Saint-Etienne's European Hopes Rest in the Safe Hands of Ruffier

As the Ligue 1 season heads toward the stretch run, all eyes are fixed on the battle at the top. While PSG has dominated the headlines, and Montpellier and Lille remain on their heels, the battle for the fourth spot has tightened up recently and has the top three starting to look over their shoulder.

Currently even on points with fourth place Marseille, and fifth place Lyon, St. Etienne has a game in hand on Lyon and has been in good form since the winter break. While qualifying for a spot in any of the European competitions would make any ASSE fan happy, leaping over their hated rivals up the Rhone would double the pleasure.

While Lyon and Marseille were expected to be near the top of the table, the jury was out on St. Etienne entering this season. The turnover for Les Verts included National team regular Matuidi, the enigmatic Payet, and the up and coming Riviere. The biggest additions coming in were midfielder Jeremy Clement and goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier. The question of how St. Etienne would cope after the loss of three of its best players has been answered emphatically to this point.

While former AC Milan starlet Aubameyang has deservedly been the center of most of the attention, and Clement has provided tremendous leadership from the middle of the pitch, it has been the safe, steady hands of Ruffier who has been the key to ASSE’s run into sixth place.

Ruffier has been in full command of his area since the season began. His chemistry with the defense has led to a solid showing in the defensive third for ASSE. His leadership from the back has allowed Christophe Galtier the luxury of mixing in some of his talented young defensemen like Kurt Zouma and Loris Nery.

While Ruffier’s presence has helped hold the backline together, his stellar positional play has given opponents few clean cut opportunities on his net. The former Monaco man has also come up big when needed on several occasions this season. His fine double save on Rennes this past weekend kept the dangerous Rennes off the board and helped pave the way for an impressive 4-0 win. He has also made key saves in other matches preserving ties and leads throughout the season. These valuable points saved have put ASSE in position to achieve a coveted competition spot at the top of the table.

The confidence the team plays with when Ruffier’s pulls on that No. 1 jersey is evident each time it steps on the pitch. As the march toward the end of the season continues, much of ASSE’s fortunes will rest in the safe hands of unsung hero Stephane Ruffier. Knowing this should make St. Etienne fans rest easier as they face off with their Ligue 1 foes in their quest to qualify for Europe.