Ahmed Kantari appointed Nantes head coach, should stay until end of season | OneFootball

Ahmed Kantari has been confirmed as Nantes head coach, a day after Luis Castro was sacked. He should remain in post until the end of the season, the club said in a statement.

Kantari returns to La Jonelière after assisting Antoine Kombouaré during the second half of last season, leaving in June when his contract ended. The squad has been overhauled this summer despite limited investment for economic reasons, with greater trust placed in homegrown players.

Aged 40, the former Morocco centre-back, capped 15 times, has held the BEPF since May. He was in the frame to replace Kombouaré in June before the job went to Castro. Since then he has worked as a Ligue 1+ consultant and has commentated several Nantes matches.

This is not his first stint as a head coach, he led Valenciennes in Ligue 2 then National from April 2023 to November 2024.

At Nantes he will be assisted by Éric Blahic, 60, a seasoned number two linked with Rennes recently when Habib Beye's future was uncertain. Blahic has significant Ligue 1 experience with Jocelyn Gourvennec at Guingamp and Bordeaux and with Guy Lacombe, including at PSG, where he crossed paths with Kantari the player.

The staff is completed by Stéphane Mangione, 45, who worked with him at Valenciennes, and fitness coach Gilles Marambaud, 43, formerly at Marseille from 2022 to 2024.

Source: L'Équipe