Former PSG coach Kombouare takes over at Lens

 

Former Paris Saint Germain coach Antoine Kombouare replaced Eric Sikora in the hot seat at 1998 French champions Lens it was announced by the Ligue 2 club on Tuesday.

Kombouare, who coached PSG from 2009 to December 2011 when he was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti by the club’s Qatari owners, has been out of a job since he was sacked by Saudi club Al-Hilal at the end of January.

“Gervais Martel wants Antoine Kombouare to be the new coach of Racing Club de Lens,” the club announced in a statement.

“The two men will give a press conference once the purchase of the club has been officialised.”

Martel and his Azerbaijani business partner Hafiz Mammadov are in the process of buying the majority shareholding in the club from the present largest stakeholder Credit Agricole Nord de France (CANF).

Martel, who was the president of the club when Lens won the title and the 1999 League Cup, was forced out as president in July 2012 after 24 years in the post when he failed to come up with the money to buy the majority stake.

CANF became the major shareholder in May 2011 when the club was in serious financial trouble, taking 70% of the shares to Martel’s 27.34%.

Lens, who were relegated to Ligue 2 in 2011, failed to gain promotion last season, finishing 12th in the table, though, they reached the French Cup quarter-finals.