Former Players : Rabier removed from his position

Former Stade Rennes player Jean-Paul Rabier has been let go from his position as a national coach of Madagascar, France Football’s website announced this Monday.

Rabier, 56, was in position since April last year, and had for mission to qualify his team for the 2012 African Cup of Nations. After the team only managed two defeats in its first two games (0-2 in Nigeria and 0-1 against Ethiopia), the Malagasy federation decided to sack the French manager.

Trained at the Stade Rennais, Jean-Paul Rabier won the Gambardella Cup in 1973, alongside players such as Pierrick Hiard, Jean-Luc Arribart and Christian Gourcuff. A defensive midfielder or a centre back, he played professional football in Rennes until 1979, when he was transferred to Valenciennes. He would go on playing in Laval and Lens before reconverting as a coach in the late 1980s.
Since then, Rabier has notably coached En Avant de Guingamp and FC Rouen before moving abroad and manage African and Asian selections.