Key Takeaways
- FC Nantes are close to relegation from Ligue 1 for the first time since 2012 after years of poor leadership under owner Waldemar Kita.
- Kita has appointed 23 different managers since 2007, with only two staying for more than 50 matches.
- Current coach Vahid Halilhodzic, aged 73, describes saving the team as “mission almost impossible” and has heavily criticised the club’s chaotic structure.
In the 1990s, FC Nantes were famous for beautiful attacking football. They won the French league and reached the Champions League semi-finals. Today, the club is known only for chaos and mismanagement.
The team sits near the bottom of Ligue 1. They have not won a match since March. Many fans think the team will drop to Ligue 2.
Vahid Halilhodzic returned as manager in March at age 73. He had managed the club before, leaving in 2021. At that time, he warned of “improvisation and incompetence at every level”. Now he says saving Nantes is “mission almost impossible”.
The owner is Waldemar Kita. He bought the club in 2007. Since then, he has hired 23 managers. This season alone, three coaches have led the team. Kita recently blamed former manager Luís Castro for the crisis. Castro left in December after winning only two of fifteen matches. However, critics say Kita himself is responsible. He refuses to give managers time to build a team.
Antoine Kombouaré saved Nantes from relegation in 2024. The club wanted him back this year, but he chose to manage Paris FC instead. He has already improved their results with an unbeaten run.
Nantes have scored fewer goals than any other team in Ligue 1 this season. They recently lost 2-1 to Rennes. With only four wins all year, they look certain to drop to the second division.
Halilhodzic will leave at the end of the season. The relegation will happen under his watch, but the damage was done long before his return.