Relegation-threatened Nantes sacked coach Antoine Kombouare on Tuesday with just four matches remaining of the Ligue 1 campaign. It was a decision that perhaps should have come sooner, with the Canaries currently on an 11-game winless run and desperately short on form and confidence.Kombuare has left with his entire coaching staff – except goalkeeping coach Willy Grondin, who was spared from the firing line. The club have tasked the coach of the under-19 team, Pierre Aristouy, with the job of retaining their place among the French elite.Grâce à lui on s’est maintenu, on a pu redécouvrir la beauté d’un trophée, revivre la folie d’une Coupe d’Europe, vivre 2 finales en 2 ans… On sera passé par toutes les émotions !Alors pour tout ça, et malgré le contexte compliqué, merci pour tout Coach Kombouaré 🫡 #FCNantes pic.twitter.com/KGCLcxJfDc— Gaby Gold (@GabyGold5) May 8, 2023 The 59-year-ol Kombouare leaves with the Canaries in the relegation places, third-bottom in the table after a catastrophic week of results. A 5-1 thrashing by Toulouse in the French Cup final — a trophy they lifted under Kombouare in 2022 — was followed by 2-0 defeats by fellow relegation rivals Brest and Strasbourg. It left Nantes two points adrift of Auxerre and three shy of both Brest and Strasbourg. the only black coach in top five European leagues has only arrived in February 2021 and managed to save the team from relegation in a dramatic play-out against Toulouse three months later. But after a fine 2021/22 season, in which the Canaries lifted the Coupe de France and finished ninth in Ligue 1, things got sour the following season – and they never recovered.Antoine Kombouaré, entrenador de Nantes, sobre la situación de Messi y PSG:🗣️ “Yo amo a Messi y amo como juega. No se toca a Messi. Es vergonzoso lo que está pasando. Va a pasar que se va a ir y estoy súper feliz por eso, no lo merecemos”. pic.twitter.com/ZZBn4YdwUG— Luciana⚽️ (@LuliAriasL) May 5, 2023 Nantes president Waldemar Kita has never been shy of firing coaches. After he gave Michel Der Zakarian four years in his post between 2012 and 2016, he has fired eight coaches since. Rene Girard, Sergio Conceicao, Claudio Ranieri, Miguel Cardoso, Vahid Halilhodzic, Christian Courcuff, Raymond Domenech and the latest “victim”, Kombouare all lasted months rather than years in their post.##NAJAVA_MECA_7244780##This time, Kita decided enough was enough and called on former Nantes forward Aristouy. He has achieved some excellent results with the Under-19 side since he returned to the club in 2017. He will be assisted by former Venezuelan international and ex-Nantes player Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, who has been coaching the women’s team since last October.LIGUE 1 – MATCHDAY 35Friday22.00: (1.62) Lens (3.80) Reims (5.80)Saturday18.00: (2.40) Strasbourg (3.40) Nice (3.20)22.00: (1.12) PSG (9.50) Ajaccio (19.0)Sunday14.00: (4.70) Clermont (3.70) Olympique Lyon (1.85)16.00: (1.90) Montpellier (3.60) Lorient (4.50)16.00: (2.20) Brest (3.35) Auxerre (3.60)16.00: (1.27) Rennes (6.25) Troyes (9.50)16.00: (2.20) Toulouse (3.45) Nantes (3.25)18.05: (2.80) Monaco (3.40) Lille (2.50)21.45: (1.20) Olympique Marseille (7.75) Angers (16.0)***odds are subject to change
