While an internal investigation has been opened into the management of Corinne Deacon and the conclusions will have to be made this Thursday, March 9 on the occasion of a new Comex within the FFF, the coach of the France team Corinne Deacon spoke in a press release sent to AFP, castigating the relentlessness around her. “In view of the shameful media outburst of recent days, I nevertheless wish to publicly reaffirm […] that I am fully determined to carry out my mission, said the former tricolor international. And above all, to honor France at the next World Cup.”
A few days ago, the captain of the France team Wendie Fox, but also the striker Marie Antoinette Katoto or Kadidiatou Diani have decided to withdraw from the selection because of the management of the coach. For Corinne Deacon, this is a personal account settlement, absolutely not based on the athlete. “For more than ten days, I have been the subject of a smear campaign that astounds with its violence and dishonesty. My detractors do not hesitate – without bothering with the truth – to attack my personal integrity and professional, four months from the World Cup. I will not allow myself to be affected by this destabilization operation, which does not take into account my sporting record, and which has the sole objective of settling personal scores.” Despite this declaration, the days seem to be numbered. According to information from RMC Sport, the profile of Hervé Renard is very popular within the FFF….
Biography Corinne Deacon. Corinne Deacon was born on August 4, 1974 in Croix in the North in the Hauts-de-France region. As a junior, she played in three clubs (CO Saint-Chamond from 1982 to 1983, SS Aubusson between 1983 and 1986, ES Azérables between 1986 and 1988) before turning professional at ASJ Soyaux where she played more than 350 matches from 1988 to 2007, a record at the time. Sandrine Soubeyrand, Camille Abily and Gaëtane Thiney have passed him since.
Central defender, she played on March 9, 1993, her first match with the French women’s football team. In total, Corinne Deacon played 121 games with Les Bleues for 14 goals. After retiring in August 2005, she immediately began a career as a coach at ASJ Soyaux, her lifelong club. She joined as assistant in 2013 Bruno Bini, coach of the French women’s team before becoming the coach of Clermont Foot 63 between 2014 and 2017. Since August 30, 2017, she has been the coach of Les Bleues.
What is Corinne Deacon’s track record?
When she was a player, Corinne Deacon did not win any trophies. As a coach, she won the French tournament with Les Bleues twice, in 2020 and 2022.
Corinne Deacon in Clermont
After the early departure of the Portuguese Helena Costa, Corinne Deacon was chosen on June 28, 2014 from among many coaches to become the new technician of Clermont Foot 63. She stayed three seasons in Auvergne where she failed to get the rise in Ligue 1 with its players. She was voted best Ligue 2 coach by France Football at the end of 2015.
Corinne Deacon and the French team
On August 30, 2017, Corinne Deacon succeeded Olivier Echouafni and became the new coach of the France team where she signed a four-year contract with the French Football Federation. Extended until 2022 after the postponement of the Euro (July 6 to 31, 2022), Corinne Deacon has sometimes been questioned by certain executives such as Sarah Bouhaddi or Amanda Henry. After several controversies around her management, the coach of the France team wanted to put an end to certain quarrels around the Bleues on November 19, 2020, recalling in particular her captain Amandine Henry: “I have heard the critical statements lately but now is not the time to settle this issue as the national team plays its future on the pitch. We will settle them eye to eye, I will not use in no way the media as an intermediary.”
If Nöel Le Graët supported Corinne Deacon in February 2021, he nevertheless underlined the poor communication between the coach and certain players: “Her sporting record is very good. She has toughened up, maybe a little too much… There is no doubt better communication to be done.”
Corinne Deacon and Amandine Henry
For several years now, the conflict between Corinne Deacon and Amandine Henry have punctuated the gatherings of the France team since the latter is no longer called up to Les Bleues. “Amandine Henry had decided to raise her voice vis-à-vis Deacon, during an interview broadcast in the Canal Football Club. The player had expressed her incomprehension and had castigated the method used by Deacon, in last October, to tell him that she was not keeping her in the group. “The call lasted fourteen, fifteen seconds, she had told. I will remember it all my life. Instantly, I was shocked. She said to me: ”The list comes out tomorrow and you won’t be on it based on your current performance’. I remain speechless. I say, ‘Okay. Good game. Bye’. That’s all. If it’s a sporting choice, you try to remobilize your player: ‘Don’t worry, you’ll come back to your best level’. In addition, I felt very good sportingly, my coaches in Lyon confirmed it to me. So there, I said to myself, ‘there is a problem’. Amandine Henry had also criticized the management of the coach during the 2019 World Cup. “”I saw girls crying in their room. Me, personally, I sometimes cried in my room. In the end, it was total chaos (…) because of the atmosphere, the management and the general atmosphere”. Since then, Eugenie Le SommerWendie Renard in particular also took the floor.