Michel Der Zakarian
Der Zakarian as Nantes manager in 2015
Personal information
Full name Michel Der Zakarian
Date of birth (1963-02-18) 18 February 1963
Place of birth Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Montpellier (Manager)
Youth career
1969–1974 Vivaux Maronniers
1974–1979 Mazargues
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1988 Nantes 140 (1)
1988–1998 Montpellier 233 (15)
Total 373 (16)
International career
1996–1997 Armenia 5 (0)
Managerial career
1998–1999 Montpellier C
1999–2006 Montpellier (assistant)
2006 Nantes B
2006–2007 Nantes (assistant)
2007–2008 Nantes
2009–2012 Clermont
2012–2016 Nantes
2016–2017 Reims
2017–2021 Montpellier
2021–2022 Brest
2023– Montpellier
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Michel Der Zakarian (Armenian: Միշել Տեր-Զաքարյան, born on 18 February 1963) is an Armenian football manager and former professional player who played as a defender. He is currently manager of Ligue 1 club Montpellier.

Raised in France, he played for Nantes and Montpellier, and earned five caps for the Armenia national team in the mid-1990s. As a manager, he led Nantes, Montpellier (two spells each) and Brest in Ligue 1, and Clermont and Reims in Ligue 2.

Playing career

Der Zakarian lived in France from a young age (he was raised in Marseille)[1] and spent his entire professional career in the country with Nantes and Montpellier, winning the league with the former in 1983.[2] He was a member of the Armenia national team, participating in five international matches after his debut in a home 1998 World Cup qualifying match against Portugal.

Managerial career

Nantes and Clermont

Der Zakarian was assistant to Georges Eo at Nantes, and succeeded him on 12 February 2007 when the team was 19th in Ligue 1; this was their fifth change of the position since winning the league title in 2001.[3] The Canaris were relegated, and he brought them back immediately from Ligue 2 as runners up to Le Havre, but was sacked on 26 August 2008 after gaining one point from the first three games of the season, and was replaced by Christian Larièpe, who became the interim manager.[4]

On 1 June 2009, Der Zakarian succeeded Didier Ollé-Nicolle at Ligue 2 club Clermont.[5] Despite the club having one of the lowest budgets in the league, he led them to respective finishes of 6th, 7th and 5th in his three seasons before returning to Nantes.[6]

In 2012–13, his first season back at the Stade de la Beaujoire, Der Zakarian again won Nantes promotion to Ligue 1, in third place.[7] He kept them in the top flight in each of the following three seasons, though goals were hard to come by; they netted 38, 29 and 33 respectively over the 38-game campaigns.[2] Club owner Waldemar Kita disliked Der Zakarian and his management, but allowed him to see out his contract instead of paying for a dismissal.[2]

Reims and Montpellier

Der Zakarian left Nantes in May 2016 to sign for two years at Reims, newly relegated to Ligue 2.[8] A year later, he was back in the top flight after leaving by mutual accord to join Montpellier.[9]

In April 2019, Der Zakarian signed a new contract to stay at Montpellier until 2021.[10] The club ended that season in 6th, missing out on UEFA Europa League qualification only due to the results of the domestic cup finals.[2]

Der Zakarian announced in May 2021 that he was leaving Montpellier at the end of the season.[11] He won 2–1 against former club Nantes on his final day, securing 8th place.[12]

Brest

On 22 June 2021, Der Zakarian signed with fellow Ligue 1 side Brest.[13] The team did not win any of their first 11 games, followed by six successive victories including over Monaco and Marseille.[14] Having stayed up in his first season, his contract was automatically extended to 2024.[15]

Der Zakarian was fired on 11 October 2022 with the club in last place, having won once in ten games. Results that season included a 7–0 home loss to Montpellier on 28 August.[15][16]

Return to Montpellier

On 8 February 2023 Der Zakarian returned as manager of Montpellier HSC.[17] On 24 October 2023, Der Zakarian was involved in an altercation with defender Mamadou Sakho, with the defender reportedly grabbing Der Zakarian by the collar before the manager fell to the floor; it is alleged that Sakho was provoked by Der Zakarian calling him a "cry-baby" over a training ground incident.[18]

Personal life

Der Zakarian and his wife Véronique married in 1983.[2]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 14 January 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref.
G W D L Win %
Nantes B 30 June 2006 20 September 2006 7 1 3 3 014.29
Nantes 12 February 2007 26 August 2008 63 26 20 17 041.27
Clermont 1 July 2009 30 May 2012 130 50 41 39 038.46
Nantes 31 May 2012 15 May 2016 173 67 47 59 038.73
Reims 23 May 2016 23 May 2017 42 16 13 13 038.10
Montpellier 23 May 2017 30 June 2021 161 62 54 45 038.51
Brest 1 July 2021 11 October 2022 51 15 13 23 029.41
Montpellier 8 February 2023 Present 35 14 10 11 040.00
Total 662 251 201 210 037.92 —

Honours

Nantes

Montpellier

References

  1. ↑ Der Zakarian, l'enfant de Marseille, [Der Zakarian, the child of Marseille], Johan Tabau, France Football, 17 April 2015
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 White, Adam; Devin, Eric (21 September 2020). "Michel Der Zakarian and Téji Savanier are making Montpellier marvellous". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  3. ↑ Lehousse, Christophe (13 February 2007). "Un nouveau tandem d'entraîneurs au FC Nantes" [A new pair of managers at FC Nantes]. Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  4. ↑ "FC Nantes : Der Zakarian limogé" [FC Nantes: Der Zakarian sacked]. Le Parisien (in French). 26 August 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "Der Zakarian entraîneur de Clermont Foot" [Der Zakarian Clermont manager]. Le Parisien (in French). 1 June 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "Michel Der Zakarian quitte le Clermont Foot" [Michel Der Zakarian leaves Clermont Foot] (in French). France 3. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "FC Nantes. Les quatre vérités de Michel Der Zakarian" [FC Nantes. Michel Der Zakarian's four truths]. Ouest-France (in French). 19 May 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "Stade de Reims : Michel Der Zakarian nommé entraîneur (officiel)" [Stade de Reims: Michel Der Zakarian named manager (official)]. L'Équipe (in French). 23 May 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Football. Michel Der Zakarian à Montpellier, c'est officiel" [Football. Michel Der Zakarian to Montpellier, it's official]. Ouest-France (in French). 22 May 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  10. ↑ "Mishel [sic] Der Zakarian extends contract with Montpellier HSC". News.am. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "Michel Der Zakarian quitting Montpellier HSC". News.am. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "Nantes in relegation play-off, Rennes in Europe". Ligue 1. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "Michel Der Zakarian nommé entraîneur du Stade Brestois (officiel)" [Michel Der Zakarian named manager of Stade Brestois]. L'Équipe (in French). 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  14. ↑ Devin, Eric (6 December 2021). "Michel Der Zakarian has sparked an incredible revival in Brest's form". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  15. 1 2 Grammont, Stephane (11 October 2022). "Ligue 1. Michel Der Zakarian "mis à pied" par le Stade brestois" [Ligue 1. Michel Der Zakarian "laid off" by Stade Brestois] (in French). France 3. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  16. ↑ Devin, Eric (17 October 2022). "Sacking season hits Ligue 1 as four managers lose their jobs in a week". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "Michel Der Zakarian de retour à la maison" [Michel Der Zakarian returns home]. Montpellier HSC (in French). 8 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  18. ↑ "Mamadou Sakho fights & 'grabs manager by collar' after being called a 'cry-baby'". This is Anfield. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  19. ↑ "France League Cup 1991/92". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
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