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Ligue 1: Antoine Kombouaré, the man who straightened out FC Nantes

2021-12-09T23:08:01.037Z


Maintained in Ligue 1 in snatch last season, the Canaries achieved a promising first part of the championship. Their technician is no stranger to it.


May 30, 2021. Stade de la Beaujoire.

Return match from the Ligue 1 play-offs. FC Nantes lost against Toulouse FC (0-1).

But at the final whistle, Antoine Kombouaré, fists clenched, exults.

Despite this setback, the Canaries remain among the French elite thanks to their victory at the Toulouse Stadium three days earlier (1-2).

An almost miraculous maintenance given the situation in which they were entangled.

To discover

  • Ligue 1 fixtures and results

  • League 1 standings

Read also League 1: Shortbread on the bench of Saint-Etienne in Reims

A club on the edge of the abyss ...

When he took the head of the Yellow House on February 11, 2021, the Nantes club was on the brink.

Antepenultimate in the standings, with only 19 points on the clock after 24 disputed days, a small unit from the penultimate position, his place in Ligue 1 is greatly weakened.

He has also just known three technicians in a few weeks: Christian Gourcuff, dismissed from his duties in December 2020, Patrick Collot who provided a short interim and Raymond Domenech whose passage on the bench was as short as it was inconclusive.

The former player and coach of Paris Saint-Germain is then the last hope.

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... that he saves in an almost unexpected way

Under his orders, the Canaries rediscover certain values ​​that are essential to maintain themselves: a combative state of mind and solidarity. Their last third of the championship is rather satisfactory for a formation at the bottom of the table, with the culmination of a great victory snatched from the Parc des Princes on March 14 (1-2) and a series of four successes in a row in the last matches. , against Strasbourg (1-2), Stade Brestois (1-4), Girondins de Bordeaux (3-0) and Dijon (0-4). Results which ensure them the place of play-off, to the detriment of Nîmes Olympique, relegated to Ligue 2. Against Téfécé, FC Nantes trembles but does not sink and retains the right to remain in the first division. A real deliverance for Antoine Kombouaré: “

It was intense.

I had never felt that way.

You have to live it, I don't wish anyone to experience this.

But the boys were huge.

I thank them, for me too it was a challenge

, he confided on

Canal +

after the meeting.

I said I had revenge to take on myself.

It's a liberation

. ”

SEE ALSO -

Antoine Kombouaré's first victory at the head of FC Nantes

A mixed offseason

At the dawn of the 2021-2022 financial year, FC Nantes was considered, in the eyes of most observers, as a team that would remain in the bottom of the standings to fight to stay in the French elite of the ball. round. Especially since its summer transfer market was not optimal. Nantes training could not carry out the operations it wanted. She was above all content to follow opportunities, as explained by her coach when presenting Osman Bukari, who arrived on loan from La Gantoise. “

We don't have a recruitment unit. There are friends who called. It is also the feasibility of the files. We had other solutions. But it is the one who was as possible to sign

, reported Antoine Kombouaré on August 13.

French players are very dear ... The idea is to bring a new face, freshness.

And above all the quality, I hope.

"The results of the

transfer window

are rather mixed: Imran Louza, one of the pillars of Antoine Kombouaré, left to join Watford, and Abdoulaye Touré, one of the driving forces of the workforce by his commitment and his state of mind , is also gone, on the side of Genoa while two good players, Wylan Cyprien and Lucas Evangelista, filled the ranks of Nantes, respectively from Parma and RB Bragantino.

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A successful first part of the season

But FC Nantes has been able to thwart the predictions since the start of the season. The 58-year-old technician has managed to imbue his team with core values. It is not the one who plays the best: with barely 40.86% of possession on average, it is the formation of the French elite which keeps the ball the least; she is also the one with the fewest passes. On the other hand, she knows how to show solidarity to defend together and quickly project herself forward, carried among others by an excellent Randal Kolo-Muani. After 17 days of the championship, the club led by Waldemar Kita is 13th in the standings, just two points from the first part of the table and eight units ahead of the red zone. Rather honorable. However, maintenance is still far from assured.We must continue to garner points, and this from Friday, at the opening of the 18th day of Ligue 1, against Racing Club de Lens. A meeting that promises to be difficult given the level displayed by the Sang et Or in 2021-2022: "

They are better than us, the ranking also proves it.

Last year, we played the play-offs while they played Europe.

However, we are only at the 17th day.

A Championship is a marathon and not a sprint,

”Antoine Kombouaré told reporters.

Can FC Nantes still surprise us?


Source: lefigaro

All sports articles on 2021-12-09

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