earned prestige.
More nostalgic fans’ minds may turn to the likes of Nantes and Saint Etienne, the latter tying PSG for total Ligue 1 titles thanks to an incredibly successful spell in the 1960s and 70s (though that is likely to be usurped this year).
But if you want to go all the way back, to before the roots of football fully took hold; away from the bright lights of the city to the beaches of Normandy, you’ll find AC Le Havre, one of oldest clubs in France.
They have never won a Ligue 1 title1, nor have they even been in the top division since 2009, but they are famous around the world for their youth development and how the club embodies the region’s indomitable spirit.
And now after years of fueling the fires of other clubs, they may finally be blazing a trail of their own on their way back to the top flight.
The first question you may be asking is ‘Where have I heard the name Le Havre before?’
Now if you’re not a frequent visitor to the North of France, the reason you may know of the club is because of their world-famous youth academy.
Over the past 20 years, the likes of Dimitri Payet, Ferland Mendy, Riyad Mahrez, Steve Mandanda, Charles N’Zogbia and Paul Pogba have all passed through their academy and then on to pastures new.
In the case of the final two names on the list and also the lesser-known Matthias Lepiller, they took Newcastle United, Fiorentina and Manchester United to court over illegal approaches to circumvent having to pay Le Havre a fee. Newcastle and Fiorentina had to pay training costs.2
It’s an impressive hit rate, and in an interview with The Set Pieces, Academy Director Michael Bunel stated what the main attribute is that they look to culture in their young players to create future stars:
”Our philosophy is based around developing the capacity of the player to be smart. When you look at the top players, they have this capacity to analyse what goes on around them and to make the right call, regardless of system, coach or style of play. A smart player will be able to identify their own strengths and weaknesses.”3
Fuel this with players from the areas nearby, including the capital as PSG are not properly utilising the rich pool of youth talent available to them (therefore allowing clubs like Le Havre and Paris FC to persuade higher potential players to join their academies)4, and you have a fully operational French Football Factory.
However, while they are proud of their academy and the reputation they have for developing players, in some ways, it is a poisoned chalice.
Le Havre can never get high off their own supply. As you’d expect, a Ligue 2 club operating with a much smaller budget will struggle to keep hold of their best young players once a top or even just bigger club comes in for them.
Last season Abdoullah Ba, Amir Richardson and Isaak Toure broke into the Le Havre first team while Sael Kumbedi started making waves in the youth team. This summer all four players were sold for around €7.5m total5 (to Sunderland, Stade Reims, Marseille and Lyon respectively).
So with all these sales and the fact they finished 8th last season in mind, you’d expect them to struggle again this season right?
But what if I told you that as of the time of writing, Le Havre currently sit top of the table, nine points clear of second and have only lost a single game in the 2022/23 campaign.
And when you try and delve further into the details, how they’ve managed it seems even more confusing.
The mastermind behind this form is Slovenian manager Luka Elsner, but when you delve into his CV, you end up with more questions than answers.
Since leaving his first role at SK Domzale6, he has only managed to last over a year in one of his seven jobs, staying at Union Saint-Gilloise for 392 days (so yeah not that far over a year but let's give him some credit).
And if we take a look at his last three jobs, he managed an 18.9% win rate at Amiens, a 38.10% win rate at K.V. Kortrijk and a 25.9% win rate at Standard Liege.
So expectations were not high as Elsner took charge of Les Ciel et Marine, but the Slovenian has proved all his critics wrong.
Total Football Analysis did an excellent breakdown of Elsner’s tactics which you can read in full here, but to boil it down to its simplest parts, Le Havre are relentless counter-pressers.
Once they lose the ball they are quick to try and win it back and limit the opposition’s chances. This has given them the best defensive record in the league, conceding only 11 goals in 26 matches (half of next best team Bordeaux who have conceded 22).
When they win the ball back, they are not an electric attacking side but they do embody the principle of ‘smartness’ that we discussed before; making smart decisions and progressing the ball up the pitch efficiently.
They don’t have a reliable way to score goals, but they commit enough players into the final third by adopting a 2-3-5 shape7 so that someone finds space to get a shot off.
But as you’d expect it’s not just the tactics that have helped them claw their way to the top of the table, the football factory has churned out some gems for them to take advantage of.
Luckily for Le Havre, Reims chose to loan Richardson back to the Ligue 2 club at the start of the season and he has been one of their standout players; picking the ball up deep and progressing it safely up the field.
The 20-year-old has also been joined by the Moroccan midfielder Yassine Kechta in the centre of the park. He was promoted from the academy this season and like many before him, has hardly missed a beat.
While both can play the safe passes and use their positioning to work the ball around the opposition, the duo can also break through the lines with a long cutting pass.
The real star of this campaign however has been the 20-year-old defender Arouna Sangante.
Sangante broke onto the scene last season alongside Toure but he seems to have stepped up a gear since his defensive partner moved to the south of France.
He has made 25 appearances this season and kept 15 clean sheets primarily alongside either Terence Kongolo or Gautier Lloris (the brother of Hugo).
Sangante is comfortable on either side of the defence and has the on-the-ball ability to get it out from the back under pressure; whether he does this with a pass or by carrying it depends on the situation.
It’s a running theme but I think it needs to be said, he embodies the smart decision-making that runs through every player that comes out of Le Havre’s academy.
How he positions himself and his body both in and out of possession shows an ability level that you’d expect from someone much older than him in a much stronger league.
And he’s also contributed going forward as well with three goals and two assists.
I think while gushing about the young players that Le Havre have at their disposal, it’s important to also state that they have effectively balanced the team with some much-needed experience.
Arthur Desmas (28), who was signed in the summer, has been exceptional between the sticks, keeping all of Le Havre’s 15 clean sheets
The aforementioned Kongolo (29) and Lloris (27) alongside Oualid El Hajjam (32) are all vital parts of the back four, while Victor Lekhal (29) has been ever-present sitting in front of them, while also taking up captain duties.
Nabil Alloui (24) and Quentin Cornette (29) also offer a decent threat out wide and have contributed a handful of goals each.
So if Le Havre continues their unexpectedly good form and earns promotion at the end of the season, can they continue this form in Ligue 1 and remain in the top division?
Well, I’m not a fortune teller but there are some variables and challenges that we can consider ahead of time.
Firstly, there is the consideration that history will continue itself and Le Havre will be raided for their top talents. I feel there will be a big market for Sangante but hopefully, their improved standing will allow them to command a much better deal for the Senegalese defender if they can not convince him to stay.
Richardson will return to Stade Reims after his loan expires and Kechta could also follow him out of the door if the right offer comes in during the summer.
Luckily Le Havre, like always, are prepared for their young talents to leave and have players available to make the step up. Oussama Targhalline (20) was signed from Marseille on a free transfer last summer and will likely replace Richardson in midfield.
The club’s Moroccan connection continues with Djamal Moussadek who also joined before the 2022/23 campaign. The 20-year-old is yet to make his debut but could he be the replacement if Sangante leaves? Only time will tell.
Replacing their top talent while also upgrading their squad will be a difficult task, but it’s not impossible, especially if the club are as successful with their senior scouting as they are when it comes to youth.
I think it is also fair to expect that Le Havre will not be able to continue their sublime defensive form next season against much stronger opponents.
They can mitigate the increased amount of goals conceded by scoring more themselves. Cornette is their top goalscorer this season with six goals, so they will need to sign a more reliable goal threat leading the line to help them stave off relegation.
Finally, there is the elephant in the room of whether this is an anomalous season for Elsner. At the moment, I think it’s acceptable to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I think being cautious about it is within reason.
However, that is the future and at the moment the French Football Factory is running at 100% efficiency and getting results. So hopefully they can continue to perform and finally set themselves apart as a football club again as opposed to a development centre for other clubs.
Le Havre won the league title in 1899, but this was before it was rebranded as Ligue 1 in 1932; at this point, it was organised by Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques.
Though this isn’t a common occurrence, it does show how well-regarded their academy is if clubs are going into their B team to try and effectively ‘steal’ players away.
The article goes on to state when Bunel mentions ‘smartness’ he is talking about how a player should make the right decisions on the ball.
The fact that Mbappe is from Paris and was never clocked by any PSG scouts because they were too busy looking at who they could buy is quite embarrassing (and that’s just one example).
No source states how much Amir Richardson was sold for (sorry).
Elsner is Domzale’s record appearance holder and he became manager in 2013 after retiring the year before.
It is incredibly strange that Elsner has stumbled upon similar tactics that the likes of Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Erik ten Hag use without taking any time out of the game, but as I said the more you look the less it makes sense.