Under the floodlights of a new season, Will Still has brought a familiar voice into his Auxerre technical staff. Samba Diawara, the 48-year-old Franco-Malian coach who previously worked alongside Still at Reims, has joined AJ Auxerre as assistant coach.
Diawara fills the vacancy left by Jean-Alain Boumsong, who departed during the summer break after joining the AJA staff in May 2025. Boumsong had been particularly responsible for the team’s defensive work, and the club thanked him for his commitment.
The appointment reunites Diawara with Still after their two-year collaboration in Reims. Diawara had been part of the Champagne club’s coaching structure from 2022 and twice stepped up to take temporary charge of the first team: first in May 2024, then again from February until June 2025.
A former player, Diawara began his coaching career in Belgium before moving into French football. In Auxerre, he will work within a staff that includes Nicolas Still, Barthélémy Delecroix, Clément Lemaître, Simon Pouplin and former France striker Djibril Cissé.
For Still, it is a trusted addition rather than an unfamiliar gamble: a coach who knows his methods, his demands and the rhythm of a Ligue 1 dressing room. Auxerre have moved to replace Boumsong numerically, but have also restored a partnership already tested on the Reims touchline.
