Blanc to Coach Les Blues

Monday, 1st February 2010 at 05:09am

Former Manchester United and France centre half Laurent Blanc will take charge of the French national team after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, leaving his current position as manager of Bordeaux.

Blanc will replace current coach Raymond Domenech who has been manager of Les Blues since 2004 when he replaced Jacques Santini.

Domenech has been under increasing pressure in his role as national coach, following a string of poor performances and results despite a wealth of talent at his disposal.

The move will see Bordeaux needing to find a new coach to replace the outgoing Blanc who has been in charge of Les Girondins since 2007, leading them to a league and cup double in 2009.

Blanc enjoyed a hugely successful playing career, starting his professional life at Auxerre before moving to join Barcelona, Marseilles and Inter Milan, before signing for Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford in 2001 where he would remain until retiring in 2003, collecting a Premier League winner's medal in his final season.

The talented centre half represented France on 97 occasions and was part of the World Cup winning side of 1998 and the victorious Euro 2000 squad that lifted the trophy in Holland.

Blanc famously missed the World Cup final in 1998 after having been controversially shown a red card for a foul on Croatia's Slaven Bilic in the semi final.

France begins its World Cup campaign against Uruguay on June 11 and Blanc's first competitive match will come in September when the Euro 2012 qualifiers commence.

Have Your Say About This Post