French World Cup winning coach says Domenech must go

Paris, Nov 27: The man who coached France to its first World Cup win in 1998, Aime Jacquet, has fiercely criticized the current manager, saying in comments published Friday that Raymond Domenech should already have been fired.

"When you are in a post like his, which was also mine, four years is enough," Jacquet said in an interview published in France Football magazine. "Because afterwards, it's too difficult. There are too many conditions that keep you from working well."

Jacquet coached France from 1994 to 1998, when Les Bleus won the World Cup on their home turf. Domenech took over the side in 2004.

Jacquet said the French Football Federation (FFF), which hires and fires the coaches, "did not understand" what the job was all about.

"It's a job you can only perform well for four years because it is so exposed," he said.

Jacquet also criticized Domenech for his reluctance to talk about the team.

"Raymond has to provide explanations about what happened and, in a more general manner, what's been happening since Euro 2008. Even the players expect that," he said.

The editor-in-chief of France Football magazine, Denis Chaumier, told Europe 1 radio Friday that Jacquet, who rarely comments publicly, was moved to speak because he was "shocked" by France's poor performance in the second World Cup qualification match against Ireland.

Badly outplayed at home for the entire game, France won qualification when William Gallas score an extra-time goal made possible by a flagrant handball by striker Thierry Henry.