The France national football team manager was first established on 25 April 1964 following the appointment of the country's first national football team manager Henri Guérin. Before this, the France national football team was selected by a selection committee, a process in which the French Football Federation would select coaches and trainers from within the country or abroad to prepare the side for single games and tournaments, but with all decisions ultimately remaining under the control of the committee.
In the early 20th century, the figure of manager as known today did not yet exist, so it was the captain who had the duty of making up the line-ups and dictating the tactics to be followed; therefore, some French football historians have argued that the first coach of France was Eugène Fraysse, the captain of the French team at the 1900 Olympic Games, who decided to select mostly players from the same club to ensure the cohesion of the team.
The era of the captains came to an end with the introduction of the Commission Centrale d'Association, a selection committee headed by the USFSA. The first chairman of this committee was Robert Guérin, founder of FIFA, who organized France's inaugural match in May 1904 and then coached the team from the sidelines with the help of Ernest Weber, the correspondent for the French newspaper L'Auto, who remained a very present and influential figure in the locker room of the national team until 1907. In 1906, Guérin resigned from his position at the USFSA, which included that of coach of the Blues, and was replaced by André Espir, Parisian, and André Billy, Northerner. During the years of Guérin, the French team was largely made up of only Parisians, but under Billy, the Northerners made their entrance on a large scale, thus suddenly "de-Parisianized" the selection.
In 1908, the USFSA left FIFA and its vacated place was quickly seized by French Interfederal Committee (CFI), whose president Charles Simon thus became the new coach of the national team, alongside Louis Chailloux. They served as such until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, during which Simon was killed, being replaced by Henri Delaunay.
The CFI was a forerunner for the French Football Federation, and following its creation in 1919, the committee was converted into a five-man board and lasted for 45 years, from 1919 to 1964. Gaston Barreau served as the head of the committee in two different stints; from 1920 to 1945, and again from 1949 until he died in 1958. From 1945âÂÂ1949, Gabriel Hanot headed the committee and, following Barreau's death, Paul Nicolas (1958âÂÂ1959) and Georges Verriest (1959âÂÂ1964) controlled the committee until it was officially disbanded in 1964. During the period of the selection committee, the national team was coached by several British managers, such as Thomas Griffiths (English) in 1924, while Peter Farmer (Scottish) coached the team at the 1928 Summer Olympics, but the first official foreign manager of the team was the Romanian ÃÂtefan Kovács, who took charge on 8 August 1973.
Fifteen men have occupied the post since its inception; three of those were in short-term caretaker manager roles: José Arribas and Jean Snella managed the team in dual roles and presided over four matches and former France international Just Fontaine managed the team for two matches in 1967. The longest tenure by a France national team manager is the current manager Didier Deschamps, who has managed the team since 8 July 2012. Four managers have won major tournaments while managing the national team. The first was Michel Hidalgo, who managed the team from 1976âÂÂ1984, which is the second-longest tenure behind Domenech. Hidalgo won UEFA Euro 1984. In 1998, Aimé Jacquet won the 1998 FIFA World Cup on home soil and, two years later, Roger Lemerre led the team to glory at UEFA Euro 2000. Lemerre also won the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. Finally, current manager Didier Deschamps won the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, twenty years after he lifted the trophy as captain. The current manager of the France national team is former international Didier Deschamps who replaced fellow international Laurent Blanc following the UEFA Euro 2012 on 8 July 2012.
The statistics below detail the managers of the France national football team during their tenure as manager. Though a selection committee was used from 1919âÂÂ1964, the table details the managerial statistics of the coaches who were under the watch of the selection committee, though the statistics are unofficial as determined by the French Football Federation.
<small><sup>1</sup>Managerial career as head of selection committee. Team was sometimes trained by physical trainers and coached by assistants. Englishman Thomas Griffiths coached the team in 1924, while Scotsman Peter Farmer coached the team at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Englishman Sid Kimpton coached the team for a portion of 1934 and 1935âÂÂ36.</small><br/> <small><sup>2</sup>Managerial career as head of selection committee. Team was trained by physical trainers Bacquet, Helenio Herrera, and Paul Baron.</small><br/> <small><sup>3</sup>Batteux coached an unofficial France team composed of young players, referred to in France as Espoirs, to an 8âÂÂ0 victory over Luxembourg in 1953. The match was a qualification match for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. The victory is listed in his 1956âÂÂ1960 tenure as manager.</small>