Laurent Blanc To Leave Bordeaux, Become France Coach After World Cup

Laurent Blanc is now the former coach of Girondins de Bordeaux after Sunday’s announcement that the former French international would resign from the only club he’s managed to take the same position with the French national team after the World Cup.

The club announced toay that Blanc had notified them that he intends to leave and accept the invitation to join French Football, with the club saying they will negotiate with the federation over compensation for the one year Blanc has remaining on his contract:

“Bordeaux have been informed by Laurent Blanc that he wanted to answer favourably to the French federation’s (FFF) approaches to become the France coach,” Bordeaux said in a statement.

“Bordeaux expect to hear from the FFF on the question of the compensation linked to the release of their coach.”

The French Football Federation also released a statement expressing their pleasure with Blanc’s decision:

“I am pleased. The past, the personality, the charisma of Laurent Blanc correspond to the profile the FFF is looking for to strengthen the ambitions of the France team after the World Cup in South Africa,” FFF president Jean-Pierre Escalettes said in a statement.

“In the coming hours, the FFF will make contact with the parties involved to define the conditions of a deal allowing Laurent Blanc to take the reins of the France team next season.”

France will keep unpopular coach Raymond Domenech through the World Cup, where they have been placed into Group A with México, Uruguary, and hosts South Africa. France’s first match of the finals is June 11 against Uruguay.

Blanc’s link with the France job strengthened over the last month as Bordeaux, one season after winning a league-cup double in France, fell from first to sixth over Ligue 1’s final two months, barely missing out on qualification for European football the same year they make the Champions League quarterfinals.

While Girondins de Bordeaux have expressed their willingness to work with France football on a compensation agreement, the club’s statement made it clear that they blame the federation for the team’s late season collapse:

”The club wanted to keep Laurent Blanc as coach of the first team until the end of his contract on June 30, 2011.

”Given the special quality of the relationship with the coach during his three years at the club, and the excellent work by Mr Blanc, his assistant Mr (Jean-Louis) Gasset, and his coaching team, FC Girondins de Bordeaux has agreed to talk to the FFF on the question of compensation relating to the release of our coach.

“Despite the damaging statements from members of the FFF, which have undoubtedly affected the end of the 2009/10 season and beyond, FC Girondins de Bordeaux express their willingness to reach a solution acceptable to the club, respectful of its interests and the damage suffered.”

Last season, Blanc led Bordeaux to the club’s sixth Ligue 1 title - their first since 1998-99 - also winning the Coupe de la Ligue. In this year’s Champions League, Bordeaux won their group and beat Olympiakos in the Round of 16 before losing in the quarterfinals to Olympique Lyonnais.

In the wake of that defeat, Bordeaux fell to sixth in Ligue 1, one position beyond qualification for next season’s Europa League, a place confirmed when Saturday’s loss at Lens was coupled with Montpelier’s win at Paris St. Germain, the club whose Coupe de France victory kept Bordeaux’s sixth place finish from being a European-qualifying spot.

Blanc leaves Bordeaux with a number of talented assets. Attacking midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, defensive midfielder Alou Diarra, center halves Michael Ciani and Marc Planus, and goalkeeper Cedric Carasso are amongst the best at their positions in Ligue 1. The club will, however, have to deal with the departure of forward Marouane Chamakh, who will leave for Arsenal this summer, being out-of-contract with the club.

The club’s biggest loss could prove to be Blanc, who inherited a sixth place club and took them to second in 2007-08. The next year, he would end Lyon’s seven year run at the top to Ligue 1, winning the title while closing-out the season with an eleven match winning streak. This season Bordeaux spent most of the season in first place before their late collapse.

Only 44-years-old, Blanc was still playing at the top level as of 2003, finishing his 20 year playing career with a Premier League-wining spell at Manchester United. He started his career at Montpelier in 1983 and eventually played for such renown clubs as Napoli, Saint-Étienne, Barcelona, Marseille and Internazionale. He was was capped 97 times by Les Blues, winning the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship two years later.

Blanc now takes the reigns of a national team that has posted disappointing results since the 2006 World Cup. At the 2008 European Championships, France was eliminated in the Group Stage, after which Domenech temporarily resigned from his position before eventually being brought back. In World Cup qualifying, France lost their group to Serbia and controversially advanced to South Africa over the Republic of Ireland in UEFA’s World Cup playoff.

Over that time, speculation has surrounded Domenech’s roll with France, with French Football eventually affirming the controversial coach would stay with the team through South Africa but leave after the finals.

Blanc’s first competitive match as France’s coach will be September 3, when France welcomes Belarus in Euro 2010 qualifying.