France national football team manager

The France national football team manager was first established on 25 April 1964 following the appointment of the country's first national team manager Henri Guérin. Before this, the France national team was selected by a selection committee, a process in which the French Football Federation would select coaches and trainers from within the country or abroad to prepare the side for single games and tournaments, but with all decisions ultimately remaining under the control of the committee. From 1904–1913, the USFSA headed the committee, which was referred to as the Commission Centrale d'Association. The committee was controlled by André Espir and André Billy and featured little to no physical preparation for upcoming matches. In 1913, the Comité Français Interfédéral, a precursor to the French Football Federation, took over the committee following the USFSA becoming affiliated with the organization and secretary general Henri Delaunay took control.

Didier Deschamps was named manager of the French national team on 8 July 2012.

Following the creation of the French Football Federation, the committee was converted into a five-man board and lasted from 1919–1964. Gaston Barreau served as the head of the committee in two different stints; from 1920–1945, then, after four years, returned to select the team from 1949 until his death in 1958. From 1945–1949, Gabriel Hanot headed the committee and, following Barreau's death, Paul Nicolas (1958–1959) and Georges Verriest (1959–1964) controlled the committee until it was officially disbanded in 1964.

Fifteen men have occupied the post since its inception; three of those were in short-term caretaker manager roles: José Arribas and Jean Snella managed the team in dual roles and presided over four matches and former French international Just Fontaine managed the team for two matches in 1967. The longest tenure by a French national team manager is Raymond Domenech, who managed the team from 12 July 2004 to 11 July 2010, a period of six years.[1] Four managers have won major tournaments while managing the national team. The first was Michel Hidalgo, who managed the team from 1976–1984, which is the second-longest tenure behind Domenech.[1] Hidalgo won UEFA Euro 1984. In 1998, Aimé Jacquet won the 1998 FIFA World Cup on home soil and, two years later, Roger Lemerre led the team to glory at UEFA Euro 2000.[2][3] Lemerre also won the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup.[4] Finally, current manager Didier Deschamps won the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, twenty years after he lifted the trophy as captain. On 8 August 1973, the Romanian Ștefan Kovács became the first foreign manager of the team. During the period of the selection committee, the national team was coached by several British managers. Thomas Griffiths (English) coached the team for a portion of 1924, while Peter Farmer (Scottish) coached the team at the 1928 Summer Olympics.[5] From 1934–1936, the team was coached by Sid Kimpton. The current manager of the French national team is former international Didier Deschamps who replaced fellow international Laurent Blanc following the UEFA Euro 2012 on 8 July 2012.[6]

Statistics

The statistics below detail the managers of the France national football team during their tenure as manager. Though a selection committee was used from 1919–1964, the table details the managerial statistics of the coaches who were under the watch of the selection committee, though the statistics are unofficial as determined by the French Football Federation.[7]

Unofficial managers

Manager	France career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	Competitions
Raoul Caudron^1	1930
Sid Kimpton^1	1934–1936
Gaston Barreau^1	1919–1945	124	39	13	72	031.5	1920 Summer Olympics – 4th Place 1924 Summer Olympics – Quarter-finals 1928 Summer Olympics – First Round 1930 World Cup – Group stage 1934 World Cup – First round 1938 World Cup – Quarter-finals
Gabriel Hanot^2	1945–1949	21	10	2	9	047.6	1948 Summer Olympics – Quarter-finals
Paul Baron and Pierre Pibarot	1949–1953	30	13	7	10	043.3	1952 Summer Olympics – Preliminary round
Pierre Pibarot	1953–1954	4	1	1	2	025.0
Jules Bigot and Albert Batteux	1954–1956	11	5	3	3	045.5	1954 World Cup – Group stage
Albert Batteux^3	1956–1960	36	18	9	9	050.0	1958 World Cup – 3rd Place UEFA Euro 1960 – 4th Place
Albert Batteux and Henri Guérin	1960–1964	22	4	6	12	018.2

Official managers

Manager	France career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	Competitions
Henri Guérin	1964–1966	15	5	4	6	033.3	1966 World Cup – Group stage
José Arribas and Jean Snella	1966	4	2	0	2	050.0
Just Fontaine	1967	2	0	0	2	000.0
Louis Dugauguez	1967–1968	9	2	3	4	022.2
Georges Boulogne	1969–1973	31	15	5	11	048.4
Ștefan Kovács	1973–1975	15	6	4	5	040.0
Michel Hidalgo	1976–1984	75	41	16	18	054.7	1978 World Cup – Group stage 1982 World Cup – 4th Place UEFA Euro 1984 – Champions
Henri Michel	1984–1988	36	16	12	8	044.4	1986 World Cup – Third place
Michel Platini	1988–1992	29	16	8	5	055.2	UEFA Euro 1992 – Group stage
Gérard Houllier	1992–1993	12	7	1	4	058.3
Aimé Jacquet	1994–1998	53	34	16	3	064.2	UEFA Euro 1996 – Semi-finals 1998 World Cup – Champions
Roger Lemerre	1998–2002	53	34	11	8	064.2	UEFA Euro 2000 – Champions 2001 Confederations Cup – Champions 2002 World Cup – Group stage
Jacques Santini	2002–2004	28	22	4	2	078.6	2003 Confederations Cup – Champions UEFA Euro 2004 – Quarter-finals
Raymond Domenech	2004–2010	79	41	24	14	051.9	2006 World Cup – Finalist UEFA Euro 2008 – Group stage 2010 World Cup – Group stage
Laurent Blanc	2010–2012	27	16	7	4	059.3	UEFA Euro 2012 – Quarter-finals
Didier Deschamps	2012–	108	71	19	18	065.7	2014 World Cup – Quarter-finals UEFA Euro 2016 – Finalist 2018 World Cup – Champions

Managers in italics were hired as caretakers

¹Managerial career as head of selection committee. Team was sometimes trained by physical trainers and coached by assistants. Englishman Thomas Griffiths coached the team in 1924, while Scotsman Peter Farmer coached the team at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Englishman Sid Kimpton coached the team for a portion of 1934 and 1935–36.
²Managerial career as head of selection committee. Team was trained by physical trainers Bacquet, Helenio Herrera, and Paul Baron.
³Batteux coached an unofficial France team composed of young players, referred to in France as Espoirs, to an 8–0 victory over Luxembourg in 1953. The match was a qualification match for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. The victory is listed in his 1956–1960 tenure as manager.

References

1. "Domenech set to equal Hidalgo's record". The Star. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
2. "Aime Jacquet – What they said". FIFA. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
3. "The things they say: Lemerre". FIFA Sport. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
4. Nixon, Alan (6 July 2002). "Lemerre pays the price for failure". The Independent. London. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
5. "Scots in opposition: Peter Farmer and Victor Gibson at the French Cup Final of 1924".
6. "Accord Deschamps-FFF". L'Equipe. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
7. "AVANT 1964". French Football Federation. Retrieved 4 June 2010.

External links

• Official website