Almost a month after his sacking as coach of Paris Saint-Germain, Antoine Kombouare has finally come out of his silence to talk about one of the most painful episodes in his career
Despite ending the first half of the 2011/2012 Ligue 1 campaign as autumn champions, Antoine Kombouare was sacked as the coach of Paris Saint-Germain. Former AC Milan and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 manager Carlo Ancelotti, who had been hotly linked with a move to Parc des
Princes, was chosen as the replacement for the Kanak coach.
Despite a statement thanking many supporters he had, Kombouare had not yet revealed the outlines of his unceremonious departure.
However, all this has changed after the former Valenciennes coach gave an interview to L’Equipe. For him, getting replaced seemed inevitable and he had even announced this to his staff before his last Ligue 1 game (against AS Saint-Etienne).
“I was not fooled by the situation. The morning of the match in Saint-Etienne, I had met my staff to tell them that this is my last game. I felt I knew. It was inevitable. From the beginning, I knew it was going to be complicated for me. I’m not bitter,
I’ve turned the page.”
However, Kombouare also said that he could not accept the nature of the sacking as he had still led the Ligue 1 standings but admitted that he understood the owners wanted a new coach.
A man of strong character, Kombouare was surprised and announced that his greatest victory was the fact not to be freaked out at the heart of a situation that many have described as unfair.
“My biggest win is there,” says Kombouare before further adding, “Everyone expected that I will lose it and that I’m not capable of managing this workforce. But I found that I could manage to win and also to have an exemplary attitude.”
Certainly, Kombouare’s attitude throughout this painful scenario has been exemplary which speaks volume of his character and dignity.
Though the Kanak coach might not be deemed good enough to be a high profile coach, it is still very likely that many clubs would be keeping an eye on him should he choose to make a swift return to coaching.
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