Former France Under-21 boss Raymond Domenech was the surprise choice to replace Jacques Santini as Coach on July 12, 2004. Laurent Blanc and Jean Tigana were seen as the frontrunners to take charge after Les Bleus’ disappointing Euro 2004 campaign, but it is believed that the support of FFF Technical Director Aimé Jacquet ultimately swung the vote the way of the former Lyon boss.

The appointment was a reward for the impressive work that Domenech carried out with France’s junior teams, in particular the Under-21s whom he coached from 1993 to 2004. Domenech’s critics are quick to point out that despite more than a decade in charge of Les Espoirs, he never actually guided the team to a tournament win. But they did reach the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Championship in 1994 and 1996 and the final in 2002, while successes with Under-20 sides at Toulon in 1997 and 2004 should not be discounted.

Perhaps more important than the size of his medal collection, Domenech is credited with playing an important role in the development of several leading internationals including Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira.

As a player, Domenech was a rugged defender and began his professional career with hometown club Lyon in 1969. His hard-man reputation stems from his senior debut, when he was accused of breaking an opponent’s leg with a ferocious challenge. Even to this day Domenech claims it was a case of mistaken identity, and that it was in fact another player who made the challenge.

Hard or soft, dirty or fair, what is undisputed is that Domenech was a good defender. He helped Les Gones win the Coupe de France in 1973, then moved to Strasbourg where he picked up a French championship winner’s medal in 1979. He would later represent Paris Saint-Germain, adding to his medal collection with another Coupe de France success in 1982.

His playing career ended at Bordeaux, where he won the title in 1984 under the tutelage of Jacquet. Domenech was capped eight times by Les Bleus, but was forced to hang his boots prematurely because of a knee injury.

He began his coaching career at Ligue 2 side Mulhouse in 1985, before moving back to Lyon three years later. Guided Lyon to the Ligue 2 title in 1989 and, working alongside the President Jean-Michel Aulas, helped lay the foundations for the success that the club is enjoying today.

Domenech was always likely to find it difficult to rebuild the France team once Zinedine Zidane and Lilian Thuram announced their decisions to retire from international football.

Not surprisingly the Coach turned to youth at the start of France’s 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, preferring to blood the likes of Sébastien Squillaci, Gaël Givet, Alou Diarra and Camel Meriem rather than more experienced campaigners such as Mikaël Silvestre, Olivier Dacourt and Yohan Micoud.

He also angered some of the more experienced players by laying down strict rules, including wearing shin pads during training sessions, limiting the use of mobile phones and insisting players respected designated meal times. Soon Claude Makelele joined Zidane, Thuram, Bixente Lizarazu and Marcel Desailly in retirement, while Robert Pires spoke out of turn so often that the trainer was eventually forced to leave the winger out.

A series of drawn matches left France and Domenech in a precarious position, but the Coach's popularity soared in August 2005 when Zidane revealed that both he and Makelele were returning to the international fold after the France Coach had made several persuasive visits to Madrid to force him into a re-think.