Sabri Lamouchi (born 9 November 1971) is a French professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former player who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. During his 19-year playing career, Lamouchi played for clubs in France, Italy and Qatar.

Early life

Lamouchi was born in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France, and is of Tunisian descent.

Club career

Lamouchi started his professional career with

Alès Alès () is a Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. Until 1926, i ...

and then moved to

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

for four years. He then went on to join

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, who he helped to the

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

title in 2000, before being snapped up by

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

of Italy. He later moved to

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

. Lamouchi had a spell at

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

before joining

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 ...

on loan the following year. In January 2006, the loan deal was made a permanent move. He played for Marseille for six further months, until he announced that he was leaving the club on 18 September 2006, although his contract ran until June 2007. In 2006, Lamouchi moved to

Al-Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipalities of Qatar, municipality in Qatar. Its primary settlement is the Al Rayyan (city), city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and is a part of the Do ...

in the

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...

, where he scored a spectacular goal in his first match. The next season, he joined Umm-Salal. In January 2009, Lamouchi transferred to Al-Kharitiyath.

International career

Sabri Lamouchi holds Tunisian and French nationalities by birth since he was born in France before 1994 to parents born in

French protectorate of Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (; '), officially the Regency of Tunis () and commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial empire era, and lasted until Tunisian independence in 1956. T ...

before its independence. In 1994, he refused to play with the Tunisian national team. He then was capped with the French A' team. Lamouchi was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

12 times and scored one goal for the

France national team France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He made his debut in 1996 and was a member of the French

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

squad the same year. He was in France's 28 men-preliminary squad for the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

on home soil. However he was one of the six players axed by head coach

Aimé Jacquet Aimé Étienne Jacquet (born 27 November 1941) is a French former professional Association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. He coached the France national football team, France national team that won the 199 ...

just before the tournament began. The team went on to win the tournament.

Managerial career

Ivory Coast

In May 2012, he became manager of the Ivory Coast national team, his first managerial position. The Elephants qualified for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

, ranked 23rd at the time – highest ranked in Africa – and started their group play with a 2–1 victory over

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. That was followed by a 2–1 loss to group favourite

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. On his last game as Ivory Coast's manager, he and his team lost 2–1 against

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and they were eliminated from the FIFA World Cup. The team featured stars such as

Yaya Touré Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently an assistant coach for the Saudi Arabia national team. Touré aspired to be a striker during h ...

Gervinho Gervais Yao Kouassi (born 27 May 1987), known as Gervinho, is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward. Gervinho began his career at ASEC Abidjan and Toumodi, before moving to Belgium in 2004 to play for Beveren. Between 2007 ...

Wilfried Bony Wilfried Guemiand Bony (born 10 December 1988) is an Ivorian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Having begun his career at Issia Wazy, Bony moved to AC Sparta Prague, Spa ...

and

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...

. Lamouchi resigned from the position following Les Elephants' exit from the competition.

Rennes

On 8 November 2017, Lamouchi became the manager of French side

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. He led the team to a 5th place synonymous with

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

qualification. On 3 December 2018 after a string of poor results, he was sacked from the club.

Nottingham Forest

2019–20 season

On 28 June 2019, following the departure of

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...

, it was announced that Lamouchi would become head coach of

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

for the 2019–20 season. He enjoyed a strong start to the season and won the league's Manager of the Month award for September 2019. On 19 June 2020, Nottingham Forest announced that Lamouchi had signed an extension to his managerial contract. Forest were in the play-off positions for nearly the whole season, but missed out by finishing seventh on the final day of the season after being beaten at home 1–4 by

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

. Lamouchi had guided Forest to their highest league position since the 2010–11 season, and also became the first Forest manager to complete a full season in over nine years.

2020–21 season

Following Forest's disappointing end to the season, Lamouchi flew to Athens to meet with the Forest board, including Forest owner

Evangelos Marinakis Evangelos "Vangelis" Marinakis (Ευάγγελος (Βαγγέλης) Μαρινάκης), born 30 July 1967) is a Greek businessman and investor, the principal shareholder of a number of companies operating in the shipping, Media (communicatio ...

, where it was decided that Lamouchi would remain as Forest's Head Coach. To improve on the shortcomings of the previous season, four new additions were made to Lamouchi's coaching staff, along with a change in transfer strategy that would place a greater focus on domestic signings. On 5 September 2020, Nottingham Forest were knocked out of the League Cup in a 1–0 defeat to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. In a video call to the squad following that game, Marinakis described the result as a 'humiliation' to the football club that Forest would lose twice to a club that had barely survived relegation the previous season. It was clear that Marinakis' patience with Lamouchi was running out, and Marinakis angrily told Albert Adomah and

João Carvalho João António Antunes Carvalho (born 9 March 1997) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Primeira Liga club Estoril. Club career Benfica Born in Castanheira de Pera, Leiria District, Carvalho joined ...

that they could leave the club without consulting Lamouchi. On 6 October 2020, Lamouchi's contract was terminated and he was immediately replaced by

Chris Hughton Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team. He was most recently head coach of the Ghana national te ...

. Forest had lost all five competitive games of the new season, and had failed to win in their last eleven games.

Al-Duhail

In October 2020, Lamouchi was appointed manager of Qatari side Al-Duhail. On 9 August 2021, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.

Cardiff City

On 27 January 2023, Lamouchi returned to British football when he was appointed as manager of Welsh club

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

. Despite successfully helping the team steer clear of relegation at the end of the 2022-3 season, on 16 May 2023, Cardiff City announced that Lamouchi would leave the club at the end of his contract.

Al-Riyadh

On 12 July 2024, Lamouchi was appointed manager of

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club

Al-Riyadh Riyadh F.C. or Al-Riyadh () is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It currently plays in the Saudi Pro League (the first tier of professional football in Saudi Arabia). It was established in 1953 as Ahli Al-Riyadh, then ...

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Auxerre *

Division 1 Division 1 or Division One may refer to: Association football * Azadegan League, the second-tier professional football league in Iran * Brisbane Premier League Division 1, the second-tier professional football league in Brisbane, Queensland, Austr ...

: 1995–96 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

: 1995–96 Monaco *Division 1: 1999–2000 Parma *

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

: 2001–02 Marseille *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Manager

El Jaish *

Qatar Crown Prince Cup The Qatar Cup (formerly known as Qatar Crown Prince Cup) is a tournament in men's football. It is played by the top 4 teams of the Qatar Stars League after each season. In 2013, the tournament was renamed Qatar Cup. Previous winners All-time ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Individual * EFL Championship Manager of the Month: September 2019, January 2020

References

External links

* (archived) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamouchi, Sabri 1971 births Living people Footballers from Lyon French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Olympique Alès players AJ Auxerre players AS Monaco FC players Parma Calcio 1913 players Inter Milan players Genoa CFC players Olympique de Marseille players Al-Rayyan SC players Umm Salal SC players Al Kharaitiyat SC players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Serie A players Serie B players Qatar Stars League players France men's international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar French football managers Ivory Coast national football team managers El Jaish SC managers Stade Rennais FC managers Nottingham Forest F.C. managers Al-Duhail SC managers Cardiff City F.C. managers Al-Riyadh SC managers 2014 FIFA World Cup managers 2013 Africa Cup of Nations managers Ligue 1 managers English Football League managers Saudi Pro League managers French expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in England Expatriate football managers in Ivory Coast Expatriate football managers in Qatar Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Italy French expatriate sportspeople in Ivory Coast French expatriate sportspeople in Qatar French expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia French sportspeople of Tunisian descent