Raymond Domenech
Raymond Domenech (born
January 24,
1952 in
Lyon) is a former
French football player and the current manager of the
French national team. He is of partly
Catalan descent. His father fled
Spain during the rule of
Francisco Franco.
On
July 12,
2004, he was a surprise choice to succeed
Jacques Santini after the country's disappointing exit from by losing in the quarter-final match to the eventual tournament winners Greece. He is given the objective by the
French Football Federation to reach "at least" the
2006 FIFA World Cup semi-finals.
France struggled in the qualifiers, even though the team was seeded in a group that included the relatively unheralded teams of
Israel,
Switzerland and the
Republic of Ireland, and Domenech had to persuade
Claude Makélélé,
Lilian Thuram and
Zinedine Zidane, members of the France's 'golden generation', out of international retirement to aid the national team to eventually qualify. The general consensus in France, however, was that France was too dated a side to win the
2006 FIFA World Cup, despite the return of their cherished talisman, Zidane.
Domenech's management style has also raised eyebrows amongst players and fans. A keen amateur dramatist and astrologer, Domenech has admitted to distrusting
Scorpios, such as
Robert Pires. His decision to leave out
FC Barcelona star
Ludovic Giuly, and subsequent refusal to explain that decision, left many French players and fans mystified
. Domenech's selection for the France's World Cup squad was further criticised when he publicly announced that
Fabien Barthez would start ahead of
Lyon goalkeeper
Grégory Coupet. This decision was met with derision in the French press and also led to Coupet walking out of the national squad before the tournament, though he was later to return.
His tactical strategies, perceived as "naive" amongst the French press
and his team's slow start in the
2006 FIFA World Cup (recording ties against Switzerland and
South Korea before finally defeating
Togo) had seen him placed under further pressure
. However, France's subsequent run to the championship game - including impressive victories over
Spain,
Brazil, and
Portugal before losing the championship to
Italy on penalties - caused the pressure to be lifted completely. The
French Football Federation renewed Domenech's contract on
July 11,
2006. He is tacitly given the mandate to win
Euro 2008 in
Austria and
Switzerland.
Career
*
1969-
1977: played for
Olympique Lyonnais. Won
Coupe de France in
1973.
*
1977-
1981: played for
RC Strasbourg. Won
Championnat de France in
1979.
*
1981-
1982: played for
Paris Saint-Germain*
1982-
1984: played for
Bordeaux. Won
Coupe de France in
1984.
*
1984: retired as a player to later become a manager
*
1985-
1989: manager of
Mulhouse *
1989-
1993: manager of
Olympique Lyonnais*
1993-
2004: manager of French youth team (
les Bleuets)
*
July 12 2004: manager of the French national team (
les Bleus)
