A willingly loudmouthed trainer, Antoine Kombouaré is above all a man of heart and sensitivity, his emotions often on edge. The Kanak, who is playing in the Coupe de France final this Saturday against Nice after saving his training club from relegation last season (victory in the play-offs against Toulouse) is very close to his players. They like it a lot too.
In an interview with Eurosport before this final of the Coupe de France, Kombouaré could not hide his strong emotion when his relations with his players and in particular with his striker Randal Kolo Muani were mentioned. Nantes’ top scorer, who will leave for Eintracht Frankfurt next season, said he considered his coach “his father. »
“We do this work with the idea of being human”
At these words, Kombouaré cracked. We saw him stay silent, head down, eyes moist, unable to regain control, for about twenty seconds. “Excuse me”, he sighed before explaining his conception of the coaching profession. “We do this work with the idea of being human,” he explains afterwards. Of course we are talking about commitment, duels, winning, but above all it is about relationships. This is what I have always woven with my players, these are father-son relationships. »