Laurent Blanc is not renewing his contract as manager of France national team, the French Football Federation said Saturday. France made it to the Euro 2012 quarter-finals but lost to defending champions Spain.
The favorite to replace Blanc is Didier Deschamps, who played 103 matches for France, and is set to leave as Marseille manager after a difficult last season.
Deschamps would be the ideal choice to replace Blanc, having made no secret of his desire to coach France one day. He was France’s captain when it won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, the national team’s last major trophy, and would be a popular choice.
Blanc was reportedly unhappy he wasn’t offered a contract extension before Euro 2012 had started, with the FFF preferring to wait and see how the team performed.
France lost its final group match to last-place Sweden to set up a clash against Spain in the quarterfinals, losing 2-0 to the defending champions in a largely defensive performance