Nantes coach for a month, the Kanak technician returns to his former club, PSG, this Sunday.
“It was my World Cup for me.” Signed Antoine Kombouaré, each time he is asked to mention his goal against Real, in March 1993. Beaten 3-1 in the first leg, in Madrid, PSG had done the hardest by leading 3-0 thanks to George Weah Weah (33rd), David Ginola (81st) and Valdo (87th). Alas, Ivan Zamorano reduced their efforts to nothing by concealing the 3-1 goal in the 92nd minute. Extension ? A blow from Antoine Kombouaré’s helmet decided otherwise. The Kanak defender, third thief behind Ricardo and Alain Roche that year in central hinge but holder for this meeting thanks to the suspension of the second named, appeared in the 96th minute to resume a free kick from Valdo and blow up the Parc des Princes . 4-1 final score. The legend was running … “The image that I retain? Antoine with outstretched arms and raised fingers. But it is especially the noise of the stadium that I keep in mind. An incredible atmosphere, a sort of frenzy and total heresy! ”, Alain Roche recalled in 2018 for Le Figaro. A special moment in the history of the club.
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And a special moment also in the career of the Parisian hero, Kombouaré. “These are huge emotions, fantastic memories and my best trophy, he said in recent years, on RMC. I often tell my players that winning agent is one thing. But to mark the minds of the people… ”And that is exactly what Kombouaré and company did that day, overthrowing Real in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. The biggest match in the history of the club, according to the ballot organized for the fiftieth anniversary, in 2020!
Evicted in favor of Carlo Ancelotti
There is no doubt that the person concerned will think about it again this Sunday, at least a little, when entering the enclosure of the Porte de Saint-Cloud and treading the lawn, before the duel between PSG and “his” FC Nantes ( 9 p.m.), at the end of the 29th day of Ligue 1. Although, this will obviously not be the first time that he will find the Park. Champion of France 1994, twice winner of the Coupe de France (1993, 1995) and once of the Coupe de la Ligue (1995), Kombouaré left Paris five and a half years after arriving there, in 1995. He returned there in 1999, as a reserve coach. In 2003, the management relied on Vahid Halilhodzic to succeed Luis Fernandez on the bench of the first team, pushing the Kanak to take the direction of Strasbourg for his first experience as number one. He then officiated at Valenciennes before returning to Paris through the front door in 2009. 13th in L1 at the end of the first season under his orders and fourth in the second, PSG were first at the break at the end of 2011, with three lengths of ‘ahead of the second.
Except that before the start of the 2011-12 season, PSG moved into another dimension and under the Qatari flag. After weeks of rumors, Kombouaré was replaced at mid-season by Carlo Ancelotti. Leonardo had been planning his move for a while … Injustice? “When I left, it was a relief, he explained in 2013. I was super happy to leave because working under these conditions, with you, the media, every day to come and question me about my potential last match … Besides, it went well with them. We are professionals. They gave me my money and I left. ” Proof that water has flowed under the bridges, Antoine Kombouaré even said “thank you to the Qataris” for having made “grow” the PSG to this point, in 2019, in an interview with Parisian. Not resentful.
PSG-FCN, the “Kombouaréico”
Not insensitive either. Paris, a club will always count for the 57-year-old technician, who has often explained that it is at PSG that he “learned to win”. And Nantes, his training club, where he landed in 1983? It was there that he learned to be professional. First with Raynald Denoueix, coach of the reserve at the time. Then “Coco” Suaudeau, among the pros. PSG-FCN, the “Kombouaréico”. “A game apart? I would be lying if I said the opposite, he said on Friday at a press conference. Nantes and PSG are two separate clubs for me. Even though I’ve made clubs out of them, whether as a player (Nantes, Toulon, PSG, Aberdeen, RC Paris) or a coach (Strasbourg, Valenciennes, PSG, Al-Hilal, Lens, Guingamp, Dijon, Toulouse, Nantes) . “
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Obviously, there will be no question of giving gifts on the lawn. If the Parisians chase the title, the Nantes, worrying 19th in the ranking of L1, aim for maintenance. “It will be a very complicated, very difficult game. We still want to show the face of a team that is not 19th, a team that has personality, and we hope, we still hope. You never know, launches Kombouaré, the fourth coach to lead the Canaries this season. That’s the beauty of football … (…) We go there in the spirit that we are capable of doing something. Otherwise, we don’t go. ” Kombouaré, which will only be the fifth game since his appointment, has already had his heyday at the Parc des Princes. It is up to his players to do the same.
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