Blanc not renewing France contract
Reuters - Saturday 30 June 2012, 17:29
Laurent Blanc will not be staying
on as France coach after his contract expires on Saturday, the
French federation said, with Dider Deschamps tipped as the
favourite to take the job.
"Laurent Blanc has contacted the FFF president, Noel Le
Graet, to tell him his decision not to ask for another
contract," the FFF said in a statement on their website.
France lost 2-0 to holders Spain in the quarter-finals of
Euro 2012 last Saturday.
Blanc took over from Raymond Domenech after Les Bleus were
eliminated in the first round of the 2010 World Cup, leading
them on a 23-match unbeaten run before they lost against Sweden
in the group stage of Euro 2012.
Under Blanc, France sometimes played some nice,
quick-passing football but once again, two years after the World
Cup fiasco, suffered from off-pitch drama.
Deschamps, Blanc's team-mate and captain in the France squad
that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 titles, is the front
runner to take over amid speculation that he is close to leaving
Olympique Marseille, who he has coached since 2009.
The French federation's executive committee is due to meet
on Tuesday when a replacement for Blanc will be discussed.
Blanc has already been linked with the Tottenham Hotspur job
after Harry Redknapp was sacked by the North London club after
the Premier League season ended.
"If Laurent Blanc leaves it's a shame because he had
indicated his wish to continue. But Didier Deschamps is among
the very good coaches," former France captain and current UEFA
president Michel Platini was quoted as saying in French media on
Saturday.
"It is the FFF president who chooses. I do not think we have
bad players. Progress has been made, we have potential but it is
our [rightful] place [to have been] in the quarter-finals.
Anyway, Didier Deschamps does know the team."
France start their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign
against Finland in September.