'It's not been love at first sight' – Reims captain Teddy Teuma fights for place under Luka Elsner
Today at 10:46 AM
Teddy Teuma (31) has struggled for game time since manager Luka Elsner joined Stade de Reims over the summer from Le Havre AC.
Teuma was suspended for Reims' opening fixture against Lille OSC and then injured for the following match when the club travelled to the Stade Vélodrome to face Olympique de Marseille.
However, Teuma's absence from the lineup continued, with Elsner instead preferring a midfield trio of Marshall Munetsi (28), Valentin Atangana (19), and Yaya Fofana (20) over the club captain.
Teuma has only started one game under Elsner (the 2-1 victory over FC Nantes) with his other appearances coming exclusively from the bench, such as over the weekend when he recorded his first goal of the season in the 4-2 defeat of Montpellier HSC.
In his weekend comments, Elsner commented that "Little by little, things are getting back to normal. Teddy is making a big effort in training and is finding a level of fitness that matches his qualities," the manager continued, "I am happy for him and it means a lot to me that he was able to convert that very important penalty that secured us the victory."
L'Équipe reports that the manager is attempting to handle the situation carefully as the two have not always seen eye-to-eye and he does not want to lose the midfielder. Teuma had previously worked under Elsner in Belgium when the Franco-Slovenian managed Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium from 2018 until 2019.
The French paper alleges that a close friend of the Reims captain had told them, "There's a dispute. There were disagreements at Saint-Gilloise. It has not been love at first sight between them because of that episode. There is a bit of an ego war."
