The Athletic FC Podcast – Liam Rosenior Interview: Strasbourg’s Rapid Rise & The Value of Diversity

Date: October 26, 2025
Host: Ayowale Molara (Ayo Akinwolere)
Guest: Liam Rosenior, Head Coach, RC Strasbourg
Special guest analyst: Karl Anker

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth interview with Liam Rosenior, head coach of RC Strasbourg, who has led the club to third place in Ligue 1 after eight games. The conversation explores Strasbourg’s rapid progress, Rosenior’s management style—especially with one of the youngest squads in Europe—and the challenges and opportunities of working within a multi-club ownership model. The discussion also highlights the importance of diversity, representation, and cultural intelligence in modern football.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Strasbourg’s Start to the Season & Tactical Philosophy

• Pride in Team Performance: Rosenior discusses the team's emotionally charged 3-3 draw against PSG, nearly achieving Strasbourg's first-ever away win at the Parc des Princes.
  • “Even if we’d lost the game, the way the players conducted themselves… I was so proud. It was one of the proudest moments of my career.” (03:41)
• Philosophy on Pressing & Playing Brave Football:
  • Rosenior prioritizes performance and bravery, encouraging his team to press high—even against bigger teams like PSG.
  • Draws from his own playing days, wanting his teams to “enjoy what they do” and express themselves.
  • “Pressing is trying to get the ball back as quickly as possible and to play with energy. That’s just the way I like to play football.” (04:33)

Managing Expectations & Young Players

• Focus on the Present:
  • Refuses to set limits or expectations; emphasizes process and daily improvement.
  • “If you go in with expectations, positive or negative, you normally end up disappointed. I don’t set limits on my players.” (09:07)
• Learning from Mistakes:
  • Rosenior embraces mistakes as vital educational opportunities and credits club leadership for creating an environment that allows for player growth.
  • “Mistakes are part of the game. If you make a mistake and you’re educated on why that happened, then it doesn’t happen again.” (10:07)

Building & Empowering the Coaching Team

• Delegation and Collaboration:
  • Rosenior underscores the importance of delegating to staff and having diverse viewpoints.
  • Highlights key staff’s roles, including long-time friend/advisor Khalifa Cissé and head analyst Ben Warner.
  • “My voice is heard less, and actually I’m more productive. All the credit has to go to those guys.” (11:27)
• Set Piece Protocol:
  • Jokingly assigns credit and blame for set pieces:
    • “When we score, it’s me; when anything goes wrong, it’s down to Ben [Warner].” (13:42)

Cultural Intelligence & Leadership Style

• Adapting to New Contexts:
  • Transition from the UK to France wasn't as tough as expected due to universal human needs and the power of good culture.
  • “People are still people, regardless of where you come from… We all need the same things.” (14:06)
• Flexibility With Team Culture:
  • Adjusts rules around timekeeping to fit the predominantly West African-French squad, fostering responsibility and unity.
  • “If you set rules and boundaries on people and they break those… you create conflict. For me, the way we work here is we don’t have set times.” (17:09)
• Working With Gen Z Players:
  • Meetings are kept engaging, short, and diverse in content—not always about football. Players are encouraged to ask “why.”
  • “If you explain the reasons why … they’ll be 100% in.” (19:52)

Representation, Diversity & Social Responsibility

• On Black Management & Diversity:
  • Rosenior discusses the impact and value of diverse leadership and staff—not just in numbers but in enriched perspectives.
  • “If you have multicultural staff … you will improve your players so much quicker because they have reference points from coaches who understand and connect with them.” (33:38)
  • Argues passionately for celebrating the value of multiculturalism.
• Preparing Players for Discrimination:
  • Stresses the importance of allowing players to be proud of their identities and giving them strength through cultural acceptance.
  • “It’s making them strong enough to be proud of where they’re from, so when those difficult times come, they can equip themselves to deal with it.” (37:32)

Managing Change in a Multi-Club Ownership Era

• Building Trust Within and Beyond the Club:
  • Recognizes fan concerns about BlueCo’s multi-club model and emphasizes the time required to build trust and a shared culture.
  • “Trust is something you build over time. It’s not something that’s just given to you.” (28:58)
• Maintaining Culture Amid High Turnover:
  • Focuses on retaining and empowering key cultural “leaders” among the players to help new arrivals integrate and uphold culture.
  • “You keep really important people within that group and you can move things forward.” (31:12)

Career Reflections & Personal Wisdom

• Learning from Wayne Rooney:
  • Credits Rooney for teaching him man management and pressure handling:
    • “Wayne taught me so many things: pressure management, man management, being intuitive.” (27:30)
  • Highlights Rooney’s unfair reputation and true intelligence.
• Leadership Influences:
  • Draws inspiration from his upbringing, including his mother's work as a foster carer and his multicultural background.
  • “My biggest thing is I want to treat my players how I wanted to be treated.” (21:48)
  • Values empathy, respect, and connection over authoritarianism.

Book and Film Recommendations for Player Growth

• Preferred Sources of Inspiration:
  • Recommends The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho), The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway), Shawshank Redemption, and Good Will Hunting.
  • “Shawshank Redemption’s been spoken about, of course… Good Will Hunting… It’s a great film about development and life development.” (40:21)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Bravery in Football:
  • “You have to love the game to make it. And normally to love the game, you have to express yourself with the ball.” (04:33)
• On Mistakes:
  • “I want my goalkeeper to take the ball again… Mistakes are a good thing because if you make a mistake and then you’re educated on why that happened, then it doesn’t happen again.” (10:07)
• On Leadership and People Skills:
  • “Coaching and management is 90% people skills, it’s 10% football.” (23:48)
• On Representation:
  • “If you do not have a diverse staff, you are going to have blind spots where you miss connections with your players.” (33:38)
• On the Future:
  • “My end goal, my end destination, I have no idea… Ambition is just to work in the moment, in the now.” (39:13)
• On Player Integration:
  • “You allow people to be themselves. The only time we really have… is a team meeting… I don’t think there’s been one player late in my 15 months here because they respect the fact I’ve given them the trust in other areas.” (17:09)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction, Strasbourg’s Season So Far & PSG Reaction: 02:15–04:10
• Tactical Philosophy & Pressing Style: 04:10–05:49
• Managing vs Luis Enrique, Maintaining Focus: 05:49–06:47
• Developing Joaquin Panacelli & Integrating Players: 06:47–08:45
• Expectations, Young Team Culture, Learning from Mistakes: 08:45–11:15
• Coaching Staff & Delegation: 11:15–13:39
• Set Pieces (Ben Warner), Transition to France: 13:39–14:51
• Cultural Intelligence & “Sierra Leone Time”: 16:18–19:31
• Gen Z Players & Meeting Style: 19:31–21:21
• Leadership, Empathy, Connecting with Players: 21:21–23:48
• Development Focus with Young Players: 23:48–25:48
• Learning from Wayne Rooney: 27:21–28:34
• Multi-Club Model & Fan Trust: 28:34–30:51
• Squad Turnover & Maintaining Club Culture: 30:51–33:12
• Black History Month & Value of Diversity: 33:12–36:56
• Preparing Players for Discrimination: 36:56–38:56
• Career Ambitions: 38:56–40:07
• Book/Film Recommendations: 40:16–40:55

Episode Tone

The episode is candid, insightful, and driven by Rosenior’s empathetic and progressive approach to management. The hosts maintain a warm, respectful, and curious tone—probing deeper into leadership, culture, and representation while illuminating the human side of football management.

Conclusion

This episode goes beyond Strasbourg’s remarkable rise, offering a masterclass in modern football management through the lens of representation, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. Rosenior’s openness—about mistakes, diversity, and leading young men on and off the field—makes this essential listening for those interested not just in football results, but in the people, systems, and values that drive them.