Domenech’s starry-eyed approach has been bad news for any Scorpios; he sees their star sign as a negative one that he would rather not have in his French team. One Scorpio who realised the stars were against him was Robert Pires, as Domenech’s appointment as France coach effectively signalled the end of the former Arsenal player’s International career. Domenech’s dislike of Pires’ star sign was first reported before the World Cup in Germany. At the time, Pires couldn’t understand why his new coach had taken such a dislike to him. He said: “I must be annoying him. It's like being at school. It's like I'm 20 years old and playing football for the first time.” Although Pires continues to play for Spanish side Villarreal, he has never played for his country since.
Bruno Pedretti is another Scorpio who has faced Domenech’s wrath and been dropped from the first team. Fellow Scorpios Anthony Réveillère and Charles Itandje, the Liverpool goalie, are regularly called up to play on the team, but let’s face it – they can’t be too confident about their chances.
However, Scorpios are not the only star sign that are in the line of fire; Domenech has also expressed his distaste for Leos. He said: “When I have got a Leo in defence, I've always got my gun ready, as I know he's going to want to show off at one moment or another and cost us.” However, Domenech often has William Gallas, Gael Clichy, Julien Escude and Sebastien Squillaci in his squad, who all boast Leo as their star sign, so he must enjoy taking a chance on them.
While Domenech denies that he selects his teams solely by consulting their signs of the zodiac, he would not rule out astrology altogether. He said, “all parameters have to be considered and I have added one by saying there is astrology involved.”
Raymond Domenech took over as France’s first team coach from Spurs-bound Jacques Santini after France's shocking defeat to Greece in Euro 2004. Domenech had previously coached the nation’s Under-21 team, although he seemed to start his new position with relatively little support or even much fuss. Since he was made France’s coach, Domenech has led the team to victory by helping them obtain two major tournament qualifications, as well as a successful World Cup campaign, which saw the team lose only on penalties.
Despite his rather unorthodox selection procedures, Domenech’s successes so far seem to reveal that perhaps there is some method in his madness. Who knows? Maybe the stars are shining on him after all.
