Michel Der Zakarian


Michel Der Zakarian is an Armenian former professional footballer who played as a defender, and a current coach of Montpellier HSC.

Playing career

Der Zakarian spent his entire professional career in France, with Nantes and Montpellier. He was a member of the Armenia national team, participated in five international matches since his debut in home 1998 World Cup qualifying match against Portugal.

Managerial career

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. 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 Alain Perrin.
On 1 June 2009, Der Zakarian succeeded Didier Ollé-Nicolle at Ligue 2 club Clermont. 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. In 2012–13, his first season back at the Stade de la Beaujoire, he again won Nantes promotion to Ligue 1, in third place.
Der Zakarian left Nantes in May 2016 to sign for two years at Reims, newly relegated to Ligue 2. A year later, he was back in the top flight after leaving by mutual accord to join Montpellier.

Managerial statistics

Achievements

Club

Nantes
Montpellier