Corinne Diacre facts for kids

Corinne Catherine Diacre (born 4 August 1974) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. She played her entire club career with Soyaux in the Division 1. She was also an international player with the France national team from 1993 to 2005, captaining the team for much of that period.

In August 2014, she became the first woman to coach a men's professional football team (Clermont) in a competitive match in France. Diacre continued to manage Clermont for three seasons until taking up the position as head coach of the French women's national team, a job she lost in March 2023. Diacre’s tenure with France was notably marred with controversies.

Playing career

Club

Diacre joined amateur club ASJ Soyaux in 1988, and quickly stood out for her strong character. She remained with Soyaux throughout her entire career. Prior to her final 2006-07 season, she received many proposals from American clubs, but stayed in France. In October 2006, she was injured during a match between Soyaux and Montpellier, suffering from an ACL tear in her right knee. This injury ended her footballing career at the age of 32.

During her career 19-year-long career, she played around 350 D1 matches, which was a record at the time. She has since been overtaken by Sandrine Soubeyrand, Gaëtane Thiney and Camille Abily.

International

Diacre began her French national team career at the age of 18, debuting for the team on March 9, 1993. She was given captaincy a few years after her debut. Diacre then went on to represent France in the 1997, 2001 and 2005 European Championships, serving as the team's captain.

Diacre scored the goal against England that qualified France for the 2003 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the first round. In August 2005, Diacre retired from the France national team at the age of 31, finishing her career with 121 national team caps.

International goals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	30 October 1999	Eindhoven, Netherlands	Netherlands	1–0	1–1	UEFA Women's Euro 2001 qualifying
2.	27 November 1999	Martigues, France	Spain	1–0	1–0
3.	15 April 2000	Castanet-Tolosan, France	Netherlands	1–1	2–1

Coaching career

Diacre previously served as ASJ Soyaux's manager and the French national team's assistant manager.

In June 2014, French men's professional club, Clermont Foot, appointed her as the replacement for head coach Helena Costa. On 4 August, her 40th birthday, she became the first woman to manage in the top two tiers of a men's European League, in a 2–1 Ligue 2 loss at Brest.

After three full seasons all in Ligue 2, on 30 August 2017 Diacre left Clermont to become the manager of France's women's national team. She succeeded Olivier Echouafni and became the first woman in the role since January 2007. At the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, hosted by France, Diacre had the goal by the French Football Federation of reaching the final, despite the draw meaning that they would likely face favourites the United States in the quarter-finals. Despite a 2–1 loss at that stage to that team, Diacre said that she would remain in the job for the duration of her long-term contract.

On 9 March 2023, the France Football Federation terminated Diacre amid reports of several top players, including captain Wendie Renard, refusing to play under her management.

Personal life

In December 2020, Diacre tested positive for COVID-19. Some members of the French women’s national team were reported to nickname her "cocovirus," in relation to her illness.

Honours

Orders

• Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite: 2014

See also

In Spanish: Corinne Diacre para niños

• List of France women's international footballers
• List of footballers with 100 or more caps
• Timeline of women's sports
• List of women's firsts
• Trophées UNFP du football