Former France boss Domenech ends 10-year absence from professional football by joining Nantes

Former France coach Raymond Domenech has ended his 10-year absence from professional football by signing a short-term deal with Ligue 1 side Nantes.

Domenech left his post as France boss after a disappointing 2010 World Cup campaign that was marred by a mutiny and reported bust-ups between members of the coaching staff and senior players.

Nicolas Anelka appeared to lambast Domenech during a defeat to Mexico and was subsequently excluded from the team, before captain Patrice Evra and one of Domenech's coaches were involved in a heated altercation that led to the team refusing to train.

France then lost 2-1 to South Africa as Les Bleus finished bottom of their group, and that proved to be Domenech's final game in charge.

Since then, the only other managerial role Domenech has held was as the boss of Brittany's national team for three years until 2019.

Brittany play occasional unofficial international matches against other nations, representing the northern-west region of France.

Le FC Nantes annonce ce jour la nomination de Raymond Domenech au poste d’entraîneur de l’équipe première jusqu’à la fin de la saison 2020-2021.

— FC Nantes (@FCNantes) December 26, 2020

But after over a decade away from the elite game, Domenech is back in Ligue 1, with this his first club role since 1993 when he left Lyon.

A Nantes statement read: "FC Nantes announces the arrival of Raymond Domenech as main coach of the professional group, as of December 26, 2020.

"The technician is committed until the end of the 2020-2021 season."

He takes over Nantes amid something of a relegation battle, with the club only three points above the bottom three.

Christian Gourcuff was sacked earlier this month after a difficult start to the season, though they took only two points from their following four matches.