Raymond Domenech's new job

He's back! The former manager of the national football team, Raymond Domenech, has returned to the Beautiful Game.


Ah how he has been missed since the Fédération française de football (French football federation, FFF) fired him in September for "gross misconduct".

Mind you his latest job is a world removed from the one he held for six years and no way as lucrative. Quite the opposite really as Domenech is lending his indubitable expertise on a voluntary basis to the L'Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt (ACBB) in the suburbs of Paris.

And what will the man who won nothing while coaching Les Bleus, managed just one title (Division 2 champions with Olympique lyonnais in 1989) during his eight years as a club manager and of course was such a shining example of leadership, humility and respectful behaviour (in refusing to shake the hand of South Africa's manager Carlos Alberto Parreira at the end of the France-South Africa match) at the fiasco that was France's World Cup campaign this Summer?

You might well ask.

The 58-year-old will be in charge of ACBB's under-11s.


"It's part of a long-term commitment he has made," Jacques Migaud, the president of ACBB's football section said.

"He'll be training the kids every Wednesday in an advisory role," he continued.

"And he's agreed to do it to get back to basics and simple enjoy being with children. It's entirely voluntary."

Quite.

With the tidy sum of around €5,600 in unemployment benefit rolling in every month and a claim of €2.9 million in compensation from the FFF currently being reviewed by an industrial tribunal, Domenech can more than afford his mastery of football with others - for free.

His first match in charge of ACBB's under-11s will be on Saturday against neighbouring Suresnes.

Raymond Domenech's 2.9 million euros counter attack

In spite of what you might think of the man's managerial skills, you have to admire Raymond Domenech's audacity - or do you?

The former coach of the national football team, Les Bleus, is claiming €2.9 million in compensation from the French Football Federation (FFF).


Domenech was fired for "gross misconduct" after France's disastrous (putting it mildy) World Cup campaign in South Africa this year.

As far as the FFF was concerned, the grounds for his dismissal in September were three-fold.

Domenech's failure to mention the insults striker Nicolas Anelka made to him during that infamous half time incident in the game between France and Mexico, his reading out of a letter when the players refused to train and "went on strike", and his refusal to shake the hand of South Africa's coach Carlos Alberto Parreira at the end of the final group match.

And it's that term "gross misconduct" which Domenech is contesting because it meant that the FFF was able to terminate his contract without severance pay.

"We're seeking compensation for the salary to which he would have been entitled during his notice period," Domenech's lawyer, Jean-Yves Connesson, told RTL national radio on Wednesday.

"As well as that, there's severance pay due and damages for the personal harm, all of which amounts to €2.9 million," he continued.

"His dismissal on grounds of 'gross misconduct' (and therefore without compensation) made one man the scapegoat in a collective sinking and although the split was as amicable as possible it was one based on political and legal grounds."

Responding to the news the acting president of the FFF Fernand Duchaussoy issued a statement saying the amount sought by Domenech was "outrageous and provocative".

The claim will first go to the Prud'hommes (industrial tribunal) for conciliation, but if no agreement is reached, Domenech could pursue his case through the courts.

Domenech may well be within his rights - legally speaking - but the 58-year-old is unlikely to make many friends within the footballing world or the general public.

Nothing new there!

Domenech refuses to shake hands with Parreira

It was surely the final humiliation in France's catastrophic World Cup campaign.

The sight of the manager, Raymond Domenech, not only refusing to shake hands with Carlos Alberto Parreira at the end of the match which had seen South Africa beat France 2-1, but also his arrogant behaviour in front of journalists from around the world at the press conference afterwards.

Raymond Domenech refuses to shake hands with Carlos Alberto Parreira (screenshot Canal +)

When one journalist asked him why he hadn't shaken hands with Parreira and whether he had been ashamed at the behaviour of his players during the tournament, Domenech said he had understood but had already answered the question.

"I don't have the intention of replying," he replied. "Is there another question?"

There was that audible silence in the room (apart from the sound of those omnipresent vuvuzelas in the background), the sort you would probably expect from those clearly nonplussed by the response.

But it didn't stop another journalist trying a slightly different approach.

"Sorry, it os the same question," he said.

"Why is it you don't want to answer why you didn't shake the hand of Mr Parreira?" he asked.

To which Domenech in all his glorious arrogance replied, "Is there another question?"

You can see the exchange here at 39:32 in the second segment of the morning news magazine La Matinale on Canal +.

Over the past week there has of course been much talk in the domestic and international media about the lack of respect shown by the French players towards fans, especially in light of their refusal to train last weekend, and the failure of the French Football Federation to put its house in order and sending home striker Nicolas Anelka for allegedly verbally insulting Domenech at halftime during a 2-0 defeat to Mexico last Thursday.

But should any of us really be surprised when the man at the helm proves himself to be equally lacking in humility and manners

By the way, the likely explanation for Domenech's refusal to shake hands was his displeasure over Parreira's remark after the World Cup draw last year when he said that France owed their qualification to that infamous play-off goal created by Thierry Henry’s handball.