Ex-French national team manager Raymond Domenech returned to football management after a decade hiatus when he was appointed as the manager of struggling French Ligue 1 club Nantes towards the end of last month. Raymond Domenech has made a return to football management for the first time since the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa.
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The 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa is a special one as it is the first and only FIFA World Cup tournament to be hosted on African soil. Raymond Domenech led France to that tournament in South Africa but it didn't end well after his altercation with Nicholas Anelka.<!--more-->
<a href="https://www.nicolasanelkafan.net/anelka-teams-he-played">Domenech, 68, was in charge of the team when France lost to Italy</a> on penalties in the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup tournament in Germany after the two nations had played 1-1 at the end of extra time. The experienced manager didn't enjoy the next World Cup tournament four years later due to his bust-up with Nicholas Anelka. He had to leave the job after the French players backed Nicholas Anelka in a revolt against him as France endured a poor World Cup outing which saw them fail to leave the group stage. Uruguay and Senegal qualified from Group A at the expense of France and hosts South Africa.
Raymond Domenech is back at Nantes after the incident with Nicholas Anelka and the French players many years ago. He had to wait for his appointment to be approved by the French Football Federation <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11825/12172761/raymond-domenech-...(FFF) as the rule is that clubs are not allowed to appoint managers over the age of 65. Christian Gourcuff was sacked as the Nantes</a> boss in December and that paved the way for Raymond Domenech to be named as his successor.
Since his appointment, Raymond Domenech has been unbeaten in the league as he has drawn all his three matches in charge to leave Nantes one place and three points above the relegation zone.