Often an under-the-radar, unspectacular influence on games at the base of Reims’ midfield, Matusiwa’s low profile is perhaps understandable, as much of his good work goes unnoticed or is underappreciated. Reliable, consistent and precise, Matuiswa’s considered technical ability speaks to his Ajax upbringing. He progressed through the Amsterdamers’ youth teams to under 21 level before leaving for De Graafschap on loan in January 2019 and a permanent move to Groningen that summer.

Matusiwa has one mode, as an organized and astute, defensive sentinel, serenely protecting Reims’ backline week to week. His FBRef profile underlines what’s obvious from the eye test in that he performs especially well in interceptions, blocks, tackles and clearances. None of his teammates can beat his tackles plus interceptions tally this term while his icey discipline and calmness in deeper areas, including between the centre-backs, is also key for what is often otherwise a dynamic and positive Reims outfit under Still.

Matusiwa’s lack of incision the only glaring weakness

At the time of writing, no one at Reims has been more successful than Matusiwa in halting dribblers this season. The midfielder is often seen gliding across to break up an attack via a well-timed challenge before neatly recycling play to a nearby colleague or by hitting a dipping long ball. His 80.9% long pass completion rate up to mid-December this season was comfortably Reims’ best while only goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf boasts a better ratio in the mid-range.

Matusiwa’s lack of scope is perhaps his biggest failing. True creativity and incisive passing in more advanced areas are rare, underlined by his output of just one goal and one assist in his first 72 Ligue 1 outings up to mid-December, and none of either in just over two Eredivisie years with Groningen. Reims, however, are clear on the importance of their midfield general and organiser, recently tying the midfielder down to 2027.

Now a proven Ligue 1 operator with ample ability in his chosen role, Matusiwa is still plenty youthful while also boasting meaningful experience. He may be one of the lesser-known names to appear in this year’s GFFN 100 but his performances in 2023 suggest that’s something of a misnomer.

GFFN | Adam White

Flips featured prominently for Reims last season, and his departure to the Belgian Pro League was a blow to Will Still’s side. However, since his €4m transfer away from Les Stadistes, Flips has struggled, and he has yet to register a goal or an assist in 13 games for the Belgian side. 

According to Foot Mercato, there is a chance that the French playmaker could return to Reims on loan in January. The club are in discussions with their counterparts at Anderlecht over a loan move. Still, who is looking to add to his squad, especially given the number of players he will lose to AFCON and the Asia Cup, has already given the green light for the move to go ahead. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Letexier’s joke did not go down well with Still. The Reims manager had been heavily linked with the Sunderland job in midweek and even made an unrelated trip to the UK, which had been mistaken for talks with the Championship club. “I can’t deny that there is interest in me, I can confirm this, just as there has been in the past, like last summer and like these recent weeks. I find it flattering, without being arrogant at all, or pretentious. But for now, and today, I am the manager of Stade de Reims. I am still the manager of Stade de Reims,” he said on Thursday, whilst also complaining about having been portrayed as a “mercenary”. 

‘I hope that I will be the Reims manager for many more months or years’ – Still

A turbulent week ended in a defeat for Reims, who fell on the wrong side of fine margins in a tight match at the Stade Bollaert on Saturday evening. Still was left frustrated by some of the refereeing decisions during the match, and he approached Letexier post-match to express his dissatisfaction. Letexier responded, “Don’t worry, it (the refereeing) will be better.” 

“I found it funny, or not funny at all. He said something like, ‘It will be better in England.’ I didn’t find it very appropriate, but it’s not a story, it’s not interesting,” reacted Still in his post-match interview. 

Letexier made remark ‘without any ill intention’

Contacted by L’Équipe, Letexier has responded to the controversy. “At the end of the match, I simply said, ‘Maybe best of luck in England’. It was meant to be light-hearted, with a smile and without any ill intention. He misinterpreted me,” he said.

Still also addressed his future as Reims manager, stating that the defeat to Lens (2-0) will not be his last match with Les Stadistes. ” It definitely won’t be my last match, unless I’m fired tomorrow. I don’t think that’s planned. I am the manager of Reims and I hope that I will be the Reims manager for many more months or years to come,” he said. 

Still will be hoping that the talk surrounding his managerial future will abate so that he can focus on getting Reims back on-track. The club have lost four of their last five matches, albeit they have faced the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, AS Monaco and OGC Nice in that time, and have dropped to 8th in Ligue 1.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Busi was initially in the starting XI to face Nice last Sunday, however, the Belgian was injured in the warm-up and therefore played no part in the encounter at the Allianz Riviera. He will play no further part this calendar year with Still confirming a hamstring tear. Busi will miss the matches against Lens and Le Havre AC, at the very least. 

Marshall Munetsi (ankle) and Josh Wilson-Esbrand (shoulder) are also both out for Les Stadistes, and neither will play again until 2024. Keito Nakamura is expected to once again start from the bench with Junya Ito expected to partner Mohamed Daramy upfront. 

Reims likely lineup v Lens

Yehvann Diouf; Yunis Abdelhamid, Joseph Okumu, Emmanuel Agbadou; Thibault De Smet, Teddy Teuma, Azor Matusiwa, Amir Richardson, Thomas Foket; Mohamed Daramy, Junya Ito. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Facundo Medina and Florian Sotoca are both absent for Saturday night’s match at the Stade Bollaert, however, Haise has also been deprived of Jonathan Gradit, Deiver Machado and Nampalys Mendy, three players who would have likely started. Lens are therefore without five regular starters for the encounter. The winter break is seemingly coming at the right time for Haise. 

Meanwhile, Wesley Saïd is set to start up front for Lens, ahead of Elye Wahi, who has struggled for form since his summer move from Montpellier HSC. There may be an element of rotation with a tricky trip to OGC Nice awaiting Haise on Wednesday. 

Lens likely lineup v Reims

Brice Samba; Massadio Haïdara, Kevin Danso, Abdukodir Khusanov; Przemyslaw Frankowski, Neil El Aynaoui, Salis Abdul Samed, Ruben Aguilar; Angelo Fulgini, Wesley Saïd, Adrien Thomasson. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

The Guardian first reported Sunderland’s interest in Still, who has guided Reims to eighth place in Ligue 1 this season. L’Équipe then added that it was in fact Still who instigated contact with the Championship side, before making a trip to London to meet the club’s representatives, a move which, according to RMC Sport, irritated the hierarchy at Les Stadistes. 

However, during a pre-match press conference, transcribed by RMC Sport, Still has sought to clarify the situation. Whilst the Reims manager confirms interest from clubs, he denies having gone to London to meet with Sunderland’s executives, despite in fact making a trip back to the capital. 

‘I knew at the first chance, people would try and change my image’ – Still

“I can’t deny that there is interest in me, I can confirm this, just as there has been in the past, like last summer and like these recent weeks. I find it flattering, without being arrogant at all, or pretentious. But for now, and today, I am the manager of Stade de Reims. I am still the manager of Stade de Reims. There we go, that’s what I can say about it. For me, it ends there,” he told reporters. 

Still added, “On Monday, I went to London but to go and see my girlfriend, who is English and who lives in London. I think I’m a loyal client of the Eurostar because for the past three or four months, I have been making return journeys every week. If the people at Eurostar hear me, I want a loyalty price because I often take the Eurostar to go to London.”

‘If I wanted to go to England, I would have gone before now’ – Still

The Reims manager is also unhappy at how he has been portrayed during the links to Sunderland, with Still portrayed as the instigator of discussions in the French media. “I knew that at the first chance, people would try and change my image or attempt to make me out as a mercenary. It makes me laugh more than anything else. It’s like saying that I’d send my CV to Manchester United because Erik Ten Hag is under pressure. I know I’m stupid and not the most intelligent, but I’m not that stupid,” said Still, who added that him, the president of Reims, and his players have laughed at the reports. He then added, “There is interest. There always has been, and if I wanted to go to England, I would have gone before now.”

Still’s focus is on Reims’ match against RC Lens. Les Stadistes then face Le Havre AC before the winter break. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

In a ministerial decree published yesterday, over half of the Ligue 1 fixtures would be impacted in a wide-sweeping measure that would see away fans being banned from attending 55% of the games scheduled. 

However, ANS believe that they have a case to overturn the decision for three of the games, with the organisation looking to appeal on behalf of Paris Saint-Germain, Stade de Reims, and OGC Nice fans. 

The third appeal within a week

This will mark the third time within a week that ANS has challenged a ministerial decree in court, having previously successfully overturned the decision to prohibit Sevilla FC fans from attending the Champions League fixture against RC Lens. 

The organisation stated on Twitter, ‘we note a shift in the administration’s conception of administrative police powers. This current conception is likely to create a systemic difficulty with repeated ministerial decrees despite court decisions.’ 

Continuing that, ‘we have become convinced… our inaction would be understood as a validation of these practices and a normalisation of police measures which, in essence, must remain exceptional.’ 

Par conséquent, nous avons acquis la conviction qu’en l’absence de saisine du juge du référé-liberté, notre inaction serait comprise comme une validation de ces pratiques et une normalisation des mesures de police qui, par essence, doivent rester exceptionnelles.

— Asso.Nat.Supporters (@A_N_Supporters) December 13, 2023

There has been an increase in ministerial decrees concerning football since the tragic death of a Nantes fan, with all ‘high-risk’ fixtures in France seeing away fans being banned from attending.

GFFN | Nick Hartland

As reported by The Guardian, Championship side Sunderland have held talks with Still regarding the vacant managerial position. L’Équipe added that it was Still himself who instigated the talks, with a meeting between Still and Sunderland taking place in London on Saturday.

RMC Sport have reported that Reims are irritated by what they perceive as their manager’s attempt to make a mid-season departure, with the club currently flying high in Ligue 1 in eighth place.

Whilst Reims reportedly expect to lose Still in the summer of 2024, they did not expect to lose him mid-season, and there is an unwillingness to see him leave before the end of the ongoing campaign, according to Foot Mercato. It is therefore unlikely that Still would be allowed to leave the club mid-season, especially given Reims’ hard stance during past negotiations. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

L’Équipe report that the 31-year-old is tempted by the prospect of taking charge of the Championship club. The discussions between Sunderland and the former Beerschot manager have not gone down well with the board or fans of the Champagne club. Reims are unhappy with Will Still as it is he who approached Sunderland through his agent Alex Hayes, according to Fabrice Hawkins. The Reims coach defended himself to the board denying that he wants to coach in Nothern England.  

A potential departure in the summer? 

Hawkins reports that Reims are expectant of losing their coach in the summer of 2024 due to the constant interest in his services in France and across the channel. The Belgian manager also included a clause in his contract, following an extension in June 2022, which means he can leave the Stade Auguste Delaune in 2024 if he is approached. 

Whilst Will Still may not be planning to leave Reims just yet, with a denial he plans to join Sunderland, a move away in 2024 looks probable. Reims have been flying high in Ligue 1 under the 31-year-old as they sit in 8th place – just two points from the Europa Conference League qualification spots. 

GFFN | Liam Wraith