With two days to go before the end of the qualifiers for the 2023 AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire, the Madagascar team is already out of the running. Nicolas Dupuis, who had made his return to the bench of Baréa in 2022 has resigned, and the Malagasy federation is looking for a successor.
Fortunately, Malagasy fans had the last African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Algeria to take their minds off things. The local Baréa of Madagascar had won the third place for their first participation, and caused a real sympathy movement on the Big Island. But since then, reality has caught up with local soccer. The A team, which was soundly beaten by the Central African Republic on March 23 and 27 (0-3 in Antanannarivo, 0-2 in Douala ), is already eliminated from the qualifying phase for the next AFCON. The quarter-finalists of the 2019 edition in Egypt had missed the one played in Cameroon in 2022. Nicolas Dupuis, who had returned to the controls after the departure of Eric Rabesandratana, who failed to qualify his team for the final round of qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar, has finally thrown in the towel.
Madagascar will play two more matches, against Ghana in June in Antananarivo, then in September in Angola, with the objective of taking some additional points, while its current counter shows only one unit. But with which coach? According to our information, a meeting of the Executive Committee of the federation is on the agenda for this Wednesday, May 3, and it should be about the succession of Dupuis. Several names are circulating in the corridors of the body, which is known to be shaken by numerous internal conflicts. Some of its members are militating for a local solution in the short term, especially for the next two matches. It would have the advantage of being inexpensive, which is a significant argument for a federation that is not rolling in money.
Fernandez, Dumas, rumor or credible leads?
Others advocate the recruitment of an experienced foreign coach, an obviously more expensive operation. In recent days, the name of Luis Fernandez (63 years old) has been circulating. The former French international has already coached two national teams in the past – Israel (2010-2011) and Guinea (2015-2016) – but he has not coached for almost seven years, and is mostly occupied by his media activities on BeInsport. There is also talk of Franck Dumas (55), free since his departure from TP Mazembe (DR Congo) last October. In Antananarivo, some also mention an interest of Faneva Andriatsima (38), the former captain of the Baréa, of the Portuguese Fabiano José Costa Flora, who was Rabesandratana’s assistant before passing by Spartaks (Latvia) and Al-Sahel Club (Saudi Arabia) until last December, and even of Rabesandratana!
“There are other names, I do not know when the decision will be made to appoint a new coach, but there is obviously a willingness to move forward on the issue,” confirms a source close to the federation. The year 2023 promises to be a busy one, as the election of a new federation president is scheduled for next November. There is plenty of time to appoint a new coach…
