Philippe Montanier named Saint-Étienne coach, ending a long spell out | OneFootball

Philippe Montanier, 61, has been confirmed as Saint-Étienne head coach, ending two and a half years of relative inactivity.

Last Wednesday, at Réunion airport and about to board for Perth, he took the call confirming a return to his lifelong club. According to L'Équipe, he switched plans, flew back to mainland France on Thursday and drove to Saint-Étienne on Saturday.

Out of respect for predecessor Eirik Horneland, he did not attend Geoffroy-Guichard that evening, watching the 0-1 loss to Boulogne-sur-Mer from a hotel. He began work on Sunday.

He missed Monday’s Unecatef board meeting. He has long been influential there, and could have succeeded Raymond Domenech on 6 May 2024, but passed as coaching still appealed. After leaving Toulouse on 14 June 2023, he had intended a one-year break.

Initial interest faded, a Laurent Blanc-style syndrome, after he rebuffed approaches despite winning Ligue 2 in 2022 and the Coupe de France in 2023 with a 5-1 final over Nantes on 29 April. He kept fit with boxing, visited his daughter abroad and, in year two, accompanied his mother until her death.

He maintained his English with lessons, helped design Unecatef’s English-football MasterClass and worked on FFF assignments. A former DTN member in 2017-2018, he sat on the BEPF selection jury and returned to Clairefontaine last autumn to deliver a two-hour data session. He says he is full of energy, and that his wife welcomes the return as it will give her a rest.

Source: L'Équipe