Nicolas Usaña indeed decided to throw in the towel the day after a frustrating draw at home against Grenoble (20th matchday on January 23, 2026). Despite a record of 1.40 points per game, the Marseille coach had put the club on track for an easy survival without ever falling out of the top 10 (7 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses. 29 goals scored and 33 conceded). Assistant to Usaña since early November 2025, Thierry Debès was then handed the keys to the truck while also pursuing his DEPF (Professional Football Coach Diploma). In 14 matches leading the team, the former goalkeeper did not perform as well as his predecessor with 1.21 points per game (5 wins, 2 draws, and 7 losses. 19 goals scored and 29 conceded).
Blessures
To his credit, the Alsatian coach lamented numerous physical setbacks in his squad towards the end of the season and had to finish the championship without the offensive linchpin, Giovani Versini, and with Ousmane Kante as the only valid center-back in the last two matches.
Thierry Debès also inherited a squad not really built to play in his preferred 3-5-2 system that had secured a miraculous survival at the helm of AC Ajaccio last season. And it showed: despite the intentions displayed by their new number one coach, the Palois sometimes struggled to take control of the game and often found themselves on the back foot.
A balance to find again
Pau FC also proved to be very porous, conceding 2.07 goals per game under the guidance of a Debès who was expected by the club’s management to have a less offensive and more balanced philosophy than his predecessor. Nevertheless, with 45 points collected this season (1.32 points per game), Pau FC approached its record in terms of points set in Nicolas Usaña’s first season (1.34 points per game in the 2023/2024 season).
/2026/05/10/6a00595012e7c356403513.jpg "League: Kylian Mbappé, absent from the Real Madrid group, will not play in the Clasico against Barcelona")
