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Roger and out Lemerre sacked as French national coachPosted: Friday July 05, 2002 11:46 AM
LYON, France (AP) -- Roger Lemerre, who led the French soccer team's catastrophic World Cup title defense, was fired from his job as national coach Friday by French soccer's governing body. Lemerre was "discharged from his position as coach," the president of the French Football Federation, Claude Simonet, said after a meeting of the body's federal council. Lemerre's departure had been expected since France was eliminated in the first round of the World Cup last month. The team failed to win a match or score a goal, making for the worst title defense in the history of the tournament. Lemerre, who took over as coach after France's 1998 World Cup triumph, refused to resign. "Resigning amounts to recognizing that a mistake was made," Simonet said. "In my opinion there was no mistake. A change like this ... can be linked to weariness, to a desire for change. Perhaps one day we'll change president" of the FFF. Simonet said the council thanked Lemerre, who was at the meeting but refused to speak to the press. He said he hadn't yet decided who would replace Lemerre. "Starting today, I will apply myself to finding a new coach," Simonet said. Contenders for the job include Jacques Santini, who coached Lyon to its first league title last season, French youth-team trainer Raymond Domenech and former Japan coach Philippe Troussier. Simonet said Lemerre, 61, would remain an employee of the FFF's national technical directorate, although he didn't say in what capacity. France was only the third titleholder to go out in the first round of the World Cup, after Italy in 1950 and Brazil in 1966. Unlike France, both those teams managed victories before being eliminated. Lemerre took the helm of the French team when his predecessor, Aime Jacquet, resigned after winning the 1998 World Cup. Sticking to an almost identical lineup, Lemerre established his reputation as a worthy successor by steering France to victory in the 2000 European Championship. Just before the World Cup, his contract as team coach was extended until July 2004. But a hostile attitude toward the media and a cold public persona ensured that, while respected, the former trainer of France's national military team was little liked by the French press. It was Lemerre's rigid, army-inherited management style that likely contributed to his eventual downfall. At the World Cup, he refused to change his long-established game plan even though key players were sidelined by injury. Zinedine Zidane, France's midfield anchor, missed the first two matches because of a thigh strain, and a knee injury ruled out star winger Robert Pires for the whole tournament. Without Zidane and Pires, the French team put on a lackluster show and was stunned 1-0 by newcomer Senegal in the World Cup opener. A scoreless draw against Uruguay followed, leaving France on the brink of elimination. Zidane returned for France's must-win game against Denmark, but the soccer superstar was barely match-ready, and Les Bleus crumbled to a 2-0 defeat. Many expected Lemerre to resign when the French team returned from Asia. But the FFF gave him three weeks to reflect on his future. Then, when it became clear he was refusing to go, it pushed him out.
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