Philippe Montanier

Philippe Jacques William Montanier was born on 15 November 1964 in Vernon, Eure. He spent most of his playing career with nearby Norman club Caen, while also representing Toulouse. After playing in Ligue 2 for Gueugnon, he concluded his career at Saint-Étienne.

Early career

In the early 2000s, Montanier was assistant to his former Caen boss Robert Nouzaret at Toulouse, Bastia and the Ivory Coast national team. Montanier was head coach of Boulogne from 2004 and was named Ligue 2 Manager of the Year in 2009. After achieving promotion to Ligue 1, he left Boulogne for Valenciennes on 3 June 2009.

Real Sociedad

Montanier was offered the job as La Liga club Real Sociedad manager, signing a two-year contract with the club on 4 June 2011. On his debut on 27 August, his team began the season with a 2–1 win at Sporting de Gijón with two goals from Imanol Agirretxe. On 19 January 2013, with the winning goal by the same player, Montanier's team won 3–2 at home to Barcelona to end the visitors' unbeaten run of 18 wins and a draw. They also won home and away in the Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao – the latter being the last such fixture at the old San Mamés Stadium – to finish fourth and qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

Rennes

On 21 May 2013, it was announced that Montanier would not extend his contract at Real Sociedad, and he agreed to join Rennes the same day. He signed a deal of three years. In his first season, he led the team to the Coupe de France final, defeating former clubs Valenciennes and Boulogne in earlier rounds before a 2–0 defeat to Guingamp at the Stade de France.

Nottingham Forest

On 27 June 2016, Montanier was appointed manager of EFL Championship side Nottingham Forest. His…

Manager

Boulogne

Championnat National 2: 2004–05 Rennes

Coupe de France runner-up: 2013–14 Toulouse

Ligue 2: 2021–22 Coupe de France: 2022–23 Individual

Ligue 2 Manager of the Year: 2008–09, 2021–22