Former France coach Raymond Domenech has ended his 10-year absence from professional football by signing a short-term deal with Ligue 1 side Nantes.
Domenech left his post as France boss after a disappointing 2010 World Cup campaign that was marred by a mutiny and reported bust-ups between members of the coaching staff and senior players.
Nicolas Anelka appeared to lambast Domenech during a defeat to Mexico and was subsequently excluded from the team, before captain Patrice Evra and one of Domenech s coaches were involved in a heated altercation that led to the team refusing to train.
France then lost 2-1 to South Africa as Les Bleus finished bottom of their group, and that proved to be Domenech s final game in charge.
Since then, the only other managerial role Domenech has held was as the boss of Brittany s national team for three years until 2019.
Brittany play occasional unofficial international matches against other nations, representing the northern-west region of France.
Le FC Nantes annonce ce jour la nomination de Raymond Domenech au poste d’entraîneur de l’équipe première jusqu’à la fin de la saison 2020-2021.
— FC Nantes (@FCNantes)
But after over a decade away from the elite game, Domenech is back in Ligue 1, with this his first club role since 1993 when he left Lyon.
A Nantes statement read: FC Nantes announces the arrival of Raymond Domenech as main coach of the professional group, as of December 26, 2020.
The technician is committed until the end of the 2020-2021 season.
He takes over Nantes amid something of a relegation battle, with the club only three points above the bottom three.
Christian Gourcuff was sacked earlier this month after a difficult start to the season, though they took only two points from their following four matches.
