Antoine Krilone Kombouaré (; born 16 November 1963) is a French professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and former player who is the head coach of

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

Playing career

Born in the

French overseas territory Overseas France (french: France d'outre-mer) consists of 13 French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that chose to remain a part of the French state under various statuses after decoloni ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, Kombouaré began his career at local club WS Plum Nouméa in

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, a ...

in 1975, before moving to mainland France with

in 1983. He later joined

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

in 1990. At the Parisian club, he became famous for a winning header he scored in the dying seconds of a

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

quarter-final match against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

during the 1992–93 season. The header qualified PSG for the next round with a 4–1 scoreline. Kombouaré had already scored a decisive goal in similar circumstances against

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

in the previous round. His habit of netting tie-deciding headers earned him the name of ''"Casque d'Or"'', which means "Golden Helmet" in French. In 1994–95, during a

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

quarter-final against Johan Cruyff's

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

"dream team", Kombouaré captained PSG to a resounding and unexpected 2–1 win which qualified the French side for the semi-final, which they lost to

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

. In all, Kombouaré spent five seasons in Paris, winning the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

in 1993 and 1995 and the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...

in 1995. Kombouaré scored a penalty in the 1993 Coupe de France Final. He also played nine games in the title-winning side of 1993–94 under Artur Jorge. From 1992–93, he found his first-team appearances restricted by the presence of fellow defenders Alain Roche,

Paul Le Guen Paul Joseph Marie Le Guen (, ; born 1 March 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Ligue 2 club Le Havre. During his playing career, Le Guen played as a midfielder, and enjoyed a su ...

and

Ricardo Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...

. Kombouaré became a cult hero among PSG fans for his habit of scoring last-minute winning goals and his presence and composure in big games. Kombouaré signed for Swiss side

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...

in 1995 for an undisclosed fee, then joined

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

a year later for £300,000; he was signed by manager

Roy Aitken Robert Sime "Roy" Aitken (born 24 November 1958) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He made over 480 league appearances for Celtic, and later played for Newcastle United, St Mirren and Aberdeen. Aitken also made 57 international ...

to add experience to the shaky Aberdeen defence. He made 50 appearances for Aberdeen and scored three goals. He left Aberdeen in May 1998.

Managerial career

Strasbourg

In 2003, Kombouaré was already being tipped to coach PSG, the club where he made his name as a player, and had spent four years coaching the reserves team with positive results. However, the arrival of

Vahid Halilhodžić Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 October 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various na ...

at the helm forced him to change his plans. He therefore joined

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

where he achieved an impressive 13th spot in the league, playing some good football along the way. However, a poor start to the 2004–05 season prompted him to leave the Alsace-based club.

Valenciennes

In July 2005, Kombouaré was appointed at

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, then playing in the second tier of French football. In his first season, he led them to promotion to the

top flight Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age. Background Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...

, a level from which the club had been relegated in 1993. In the three seasons that followed, Kombouaré helped the club to stabilize itself at the top level of French football. He improved the club's position in every season: 14th in 2006–07, 13th in 2007–08 and 12th in 2008–09, establishing his credentials as a coach who could achieve impressive results on a tight budget.

Paris Saint-Germain

In May 2009, Kombouaré's former club PSG came calling back to him, offering him the position of manager. He accepted and signed a three-year contract, replacing

, with whom he had played at Nantes and PSG. In 2009–10, the Parisian club, in spite of its new signings such as

Mevlüt Erdinç Mevlüt Erdinç (surname spelt Erding in France; born 25 February 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in France to Turkish parents, he spent most of his career in his country of birth, recording 295 games and ...

and

Grégory Coupet Grégory Coupet (born 31 December 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Throughout his playing career, he represented Saint-Étienne, Lyon, Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as the France n ...

, performed poorly in the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

and finished in mid-table. Kombouaré made up for this by leading the club to success in the Coupe de France, where they beat

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. In 2010–11, he again led the club to the Coupe de France Final, which they lost to French champions

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

. In the

, PSG looked set for a final showdown with fierce rivals

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, but were stunned by

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

in the semi-final. The side performed much better in the

, finishing fourth in spite of a limited playing squad. The Parisians almost achieved qualification to the Champions League, but were let down by tiredness and an inability to perform when it mattered most. However, the attacking brand of football played under Kombouaré's guidance brought acclaim from both fans and writers for the capital club, with many people agreeing that PSG were playing their best football since

Luis Fernández Luis Miguel Fernández Toledo (born 2 October 1959), known as Luis Fernandez, is a French football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Fernandez spent most of his playing career for Paris Saint-Germain. He earned 6 ...

's first spell as coach between 1994 and 1996. During the 2011–12 season, PSG crashed out of the

and the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

during the first half of the season, and on 29 December 2011 – with his club top of the table – Kombouaré was sacked by PSG sporting director

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

and replaced by

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...

, putting an end to much speculation about his position at the club. Despite holding top spot in Ligue 1 when he was sacked, the club ultimately finished as runners-up to champions Montpellier.

Al-Hilal

On 27 June 2012, it was confirmed that Kombouaré was appointed head coach of Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal on a one-year deal with an option for a second, but he was sacked on 31 January 2013.

Lens

On 18 June 2013, Kombouaré became manager of

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

, earning his team a promotion in his first season at the club after it finished in second place in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

Guingamp

On 30 May 2016, Kombouaré became manager of Ligue 1 side

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Gui ...

. They finished the season in mid-table. On 6 November 2018, he was sacked due to poor results.

Dijon

On 10 January 2019, Kombouaré became manager of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

, replacing Olivier Dall'Oglio. After winning the relegation play-off to keep Dijon in Ligue 1, he parted ways with the club on 9 June 2019, with Stéphane Jobard taking over as manager on 20 June.

Toulouse

On 14 October 2019, Kombouaré was appointed as manager of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. On 6 January 2020, Toulouse terminated Kombouaré as manager following the club's humiliating 1–0 loss to

Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue ...

side Saint-Pryvé Saint-Hilaire in the Coupe de France. Under Kombouaré, the club had lost ten matches in a row, leading him to be dismissed and replaced by

Denis Zanko Denis Zanko (born 13 April 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He made over 250 league appearances for five different clubs during his playing career before becoming a coach in 1995. He we ...

Nantes

On 11 February 2021, Kombouaré signed with Ligue 1 side Nantes. He joined the club during the second half of the season, helping ''Les Canaris'' stay in Ligue 1. Nantes finished 18th in the league, and won the play-offs against Kombouaré's former side Toulouse. In the 2021–22 season, Kombouaré led Nantes to a Coupe de France victory. They defeated

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

1–0 in the final.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Paris Saint-Germain * Division 1: 1993–94, runner-up: 1992–93 *

: 1992–93, 1994–95 *

: 1994–95 Sion *

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...

: 1995–96

Manager

Valenciennes *

: 2005–06 Paris Saint-Germain *Coupe de France: 2009–10, runner-up: 2010–11 Lens *Ligue 2 runner-up: 2013–14 Nantes * Coupe de France: 2021–22 Individual *Ligue 2

Manager of the Year Manager of the Year may refer to: * Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award * League Managers Association Manager of the Year * Premier League Manager of the Season The Premier League Manager of the Season is an annual association footba ...

: 2005–06

Orders

* Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur: 2015

References

External links

Antoine Kombouaré profile
at Paris Saint-Germain official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kombouare, Antoine 1963 births Living people French people of New Caledonian descent Black French sportspeople Kanak people People from Nouméa New Caledonian footballers French footballers Association football defenders FC Nantes players Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players FC Sion players Aberdeen F.C. players Racing Club de France Football players Ligue 1 players Swiss Super League players Scottish Football League players Championnat National players French expatriate footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate footballers in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Scotland French football managers Paris Saint-Germain F.C. non-playing staff RC Strasbourg Alsace managers Valenciennes FC managers Paris Saint-Germain F.C. managers Al Hilal SFC managers RC Lens managers En Avant Guingamp managers Dijon FCO managers Toulouse FC managers FC Nantes managers Ligue 1 managers Ligue 2 managers Saudi Professional League managers French expatriate football managers French expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur