As announced, Corinne Deacon was officially dismissed from her post this Thursday, March 9, at the end of the Comex.
End clap for Corinne Deacon. Faced with the revolt of the players of the France team, the coach was officially dismissed from her position during the Comex organized this Thursday, March 9 on the recommendation of the working group composed of Jean-Michel Aulas, Marc Keller, Aline Riera and Laura Georges. “The numerous hearings conducted have made it possible to establish the observation of a very significant divide with executive players and brought to light a discrepancy with the requirements of the very high level. This divide has reached a point of no return which is detrimental to the interests of the selection. If the FFF recognizes the involvement and the seriousness of Corinne Deacon and her staff in the exercise of their mission, it appears that the dysfunctions observed seem, in this context, irreversible. In view of these elements, it has It has been decided to put an end to the mission of Corinne Deacon at the head of the French women’s team. This change of coach is part of a new global ambition led by the FFF in favor of the development of women’s football and the performances of the French team, which will have to achieve high goals during the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics.”
The Comex also criticizes the attitude of the players who spoke in this way. “The Comex has also noted that the way used by the players to express their criticisms was no longer acceptable in the future and intends to propose in the governance of the French Women’s Team an additional mission between the Comex and the coach. “For the time being, no replacement has been named four months before the World Cup. A working group must be formed to choose a successor to the selector.
According to information from RMC Sport, the FFF has already checked off several names such as Sonia Bompastor, Sandrine Soubeyrand, Patrice Lair and Gérard Prêcheur. But one name keeps coming back and could be the big surprise: Hervé Renard. Currently linked with Saudi Arabia until 2027, a clause in his contract would allow him to leave his post under certain conditions according to RMC Sport. After his victory against Argentina at the 2022 World Cup, the odds of the winner of two African Cups (with Zambia in 2012 and Ivory Coast in 2015) are quite high.
For Claude Michy, former president of Clermont on France Info on Thursday March 9, the former coach of the France women’s football team is a “victim” in this affair and one of those responsible is Jean Michel Aulas. “I think the criticism comes from a lot of people who don’t know her. That’s the first point. We’re in a bit of a media lynching mode, since she wasn’t the only one in this area. And then, it’s a bit lamentable not to respect people for their work and their professionalism. All that is very well organized by Jean-Michel Aulas, whom I have known for a very long time, for whom I have a lot of respect, who is a great football man, but who has never liked Corinne Deacon.”
Biography Corinne Deacon. Corinne Deacon was born on August 4, 1974 in Croix in the North in the Hauts-de-France region. As a junior, she played in three clubs (CO Saint-Chamond from 1982 to 1983, SS Aubusson between 1983 and 1986, ES Azérables between 1986 and 1988) before turning professional at ASJ Soyaux where she played more than 350 matches from 1988 to 2007, a record at the time. Sandrine Soubeyrand, Camille Abily and Gaëtane Thiney have passed him since.
Central defender, she played on March 9, 1993, her first match with the French women’s football team. In total, Corinne Deacon played 121 games with Les Bleues for 14 goals. After retiring in August 2005, she immediately began a career as a coach at ASJ Soyaux, her lifelong club. She joined as assistant in 2013 Bruno Bini, coach of the French women’s team before becoming the coach of Clermont Foot 63 between 2014 and 2017. Since August 30, 2017, she has been the coach of Les Bleues.
When she was a player, Corinne Deacon did not win any trophies. As a coach, she won the French tournament with Les Bleues twice, in 2020 and 2022.
After the early departure of the Portuguese Helena Costa, Corinne Deacon was chosen on June 28, 2014 from among many coaches to become the new technician of Clermont Foot 63. She stayed three seasons in Auvergne where she failed to get the rise in Ligue 1 with its players. She was voted best Ligue 2 coach by France Football at the end of 2015.
On August 30, 2017, Corinne Deacon succeeded Olivier Echouafni and became the new coach of the France team where she signed a four-year contract with the French Football Federation. Extended until 2022 after the postponement of the Euro (July 6 to 31, 2022), Corinne Deacon has sometimes been questioned by certain executives such as Sarah Bouhaddi or Amandine Henry. After several controversies around her management, the coach of the France team wanted to put an end to certain quarrels around the Bleues on November 19, 2020, recalling in particular her captain Amandine Henry: “I have heard the critical statements of late but now is not the time to settle this issue as the national team plays its future on the pitch. We will settle them eye to eye, I will in no way use the media as an intermediary.”
If Nöel Le Graët supported Corinne Deacon in February 2021, he nevertheless underlined the poor communication between the coach and certain players: “Her sporting record is very good. She has toughened up, perhaps a little too much. .. There’s better communication to be done no doubt.” This poor communication will cost its place after the rebellion of certain players in February 2023 since the Comex decided to separate from the former coach of Clermont.
For several years now, the conflict between Corinne Deacon and Amandine Henry have punctuated the gatherings of the France team since the latter is no longer called up to Les Bleues. “Amandine Henry had decided to raise her voice vis-à-vis Deacon, during an interview broadcast in the Canal Football Club. The player had expressed her incomprehension and had castigated the method used by Deacon, in last October, to let him know she wasn’t keeping her in. “The call lasted fourteen, fifteen seconds,” she said. I will remember it all my life. At the time, I was shocked. She said to me, ‘The list comes out tomorrow and you won’t be on it based on your current performance. I remain speechless. I say, ‘OK. Good game. Bye’. That’s all. If it’s a sporting choice, you try to re-engage your player: ‘Don’t worry, you’ll get back to your best’. In addition, I felt very good sportingly, my coaches in Lyon confirmed it to me. So there, I said to myself, ‘there is a problem’. Amandine Henry had also criticized the management of the coach during the 2019 World Cup. “”I saw girls crying in their room. Me, personally, I sometimes cried in my room. In the end, it was total chaos (…) because of the atmosphere, the management and the general atmosphere”. Since then, Eugénie Le Sommer, Wendie Renard in particular have also spoken.
