Didier Santini (born 7 September 1968) is a French

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player who manages

Rodez Rodez (, , ; , ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the communau ...

of the French

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. He spent the majority of his playing career in the top two divisions of French football with

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

and

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. In the 2001–02 season, he had a spell with

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

side

Livingston Livingston or Livingstonemay refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North Am ...

Coaching career

After retiring, Santini began his coaching career as a youth coach for

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastia (, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a French professional association football, football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Football in France, ...

. Santini was then appointed manager of

CFA2 The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind ...

club Calvi in 2009. Two years later, he led the team to promotion to the CFA. In the summer 2018, Santini was appointed assistant manager for

China national under-19 football team The China national under-20 football team, also known as the China Youth Team (国青队), represents the China, People's Republic of China in international football (soccer), football competitions in the FIFA U-20 World Cup and the AFC U-20 Asian ...

under manager Patrick Gonfalone, who he met in 2017 during his process to gain a coaching license. On 9 November 2019, he became the manager of AS Béziers. He left by mutual consent in April 2021. Santini was appointed head coach of

Stade Briochin Stade Briochin, founded in 1904, is a French football club based in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany. As of the 2024–25 season, the club plays in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier in the French football league system. Home matches are played a ...

in 2021, but was dismissed from his duties in September 2022. In November 2022, Santini took charge of

Rodez AF Rodez Aveyron Football (; commonly referred to as le Raf or simply Rodez) is a French association football club based in Rodez. The club was founded in 1929 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. The club plays its ...

, at the time in the relegation zone of

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

. Santini replaced long-time manager Laurent Peyrelade.

References

External links

1968 births Living people Men's association football defenders Corsica men's international footballers French men's footballers French men's futsal players Ligue 1 players Scottish Premier League players Olympique de Marseille players Ligue 2 players SC Bastia players Toulouse FC players Lille OSC players Livingston F.C. players Borgo FC players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland French football managers AS Béziers (2007) managers USL Dunkerque managers Rodez AF managers Ligue 2 managers 20th-century French sportsmen {{France-footy-defender-1960s-stub