Michel Der Zakarian set to take charge of Nantes for the third time

Former Armenia national team defender Michel Der Zakarian is close to returning to Nantes. The 63-year-old specialist is expected to take charge of the French club for the third time in his coaching career.

According to French media reports, Nantes’ management is already in advanced talks with Der Zakarian. He is expected to become the team’s new head coach following the club’s relegation to Ligue 2.

Nantes is a very familiar club for Der Zakarian. He has already worked with the team twice before — in the 2007/08 season and then from 2012 to 2016. Under his leadership, the Canaries returned to the top tier of French football twice. In 2008, he guided the club back to Ligue 1, and in 2013 he repeated that achievement.

Now the specialist is set to face a similar task once again — to bring Nantes back to the elite of French football as quickly as possible. The club went through a difficult season and failed to avoid relegation, so the management has decided to rely on a coach who knows the club’s structure well and has already achieved the desired result there.

Der Zakarian’s most recent club was Caen, where his spell in 2025 did not prove particularly successful. However, Nantes hope that his experience and deep knowledge of the club will help him once again become the man capable of restoring the team to its former level.

Michel Der Zakarian is also well known to Armenian fans. In the past, he played for the Armenia national team and remains one of the most prominent Armenian specialists in French football.