France turn to Santini

The French Football Federation (FFF) has named Jacques Santini as the new coach of the national team. He succeeds Roger Lemerre who was sacked after his side's disappointing showing at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Stiff competition
FFF president Claude Simonet announced Santini's appointment following a meeting of the federal council in Paris. "I selected Santini because he was respected by all of the French football family and because of his results as a coach with Olympique Lyonnais," Simonet said.

Other candidates
Three other candidates were on the Federation short list: Philippe Troussier, who steered co-hosts Japan to an unprecedented second-round berth in the World Cup finals last month, France's under-21 coach Raymond Domenech and Rene Girard, a former assistant of Roger Lemerre. All four applicants were interviewed in Paris on Wednesday.

Dominated French football
A member of the famous AS Saint-Etienne team which dominated French football in the 1970s, Santini ended his playing career at Montpellier Hérault SC. He first tasted success as a coach at Toulouse FC before subsequent spells with Lille OSC, St Etienne and FC Sochaux-Montbélliard. It was his two-year spell in charge of Lyon, however, which led to him garnering a reputation as one of France's finest coaches.

EURO 2004™ aim
The main objective of Santini, who led Lyon to their first French championship last season before moving upstairs to become the club's technical director, will be to guide holders France to the final round of the 2004 UEFA European Championship. His first match will be a friendly against Tunisia in Tunis on 21 August ahead of France's opening qualifer against Cyprus on 7 September.

Poor World Cup
Lemerre's sacking followed a poor World Cup which France exited with the worst record of any defending champion having failed to score a goal.