Domenech happy to be unpopular

FRANCE coach Raymond Domenech has said he has learned to live with the unpopularity that brought him to the verge of being sacked last year.

The soon-to-be 57-year-old took over the reins of Les Bleus in 2004 having previously coached the youth side and won grudging praise when he led the French to the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin, where they lost on penalties to Italy. But a dreadful Euro 2008 campaign when the French failed to get out of the group, brought calls for his head and an inept 3-1 loss to Austria at the start of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers raised pressure further.

Domenech’s taciturn nature did not help his cause with players, officials and the French public, but thanks largely to an away draw in Romania and a home win over Serbia, he survived a vote of confidence.