Bosnian-Herzegovinian football coach Vahid Halihodžić said today that love for Nantes prevailed over his decision to take over the club until the end of the season.
“This is my club. When they contacted me, I first said no. It took me three days to agree. My coaching career was over, I came to try to save the club,” the 73-year-old Halilhodžić said at a press conference.
Nantes is an eight-time French champion and has long been considered the club with one of the best youth academies in the country. The club has won the Coupe de France four times and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 1996.
The team currently sits 17th in the 18-team league, with nine rounds remaining.
Halilhodžić is the third coach of the season, replacing Ahmed Kantari, who was sacked after just three months. Before that, Luis Castro led the team for 15 games. Nantes are seven points clear of the relegation zone and two points behind 16th place, which leads to the relegation play-offs.
“This is almost an impossible mission, I came to try something extraordinary. The first goal is the play-offs, and the second is to play better,” said Halilhodžić, adding that he is also motivated by the fans who fill the stadium.
Halilhodžić previously won the title with Nantes as a player in 1983 and is third on the club’s all-time scorer list with 93 goals in the league. As a coach, he has managed clubs such as Lille and Paris Saint-Germain, and as a coach he has also worked with the national teams of Ivory Coast, Algeria, Japan and Morocco.
“I shout in training and they can hear me all the way to Paris. I ride a bike, I use a treadmill, I do push-ups, more than the players. I try to motivate the players in my own way,” said Halilhodžić.
