It is an unprecedented setup in Ligue 1. Following the arrival of Portuguese manager Hugo Oliveira on the Racing Club de Strasbourg bench, the Alsatian club now relies on two goalkeeping specialists: Sébastien Gimenez (at the club since 2024) and Miguel Miranda, who arrived alongside the former FC Famalicão head coach. This decision stems from a deep-seated conviction held by Strasbourg’s new manager—himself a former goalkeeping specialist at Benfica and assistant to Marco Silva in the Premier League: “The goalkeeper is central to our philosophy. He is fully integrated into our build-up play: he’s an actual outfield player and the team’s first attacker,” he recently shared. Speaking to Tribuna, Hugo Oliveira detailed the tactical approach he intends to instill at La Meinau: “The way you initiate an attack says a lot about your team. And who generally starts it? The goalkeeper! He decides whether to play short, long, out wide, or through the middle. His role is to create numerical superiority and act as the free man if he isn't pressed. However, this must fit into a strict collective framework. Anarchy is unacceptable: every teammate must know how the goalkeeper builds out, and the goalkeeper must know exactly where everyone is positioned.”