20.01.2016 13:12 h

Controversial Courbis takes reigns at Rennes

French outfit Rennes, sixth in Ligue 1, sacked their coach Philippe Montanier on Wednesday and replaced him with the controversial journeyman Rolland Courbis.

The sacking comes a day after Rennes were knocked out of the French Cup by second tier Bourg-en-Bresse and a week after 62-year-old Courbis joined Rennes as an advisor to the club president Rene Ruello.

While the club were sixth in Ligue 1 they had failed to win any of their previous ten home games.

Courbis, who coined the 'Zizou' nickname for Zinedine Zidane while coaching at Bordeaux, has also handled Marseille, Montpellier, Toulouse, Ajaccio and Toulon in the French top flight.

The larger-than-life Courbis once enjoyed a jet-set lifestyle with an Italian Countess, and the two were banned from all casinos in France in 1990 after a major win at the tables was followed by a fraud trial.

Courbis was also shot in the gangland slaying of Corsican underworld character Dominique Rutily in 1996 in a car park at Hyeres, the killers were never found.

A transfer scandal at Marseille also caught up with him and he was sentenced to 21 months in jail, before early released in February 2010 after five months, albeit wearing an electronic bracelet.

So famous is he in France that he had his own puppet in the long running Canal Plus satyrical tv show 'Les Guingnols', which was similar to Britain's 'Spitting Images'.

Montanier is the sixth head coach to stand down in France this season

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