“Something really good is created”

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Like the previous season, AS Monaco salutes from the top of the Ligue 1 rankings before the 8th day. Coach Adi Hütter’s team is still undefeated in all competitions this season and is therefore among the best European teams. Will the team around Thilo Kehrer, 27 times German international, be able to maintain this excellent form? What are the Monegasques doing now? (Site notre blog d’information) gets to the bottom of these questions.

Monaco have scored 19 points so far and are two points clear of champions Paris Saint-Germain – the best start to a season in the club’s history. Monaco’s average age is 23.9 and, along with PSG, AS are the second youngest team in the French elite behind RC Strasbourg Alsace (22.0). In the other major European championships, no team beats this value. It is not only with these statistics that Hütter’s team is causing a sensation beyond the country’s borders: on the first day of the Champions League, they beat an in-form FC Barcelona 2-1 and Monaco are the one of the four teams in the five strongest leagues in Europe. unbeaten. The others are Arsenal, Manchester City and Juventus.

Ronan Caroff, editor-in-chief of TM in France, explains Monaco’s rise: “Most of the key players stayed and sales were offset by exciting talent. Monaco entered the transfer market very early and only had to make a few adjustments during the transfer period.

The Monegasques are traditionally a training club which recruits talents from a very young age and resells them profitably once they have developed well. Hütter has also had to replace top players such as Youssouf Fofana (25; Milan) and Axel Disasi (26; Chelsea) over the past two years. Since 2000, the eight-time French champion has achieved 1.51 billion euros in turnover, which places him fifth in the world. In return, 1.33 billion euros were invested in new acquisitions. Hütter has also already succeeded in developing talent. 22-year-old local player Maghnes Akliouche increased his market value from 5 million euros to 30 million euros in the latest Ligue 1 update. Along with George Ilenikhena (18), Christian Mawissa ( 19 years old) and Lamine Camara (20 years old), great talents with a lot of potential, were once again recruited last summer for almost 50 million euros.

Former Bundesliga coach Hütter with the best points average in Monaco history

Hütter, who previously worked in the Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach, took over from Philippe Clement as coach in the principality in July 2023. In his first season, the 54-year-old led the club to runner-up status and reached the Champions League. With an average of 2.09 points per game in 46 games, the Austrian is the best coach of the Monegasque team whose mandate lasted more than 15 days.

“The team is much more stable under Hütter. He doesn’t necessarily play more offensively than his predecessors, but he has given the team consistency based on stability. The team is also flexible, can vary between multiple systems, and players can rotate. “It seems more stable, especially in pressure situations,” says Caroff of the adjustments Hütter has made since taking office.

AS Monaco: Ex-Gladbacher Zakaria among the market value winners

An important factor is also captain Denis Zakaria (27), who arrived from Juventus in 2023 for 20 million euros – the former Gladbach player went from 25 million to 28 million euros in the last update. day of market value. “Since his arrival, the Swiss has brought stability to the midfield and this season his influence has become even stronger. “He took over from Ben Yedder as captain and even scored three goals in a team that had no shortage of attacking options,” Caroff said, explaining Zakaria’s fourth upgrade in the last twelve months.

Monaco’s best players: Kehrer wants the DFB back

Kehrer (28) is one of the most experienced players – only Takumi Minamino (29) and Aleksandr Golovin (28) are older. This summer, the central defender left West Ham United for the French Riviera for 11 million euros after a six-month loan. In a very short time, he became head of defense and was named vice-captain by Hütter.

On Friday, the championship leaders will welcome fifth-placed LOSC Lille to kick off the 8th day. In an interview with “Sport Bild”, Kehrer looks to the future with optimism: “Something really good is happening here. We have a young team with a lot of potential. If we are consistent, many things are possible here.

Thanks to his development and his good performances for Monaco, Kehrer hopes to return to the national team. “I would like to be invited. And I think I deserved a nomination because of my achievements and my qualities. » He made his debut with the DFB in 2018 and finished last in the team in June 2023. In the national team, Kehrer alternated between central defense and right defense, but prefers center defense: « It is important for me to play systematically in a single position: central defense. »

For Ligue 1 expert Caroff, Kehrer is “one of the most important players and helps the team above all with his experience. He also demonstrated his offensive qualities and scored two headed goals.

In France, Paris Saint-Germain has dominated since the takeover of Qatar and has won the title ten times since 2013. Since then, another team has only managed to win the championship twice, including AS Monaco during the season 2016/17. Is there also a big hit this season?