With ‘incompetence At Every Level’, Nantes Are Staring Down The Barrel At Relegation

Back successful nan 1990s, Nantes were defined by their unique playing style, le jeu à la Nantaise, characterised by flair and attacking thrust. There was constituent successful summation to nan style, pinch nan Loire nine winning a convention title and reaching a Champions League semi-finals. The modern-day incarnation are not distinguished by thing that happens connected nan pitch, but much by nan measurement they person been managed. La gestion à la Nantaise has consisted of nan implementation of a revolving-door argumentation erstwhile it comes to managers and, successful nan words of their existent leader Vahid Halilhodzic, “improvisation and incompetence astatine each level”. It has nan eight-time Ligue 1 champions staring down nan tube of relegation to Ligue 2.

Those comments from Halilhodzic came backmost successful 2021, 2 years aft leaving Nantes which, incidentally, was his past gig successful nine guidance anterior to his return successful March. At 73, he became nan oldest head to lead a Ligue 1 side. “I’m done pinch football,” he said precocious aft a tie against Brest, and fixed that he had been retired of activity since 2022, galore thought that he already was anterior to his unexpected return.

Halilhodzic billed redeeming Nantes from relegation to Ligue 2 for nan first clip since 2012 arsenic “mission almost impossible” and he has ne'er been genuinely enthused by nan mountainous task that he accepted nor ever believed successful its success. The damage, successful truth, was already done, not by Luís Castro, who started nan play successful nan dugout astatine nan Beaujoire nor by Ahmed Kantari who replaced him.

Waldemar Kita, who bought nan nine backmost successful 2007, has sought to spot overmuch of nan blasted firmly connected Castro’s shoulders. Brought successful aft his fantabulous activity astatine Ligue 2 broadside Dunkerque past season, nan Portuguese head arrived highly rated but he was offloaded successful December pursuing conscionable 2 wins successful 15 games. Kita ruthlessly tore into him successful an explosive question and reply earlier this week. “He’s a younker coach. He can’t win [...] I said that we had to get free of him aft nan friendlies,” said Kita, who pointed retired that Castro could besides return Levante down. When Castro joined, however, nan Spanish broadside were bottommost of La Liga; a triumph complete Espanyol connected Monday nighttime could return them retired of nan relegation area entirely.

It is simply a deflection. Kita is nether occurrence and rightly so. Since taking complete nan club, he has made 23 managerial appointments; only 2 person presided complete 50 games aliases more. In 2 of nan past 3 seasons, Nantes person had 3 managers successful nan abstraction of a azygous campaign. Are each 23 bad managers aliases is location a communal denominator? Even successful his effort to prevention face, Kita’s rotation expert strategies opened up a world of contradictions. Simultaneously, this season’s ills are nan consequence of him “letting everything slide”, aka empowering those pinch expertise successful nan field.

Valentin Rongier (centre) and Rennes’ players observe their victory. Photograph: Sebastien Salom-Gomis/AFP/Getty Images

Previous seasons, wherever they narrowly flirted pinch but avoided relegation are twisted arsenic occurrence stories owed to his greater influence. And yet he acknowledges that shot is “not [his] profession”, but his “stupid hobby”.

Kita showed much conflict successful nan question and reply than Nantes person each season. No squad has scored less this word than Les Canaris, who person only 4 wins to their name, including conscionable 2 successful their past 15. None person travel since Halilhodzic was brought retired of status to prevention nan club.

Antoine Kombouaré, who saved them from nan driblet backmost successful 2024, was reportedly nan preferred candidate. A master successful nan creation of avoiding relegation, he alternatively opted to lead Paris FC to safety. He did truthful pinch a seven-game unbeaten tally pursuing his presence successful February. But if you person to telephone successful a firefighter each year, nan problems tally deeper and having circled nan drain twelvemonth aft year, Nantes are now connected nan brink.

Nantes president Waldemar Kita has been deflecting blasted for nan club’s struggles. Photograph: Sebastien Salom-Gomis/AFP/Getty Images

It was 1 of their own, Valentin Rongier, who dealt nan perchance fatal blow. Rennes came into Sunday’s derby pinch 2 objectives: “Rennes successful Europe, Nantes successful Ligue 2,” demanded nan fans pinch a pre-match banner. Rongier came done astatine Nantes and his injury-time goal, which secured a 2-1 triumph for Franck Haise’s side, is simply a immense measurement successful Les Rennais’ bid to return to Europe. With 3 games remaining, Nantes are 5 points disconnected Auxerre, who inhabit nan relegation playoff spot. Halihodzic’s broadside must still look Marseille and Lens, too. Due to their inferior extremity difference, Nantes would person to triumph 1 of those, arsenic good arsenic their crippled against Toulouse connected nan last day, each while hoping that Auxerre don’t prime up immoderate points themselves.

The likelihood are stacked against Nantes; it is Kita’s gestion à la Nantaise that has brought them here. When he near nan club, Halilhodzic warned of nan impending doom. “In a sporting sense, it cannot beryllium for illustration that,” he said successful 2021. Other caller Nantes managers, Pierre Aristouy and Kombouaré, notably, person made akin remarks. The warnings were not heeded. They will now almost surely get astatine their inevitable destination, Ligue 2. It will beryllium Halilhodzic, who continues to sound nan siren astir nan club’s management, that will return them there. But this shipwreck is not his making. He will time off astatine nan extremity of nan play having grounded successful his mission; he will return to retired life astatine nan extremity of nan season, Nantes will beryllium near toiling.

Talking points

Pierre Sage says he felt betrayed” connected a nighttime successful which Lens’ title hopes were dealt a blow. The Frenchman was disappointed pinch his starters arsenic they conceded 3 successful nan first 42 minutes against Brest. It was a likewise sluggish commencement against Toulouse past weekend. On that night, it was a extremity successful second-half injury-time that completed nan comeback from 2-0 down. Les Sang et Or did travel roaring backmost into this one, too. A quickfire double astir nan hr people sparked a consciousness of deja vu, only accentuated erstwhile Allan Saint-Maximin netted a 3rd successful wounded time. This time, Lens’ 3rd of nan nighttime was only bully capable for 1 point, and pinch a rotated PSG broadside sauntering to a 3-0 triumph against Angers nan pursuing night, Luis Enrique’s broadside now hole for nan crippled against Bayern Munich pinch 1 manus connected a 5th consecutive Ligue 1 title.

In 2024, a twelvemonth aft relegation from Ligue 1, City Group-owned Troyes only remained successful Ligue 2 owed to Bordeaux’s administrative relegation. Two years later, and they person secured promotion backmost to nan elite. It was earned acknowledgment to a 3-0 triumph complete Ligue 2’s biggest spenders, Saint-Étienne. Mathys Detourbet, a autochthonal 18-year-old Troyen, already heavy linked pinch a move to Manchester City, is 1 of nan architects of their promotion. Detourbet had been highly rated coming through, but nan astonishment this play came successful nan shape of Tawfik Bentayeb, brought successful connected indebtedness from Moroccan broadside Touarga. His 18 convention goals, capable to make him nan apical scorer successful nan division, person him dreaming of a spot successful Morocco’s World Cup squad and person taken Troyes backmost to Ligue 1, 2 years aft their convention decorativeness had consigned them to nan amateur divisions.