Who is Ahmed Kantari, FC Nantes' new manager?
After having replaced Luis Castro as the manager of FC Nantes last week, Ahmed Kantari faces an uphill battle to save Les Canaris from relegation. Learn more about the young manager in our latest profile.
A long and winding playing career
Born in the town of Blois (also the hometown of Nantes legend Philippe Gondet) in the Rhône region of France, Kantari was spotted playing for local club CAA Blois and signed by Paris Saint-Germain. A technically accomplished centre back, he would sign a first professional contract at the age of twenty and captain the reserves, but would depart without having made a single appearance in the league for the capital side. Despite not reaching the first team, Kantari impressed those around him with his leadership, including Guy Lacombe, then head coach. "I know him well, having had him as a player at PSG and I immediately noticed that he had personality. He was a unifier and already knew how to talk to his teammates, when he was only 20 years old."
Following a disappointing exit from Paris, Kantari joined RC Strasbourg, where he also failed to make an impact, before spending the 2007/8 season on loan at Stade Brestois. With Les Pirates, he was an unqualified success, helping to earn promotion and continuing to be a regular in the first team. Further stints with RC Lens and Toroto FC (Major League Soccer) followed before he ended his playing career with Valenciennes in 2019.
→ Première séance avec le groupe pour Ahmed Kantari. pic.twitter.com/4zERFyZwHp
— FC Nantes (@FCNantes) December 11, 2025
Managerial beginnings and A tough start
After a brief spell as an assistant with Valenciennes, he joined US Concarneau at Nottingham Forest in England in 2020, but his time there was cut short by Lamouchi's dismissal. After an itinerant career as an assistant, he would rejoin Les Athéniens in December 2023. While he couldn't avoid relegation from Ligue 2 that season, he would lead the team to the semifinals of the Coupe de France before being let go the following season with promotion from the third tier looking unlikely.
Following his dismissal from Valenciennes, Kantari signed on with Nantes as the first team coach under Antoine Kombouaré, helping the Bretons avoid the drop last season. Back with the club having departed after the arrival of Castro, he signed a contract through the end of the season, and will look to keep Les Canaris' heads above water in a challenging season.
A first match as a new manager is never easy, and doubly so when it's a derby, as was the case for Kantari's debut on Friday evening. Angers have quietly been one of the strongest teams in Ligue 1 McDonald's of late, and a goal from youngster Sidiki Cherif helped make the difference as Le SCO won 4-1. Despite a frustrating result, Kantari underscored that the positivity that helped the team avoid relegation last season would be instrumental in the current campaign: "We experienced some great moments together with staying in the league last season; a happy locker room is a winning locker room. And that's what's going to be important: being able to put in the effort to get points and get ourselves out of this situation!"
And while his first league match was unkind to him, Kantari will no doubt take heart in the return of the Coupe de France this weekend, where Nantes will take on US Concarneau looking for a confidence-boosting win.
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