When Antoine Kombouaré puts his suitcases on the banks of the Erdre, on February 11, 2021, FC Nantes is only a shadow of itself, a club totally adrift. The Canaries have just been eliminated from the Coupe de France as soon as they enter the competition against Lens, and the locker room is fractured. A fight even broke out at the break between the players while Raymond Domenech was absent due to Covid-19.
The Kanak therefore arrives with a clear task: to maintain and straighten the club which is heading straight for Ligue 2 with only 19 points taken in 24 games and a goal difference of -17. The mission seems impossible. “The group was on the verge of implosion and the passage of Domenech did not help”highlights David Phelippeau, journalist for RMC Sport who has been following FC Nantes for almost 17 years. “At the time he arrived, we said to ourselves that it was impossible to save the club, which was in an impossible state of disrepair”Judge Thierry Tissot, president of the Activ Nantes Supports association and fan of the club since childhood.
But the former defender, trained in Nantes, succeeded in his rescue mission by bringing the group together and bringing rigor. “It’s a fairly young group that needs a fairly tight framework. However, with Domenech, it was a self-managed group, he wanted to empower them. Kombouaré set a very strict framework”illustrates David Phelippeau.
“For his first session, it was snowing and Emmanuel Macron was visiting Nantes. Several players therefore arrived late and he pushed a phenomenal blower.”
David Phelippeau, RMC Sport correspondent in Nantesfrance info: sports
Of the 14 games with Antoine Kombouaré on the bench, Nantes took 21 points, against 19 in 24 games before his arrival. “During the period when Kombouaré is a coach, FC Nantes is seventh. He woke up this group, gave them confidence”, underlines the journalist. He managed to maintain this dynamic despite doubts about his ability to become a long-term coach.
“He had a reputation as a firefighter on duty, which he did very well. For this season, we weren’t sure if he could change his hat to become a builder”, recalls Thierry Tissot. But it is clear this season that Antoine Kombouaré has managed to give an attacking style of play to this FC Nantes team, culminating in the resounding victory against PSG of Messi, Neymar and Mbappé.
“We must congratulate the players. They show a different face compared to what we experienced last year”, explained Kombouaré at a press conference on Tuesday, before the semi-final of the Coupe de France against Monaco. “There are two things that must be highlighted: defensive solidity and the desire to win games, to do great things”, he added. But his players are not only good defenders, it is also their attacking potential that impressed against Paris. “FC Nantes sends the game”, loose David Phelippeau.
This style was also built on strong stability. Saved almost miraculously in Ligue 1 during a difficult play-off against Toulouse, the group left for a season in the elite with very few changes. Unlike previous transfer windows, only four recruits have arrived (Descamps, Cyprien, Geubbels and Bukari) and are not holders.
“I have the impression that there is less interventionism and that Antoine Kombouaré does not allow his choices to be dictated by the president or by his more or less obscure advice. We had fairly calm transfer windows, we do not did not have fun going to buy anyone and the sportsman has his right to inspect the purchases.
Thierry Tissot, president of Activ Nantes Supportsfrance info: sports
Strong character, Kombouaré has established himself as the only master on board in a club where President Kita has often interfered with the sportsman. “He put him aside in a concrete way when he told him and his son Frank [directeur sportif]to leave the locker room at half-time of the match against Clermont in October”, exposes David Phelippeau. A takeover confirmed by its results. “Waldemar Kita would be inappropriate to tell him which team to make and impose rookies on him in the transfer window”adds the journalist.
The good results also strengthen the team’s ties with its most loyal spectators, very mobilized in front of the stadium at each match last year to express their disagreements with the management. “The FC Nantes public has a schizophrenic side because they support the colors and are happy for the team’s results, but there are also many of us in this public who are not happy with the management in place and its philosophy, which contrasts with the historic values of the club”points to Thierry Tissot.
Residents of the City of Dukes appear to have found their way back to the stadium in recent weeks as the club saw very low attendance figures at the start of the season. The spectacular match against PSG and the next fixtures seem to have had their effect. The people of Nantes thus rushed for places for the semi-final against Monaco. “There’s a buzz around the events, but I’m not sure it’s a buzz around the club as such”tempers Thierry Tissot, who is waiting to see the crowds for the match against Montpellier, three days after the Cup semi-final, to judge a real interest around the Nantes season.
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Disputes around the stadium are becoming rarer, but they are now expressed inside the enclosure, freed from health constraints. “Support for those who work to give us back FC Nantes”, can we read at home and outside on a banner of the ultra Brigade Loire group. A reference to the Nantes Collective, a project to take over the club led by former captain Mickaël Landreau and local entrepreneur Philippe Plantive. “Many supporters have hope in this project”slips David Phelippeau. “He is very Nantes in spirit, with values that go beyond football”rejoices for his part Thierry Tissot.
In the meantime, it is the Nantes collective lined up on the lawn by Antoine Kambouaré on Wednesday against Monaco which gives hope to the supporters. There is no doubt that his love rating would rise further if he allowed the Canaries to return to the Stade de France, 22 years after the cup won against Calais.