“Thank you Vincent Labrune!”, Antoine Kombouaré could have said. While the drop in TV rights caused the sluggishness of the last transfer window, FC Nantes can see the full side of the bottle: the stability of the squad. To everyone’s surprise, while some had already almost packed their bags in June, like Alban Lafont, the players who had a release voucher like him did not find it. Chirivella, Mohamed or even Douglas Augusto are at the Jonelière and probably for many more months. The real recruits can be counted on the fingers of one hand with the transfers of a number two goalkeeper, Patrik Carlgren, and midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin.
The Canaries have associated two loans, a midfielder, Johann Lepenant, and a winger, Sorba Thomas. The others already know the banks of the Erdre. This is the case of the former Rennes player Mathis Abline, transferred for 10 million euros, and Nicolas Cozza again loaned by Wolfsburg. The latter arrived at the end of August: “He knows the way we work and he has a lot of affinities with the friends in the locker room”, commented Kombouaré. “I saw that they were very happy to welcome him. Already to feel that on both sides there is the desire to work together normally is not bad.”
This week, as FC Nantes presented its new recruits, Antoine Kombouaré announced that he was present for the last time for this type of meeting. “I like the players to be with you,” the coach stressed before adding: “Next time there might be someone else in my place,” provoking laughter from journalists who know that the lifespan of coaches on the banks of the Erdre is on average less than a season.
But Antoine Kombouaré was indeed referring to the presentation of the recruits and he recently reiterated that he had ambition for this FC Nantes that he found to everyone’s surprise six months ago. Despite the differences in points of view between the former Parisian and his president Waldemar Kita, the latter wanted to find “a respected coach who knows how to run his locker room”. This seems to still be the case.
Relations between the training center and Antoine Kombouaré have never been smooth, even if the coach likes to point out that he has often launched young players where he has been. The Kanak also finds that the level is higher than what he saw two years ago: “It’s better on the youth side, there is quality. They train with us and can adjust and find an interesting level.”
But in Nantes, whose DNA has long been training, the places in the professional group are no longer as numerous as they were 25 years ago. At the start of the season, the few recruits and the injuries of Mollet and Centonze allow some youngsters to find playing time. It is a confirmation for Nathan Zézé (19 years old) in central defense, already a ten-time starter last season, and appearances of a few minutes for the very young adults Louis Leroux and Herba Guirassy, scorer against Auxerre, while waiting for the possible first seconds of Dehmaine Tabibou and Mathieu Acapandié, both 19 years old.
“A team that is better in its head and in its football”, these are the words of Antoine Kombouaré when comparing the last two matches in Montpellier, the 1-1 draw of April 26 (31st day) and the 1-3 victory of August 31 (3rd day). Stringing together a series of three matches by taking points, FC Nantes had not done it for 18 months already under the Kanak era before his replacement by Pierre Aristouy then Jocelyn Gourvennec.
Better still, thanks to their 2-0 victory against Auxerre at the Beaujoire, the yellow and green have finally put an end to the darkest series in the history of FC Nantes: 9 consecutive defeats in the championship. A birth after eight and a half months of suffering for the supporters who are nevertheless 14,000 to have renewed a subscription this season.
With seven points taken in three games, FC Nantes has started its 2024-2025 season well, but against Toulouse, Auxerre and Montpellier it has not had very tough opposition. With the reception of Reims on Sunday and oppositions against Angers and Saint-Étienne afterwards, the Canaries would be well inspired to follow up against teams within their reach. November, December and January will be much tougher with a series of six big teams (Marseille, Lens, Paris, Rennes, Monaco and Lille) in eight games.
- RMC Sport
