France to name new boss
ByReuters
Published 05/07/2004 at 13:08 GMT
France's new manager is set to be named on Friday when the French Football Federation council meets in Clermont-Ferrand, an FFF spokesman said. "We want the new national coach to be in charge early enough to work on our first friendly against Bosnia on Au
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
"The council meeting which was due to take place on Friday gives us a perfect opportunity to settle the problem."
Former internationals Laurent Blanc and Jean Tigana are favourites to succeed Jacques Santini, who announced before Euro 2004 he would take over at English Premiership club Tottenham Hotspur after the tournament.
The new manager's first task will be to help the players overcome the disappointment of losing their European title in Portugal, where they were ousted in the quarter-finals by eventual champions Greece.
Rene Girard, a former assistant to Santini's predecessor Roger Lemerre, has declared an interest in the France job, while Bruno Metsu, who led Senegal to the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals, is seen as an outside candidate.
ZIDANE LINKS FUTURE TO BLANC
Chairman Claude Simonet has decided against interviewing all the candidates on the same day as he did before Santini replaced Lemerre in July 2002.
"The chairman will talk to all the contenders individually. He has already met Blanc and Tigana in Lisbon during Euro 2004. He has seen Girard and will talk to Metsu on the phone."
Blanc, who won 97 caps, helped France to victory in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 before ending his playing career at Manchester United last year.
The 38-year-old has the support of former team mates such as Zinedine Zidane, who hinted he could retire from international football should Blanc not be appointed.
Tigana, 48, was part of the team that won France's first European title in 1984, playing alongside Michel Platini, Luis Fernandez and Alain Giresse.
Blanc has no coaching experience while Tigana took Monaco to the French title in 1997 and steered English club Fulham into the premier league in 2001.
"Nothing has been decided yet. It's a very difficult choice because all the contenders have a lot of qualities," Simonet was quoted as saying by sports daily L'Equipe on Monday.
France begin their 2006 World Cup qualifiers in September and are grouped with Ireland, Switzerland, Israel, Cyprus and the Faroe Islands.
Scan me
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement