Fabien Barthez Goes And Kills His Career As Nantes Plummets

By: Sam | April 29th, 2007

Parents, please, for the well-being of your young, I plead you not to let them around former/current Nantes goalkeeper and former (for sure) French international Fabien Barthez. He doesn’t belong on the pitch anymore, he belongs in a straightjacket.

Following les Canaris’ loss to Rennes on Saturday, more or less sealing their fate of relegation, le Divin Chauve lost it and assaulted a fan in the stadium parking lot. As the renowned L’Équipe has it, a small group of young men who were constantly booing and calling Fab names during the game waited around and insulted him as he left the stadium. One of them supposedly took out his anger on Barthez’s car’s hood, to which the man took exception. A punch followed, and it took a few cops to disperse the growing crowd.

After this, it was reported that Barthez contacted the head offices of FCNA and announced he was going to leave the club for good.

This has not been Fabien’s year. After ending last season on a high note, after leaving Marseille on very good terms with the supporters, and very nearly winning the World Cup with the French national team, the 35-year old started looking for a club to cap off his career perfectly. Not finding a buyer, it took a mid-season decision from Nantes to fire their then-keeper Vladimir Stojkovic and hire Barthez as a last resort to try and stop the slippery slope they were on. What’s more, after a dismal season with the Breton club, highlighted by his AWOL after giving a lesson on making an ass of himself against Sedan, it seems that his career is definitely over, on a very sour note indeed.

Let’s hope he’s remembered for his good side rather than his recent bad one.

Category: France Ligue 1, Player News, Team News, Transfers and Player Movement

Tags: Dejan Stankovic, Fabien Barthez, France Ligue 1, Ligue 2, Manchester United, Nantes (FCNA), Player News, Team News, Transfers and Player Movement, World Cup

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Comments  

• Inara |  April 30th, 2007 at 12:45 pm

  
  
  

  I don’t think Barthez should have left like that. He could hire a bodyguard, but he should have honored his contract, especially as Nantes are about to die.

  Nantes let their former goalkeeper go, right? Stokovic or something like that? Too bad, because their backup is probably some scared little kid.

  Posted from United States

  

• sandrahn |  April 30th, 2007 at 1:28 pm

  
  
  

  Sorry but I can’t come down against Barthez’s actions as much as you have. Nantes fans have been dogging him and insulting him for weeks, following his car, throwing stuff at him. You should hear the stuff they shout and throw at him during matches. He’s been the target of lots of ugly stuff. Those fans surrounded his car, shouted obscenities and banged on his car. He lost his temper — quite understandably. It’s too bad. He should never have taken the job.

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• Inara |  April 30th, 2007 at 1:54 pm

  
  
  

  I guess my sympathy for Barthez started running a little dry after earlier bust ups he had with his fellow players and managers.

  He could still have gone to practice the next day to say goodbye to his teammates. But he only said goodbye to the shop owners he lives near according to L’Equipe, and he walked out on a team that is otherwise sticking together.

  I feel for Barthez, I really do. But he had only a few more weeks to go. If there were death threats against his family, I can understand. But being the target of ugly behavior?

  If Jose Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Stephen Hunt, Raul, etc, quit every time they suffered a fan attack, people would be leaving their clubs left and right. I know Ronaldo wanted to quit, but his club didn’t let him, despite the fact that he’s faced far more serious things than Barthez did.

  You can say that Barthez doesn’t have that same loyalty to Nantes, and that he doesn’t owe them anything, but he signed a contract in good faith, and I would have appreciated that he at least tried to honor it.

  What Barthez suffered was ugly and unfortunate, but it isn’t unique. As a famous player, just as he was bound to get all the praise, he’s also bound to get all of the criticism directed at Nantes.

  Posted from United States

  

• Inara |  April 30th, 2007 at 1:55 pm

  
  
  

  Just to be clear, I do not in any way condone violent fan action. I think those supporters should be arrested and jailed, and what they did was a disgrace to the Yellow House.

  Posted from United States

  

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