© EuroFootball.com
Today the French Football Federation (FFF) officially announced the appointment of Raymond Domenech as the head coach of the national team.
The 52-year-old Domenech has been coaching the French youth team (U-21) for the past 11 years and has helped many current team stars grow. He will replace Jacques Santini in the position of "Les Bleus" head coach, whose contract was not renewed after the unsuccessful European Championship.
Initially, it seemed that there were two favorites for this vacant position - recently retired player Laurent Blanc and former "Fulham" manager Jean Tigana.
However, the coach who won the World Cup with the national team in 1998, Aime Jacquet, recommended Domenech to FFF president Claude Simonet. This recommendation seemed crucial, and it was decided to appoint a more experienced person, which is Domenech.
"We received 41 applications, six of which were really serious. The final list was shortened to three names - Laurent Blanc, Jean Tigana, and Raymond Domenech, until we reached a consensus and appointed Raymond Domenech." said Simonet at a press conference.
Now Domenech faces a difficult task, as he will need to reshape the team and try to regain the World Champions title lost two years ago.
