Ex-France player Sagnol named Bordeaux coach

Willy Sagnol (Anja Niedringhaus/AP)

BORDEAUX, France — Former France and Bayern Munich defender Willy Sagnol has been appointed Bordeaux coach on a three-year deal.

The 37-year-old Sagnol, who is currently in charge of France’s under-21 team, will replace Francis Gillot after the club failed to hire France great Zinedine Zidane. Sagnol, who ended his playing career in 2009, has never coached a club team.

Zidane, who played for Bordeaux from 1992-96, was favoured to be the next coach but his attachment to Real Madrid, where two of his sons have come through the team’s youth ranks, proved a crucial factor in turning down a move.

Sagnol was Zidane’s teammate when France reached the 2006 World Cup final in Germany.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.