Raymond Domenech

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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.

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[edit] 2006 World Cup

On July 12, 2004, he was a surprise choice to succeed Jacques Santini after the country's disappointing exit from Euro 2004 by losing in the quarter-final match to the eventual tournament winners Greece. He was given the objective by the Fédération Française de Football to reach "at least" the 2006 FIFA World Cup semi-finals.

[edit] Qualifying

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 Zinédine 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.

[edit] Squad selection

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 Pirès. His decision to leave out FC Barcelona star Ludovic Giuly in favour of Franck Ribéry, and subsequent refusal to explain that decision, left many French players and fans mystified [1]. Domenech chosed Pascal Chimbonda, a low-profile player with no international experience for the squad. 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. [2]

[edit] Finals in Germany

His tactical strategies, perceived as "naïve" amongst the French press [3] 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[4].

However, France turned the corner after the victory against Togo and started to play the good passing possession football in which they were renowned for in their triumphs in World Cup 98 and Euro 2000. They shone in the knockout round, which included impressive victories over favoured Spain, Brazil, and Portugal. France lost the final to Italy in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 tie in extra time.

France's successful tournament caused the pressure on Domenech to be lifted completely. Recalled golden generation veterans Zidane and Thuram earned spots on the All-Star Team, with Zidane being named the tournament MVP. Ribéry's performance made him the potent successor to Zidane as the team's talisman.

The French Football Federation renewed Domenech's contract on July 11 of the same year.

[edit] Euro 2008

A 3-0 shutout of Georgia and a 3-1 defeat of arch-rivals Italy in the first Euro 2008 qualifiers took France back to the top of the ELO rankings.

On 27 August, Claude Makélélé's club manager José Mourinho stated that Domenech was treating Makélélé "like a slave", as Makelele had earlier announced his retirement after the 2006 World Cup. Domenech responded "as long as he is performing, he will play. I have the right to pick him." Rules made by FIFA state that players not appearing for their national team when called up face a ban from playing for their clubs. [1] [2]

[edit] Career

[edit] References

  1. ^ Giuly's confusion at being left out of the squad.
  2. ^ Coupet temporarily quits squad.
  3. ^ Tactical naiveté (article in French).
  4. ^ An example of the criticism of France's performances in the press (Article in French).
Preceded by:
Jacques Santini		 French national football coach
2004–		 Succeeded by:
incumbent
France France squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Runners-up France

1 Landreau | 2 Boumsong | 3 Abidal | 4 Vieira | 5 Gallas | 6 Makélélé | 7 Malouda | 8 Dhorasoo | 9 Govou | 10 Zidane | 11 Wiltord | 12 Henry | 13 Silvestre | 14 Saha | 15 Thuram | 16 Barthez | 17 Givet | 18 Diarra | 19 Sagnol | 20 Trézéguet | 21 Chimbonda | 22 Ribéry | 23 Coupet | Coach: Domenech
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