Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin startled French football fans last weekend when he declared on live television that he had decided to fire manager Michel Der Zakarian.
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Montpellier has only won one game in Ligue 1 this season, and their situation worsened when they were thrashed 5-0 at home by Marseille, cementing their place at the bottom of the league.
The night got off to the worst possible start for Montpellier as Marseille forward Elye Wahi broke the deadlock just 44 seconds into the contest at the Stade de la Mosson.
Following the defeat, Montpellier’s president made the unprecedented move of announcing Der Zakarian’s firing live on television in an interview with DAZN France.
While Benoit Cheyrou and Smail Bouabdellah of DAZN seemed surprised by the news, Nicollin said, “Unfortunately, I’ve taken the initiative to stop Michel tonight because we can’t change 25 players.”
Nicollin said that Der Zakarian’s dismissal was due to Montpellier’s players and insisted that they do better when they play Toulouse at home the following weekend, reports Metro.
In February 2023, Der Zakarian returned to Montpellier for his second stint as manager, following a four-year stint from 2017 to 2021.
Montpellier now has to start looking for a successor to cover the gap left by the Armenian, who played for the team for ten years.
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