When he took control of the French football team in 2004, Raymond Domenech, to weld the group together, wanted among other things to make his players vocalize.
The anecdote was delivered by one of the former Blues, Jérôme Rothen. “He said that if we were in harmony and we could sing together, it would be the same on the pitch”, told the former international in May this year on RMC. While specifying that “This did[vait] never worked! ”
The future will tell if the former coach of the Tricolores will or will not retry this line of Choristers with FC Nantes players, whom he is preparing to supervise. An agreement was reached and signed on Thursday, December 24 for a six-month contract, the club told an AFP correspondent. “The last details have been settled and everything will be formalized this weed-end”, said the club.
What is certain is that, if the Canaries appear in disharmony lately, they have especially embarked on a negative spiral for several weeks: eight matches without success and a 16e place (out of 20) in the Ligue 1 standings, three points ahead of the last. Raymond Domenech’s priority will therefore be to avoid relegation to Ligue 2 at the end of this season.
According to West France, Mr. Domenech will be present when training resumes on December 30, and will start on the bench on January 6, during the derby against Stade Rennais. He will come alone, and will be assisted by the current staff, namely Patrick Collot, who will be his deputy, Cyril Moine and Willy Grondin.
Ten years of absence on a bench
Raymond Domenech coach? The one who, at 69 (he will have them in January), will succeed Christian Gourcuff, dismissed in early December, has not held such a position for ten years. Since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, marked both by the pitiful elimination of the Blues and by the “bus strike” (the players having refused, in mondovision, to join their training ground in Knysna).
As for a passage of Raymond Domenech on the bench of a club, we must go back to the years 1988 to 1993, in Lyon. In the meantime, he had become a consultant in the media, working for the last few years on the channel L’Equipe.
The prospect of his arrival, stale on Wednesday, provoked strong reactions from Nantes supporters, already very upset for years against the management of the Kita family. On social networks, the keyword “KitaOut” reappeared on this occasion, demanding the departure of the club president, Waldemar Kita.
Tell me I’m having a nightmare please 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 # KitaOut
My first child will be born with domenech at the head of FC Nantes … me it was suadeau …, I apologize by advance … https://t.co/UVpZuAwt8q
@ Maxtitou44 Domenech with the public in the stadiums, he did not take the risk. There he is in total comfort
For two weeks, several hundred supporters, unable to express themselves in the stadium, demonstrated before each home match near the Beaujoire stadium (where FC Nantes plays) to demand the end of “FC Kita”.
Raymond Domenech is the fifteenth coach of the Canaries since the arrival of Waldemar Kita at the head of the club in 2007. To access this post, the former coach of the Blues must however obtain a waiver – he has indeed exceeded the limit of age to be a coach (65).
Ironically, in 2017, as president of Unecatef, the French coaches union – a position he still occupies – he criticized the choice to grant such a derogation to Claudio Ranieri, appointed coach of Nantes the year of his 66th birthday.
