In The Art of WarSun Tzu (or someone else) wrote a whole bunch of formulas, like: “On mortal ground, fight », “There is no place where espionage is not used” or “He who is not wise and prudent, humane and just, cannot use secret agents. And he who is not fine and subtle cannot extract the truth from them. » When starting a new year, Antoine Kombouaré asked himself the same question as the strategist: how to win without danger? And without unnecessary danger? Faced with the waltz of coaches from the Kita family for the second time in his life, the Nantes coach found a new adversary, the journalists.
Kombouaré accused the press of having lied and insinuated that he was in the hot seat, and also of having been too definitive about his future. « The week after Brest and before the Coupe de France match, a lot of things happened, he said during his back-to-school press conference, captured by the cameras ofWest France. What bothers me a lot is that you were all unanimous and above all categorical on the fact that today, I would no longer be the coach of FC Nantes. I would have expected writings saying “we were wrong”, because you were completely wrong. That's how I feel. But there was nothing, no phone call, at least to apologize, to explain. » The 61-year-old coach then got up and left a room that Sergio Conceição has not found and Habib Beye has not (yet?) been around. This rant could serve as an argument for a pre-match talk based on the « Us against everyone »but also presents itself as a means of brushing the battle of Nantes under the carpet: permanent instability.
The coaching profession, Pascal Praud and everything else
The story of a coach who shouts is very banal. In different registers, the daily followers of Luis Enrique, László Bölöni and José Mourinho can attest to this. It's a classic of football and coaches, a highly precarious job, made up of a series of fixed-term contracts and layoffs. Paulo Fonseca will undoubtedly be able to update this anthology already handwritten by Kombouaré. He himself was thanked (among others) in Guingamp, Toulouse, and Nantes (well). He knows the problem and the challenge: how to last in the profession? At FC Nantes more than elsewhere, it's even in the job description. The Kita have worn out 20 in 17 and a half years. Complaining about being in danger is therefore a curious paradox for an FC Nantes coach. Kanak has the right to be touched, the press has the right to be wrong and to be self-critical, but it turns out that Franck Kita did meet at least one coach who could have been Kombouaré's possible successor.
Since the start of the season, the man under contract until 2026 had opted for the strategy of derision. He commented on Brest's progress, tackled Vincent Labrune and discussed Luis Enrique's salary. To mark the start of the year, the tone has changed. West France, The Teamdaily followers of the club, and indirectly FC Nantes fans paid the price this Thursday. The coach even benefited from the support of Pascal Praud and CNews. In his show, the Kita's friend claimed that there was “a problem with the Nantes press, which has decided for many years to attack President Kita. Morning, noon and evening,”before starting a debate on supposedly impertinent journalists. For the record, Praud and Kombouaré had a disagreement in 2008 when the first had assimilated the players of the second to “bicycle pumps”. The coach had made it a reason for discussion.
-Questions, too many questions
The work of the daily followers of FC Nantes is not to be discussed, the diatribes of Pascal Praud even less so, but the scene at Jonelière reveals a great coaching technique: making the form speak, and not the substance. Beyond preaching for the Chapel (on Erdre) of journalists, this sequence prevented them from addressing the news of FC Nantes. Kombouaré wanted silence to keep up appearances. Because the first part of the season for FC Nantes was a complete failure. For the accounts, Nantes is only two points ahead of Le Havre, penultimate in Ligue 1, and has gone through a hell of a series of ten games without a victory. He has never won at 11 against 10 in 2024 at La Beaujoire. The January calendar promises to be perilous: Lille, Monaco, Saint-Étienne (at Geoffroy-Guichard) and Lyon, in addition to Brest in the Coupe de France.
Antoine Kombouaré also has to manage three goalkeepers. Patrik Calgren, a new holder not necessarily reassuring. Anthony Lopes, a Lyon glory who reminds the people of Nantes of the Fabien Barthez episode. Finally, Alban Lafont, a former captain looking for a way out. The cases of Mostafa Mohamed, Florent Mollet and Fabien Centonze also raise questions, in addition to the role of the new canary staff. Ahmed Kantari arrived as assistant coach after a failed stint as number 1 at Valenciennes. He will wear this costume in place of Guillaume Marie. Willy Grondin (also a former Valenciennes player) has left his position as goalkeeper coach, Olivier Blondel has arrived. So, if coaches have the right to think that they are not accountable to journalists and that the press conference is not the sexiest moment of their week, talking about human management and the game would have been more interesting for everyone. All these questions were not asked, and that is a shame.
Antoine Kombouaré's rant against journalists
