Christian Letard

{{Short description|French football manager and player (born 1947)}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Christian Letard

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|11|23|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Le Poiré-sur-Vie, France

| position = Midfielder

| years1 = 1966-1972

| clubs1 = Roche-sur-Yon

| years2 = 1972-1976

| clubs2 = FC Yonnais

| manageryears1 = 1981-1989

| managerclubs1 = Roche-sur-Yon

| manageryears2 = 1989-1994

| managerclubs2 = Le Mans

| manageryears3 = 1994-1995

| managerclubs3 = Grenoble

| manageryears4 = 1995-1999

| managerclubs4 = Tours{{Cite web|url=https://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/indre-et-loire/l-explosivite-etait-tourangelle|title=L'explosivité était tourangelle|date=27 October 2013|access-date=6 March 2024|publisher=lanouvellerepublique.fr|language=fr}}

| manageryears5 = 1999-2001

| managerclubs5 = Angoulême

| manageryears6 = 2002

| managerclubs6 = Vietnam U23

| manageryears7 = 2004-2005

| managerclubs7 = Congo

}}

Christian Letard (born 23 November 1947) is a French retired football manager who most recently managed the Congo national team. In addition to Congo, he has also managed France and Vietnam.{{Cite web|url=https://nld.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-truong-doi-tuyen-u23-viet-nam-christian-letard-toi-se-bat-tay-ngay-vao-viec-56115.htm|title=HLV trưởng Đội tuyển U23 Việt Nam Christian Letard: "Tôi sẽ bắt tay ngay vào việc"|publisher=nld.com.vn|date=13 March 2002|access-date=6 March 2024|language=vi}}{{Cite web|url=https://nld.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-christian-letard-den-viet-nam-vi-thich-phieu-luu-58049.htm|title=HLV Christian Letard: Đến Việt Nam vì thích phiêu lưu|access-date=6 March 2024|language=vi}}

Career

In 1981, Letard was appointed manager of French third division side Roche-sur-Yon, helping them earn promotion to the French second division.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} In 1989, he became the manager of Le Mans in the French second division, where he suffered relegation to the French third division. In 1994, Letard was appointed manager of the French fourth division club Grenoble.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

In 2002, he was appointed manager of Vietnam U23, where he successfully sued the Vietnam Football Federation for unfair dismissal.{{Cite web|url=https://soha.vn/cau-cham-ngon-gay-soc-ve-lien-doan-va-goc-khuat-an-sau-cu-phot-nho-doi-cua-cuu-ttk-vff-20190909104242734.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200701201534/https://soha.vn/cau-cham-ngon-gay-soc-ve-lien-doan-va-goc-khuat-an-sau-cu-phot-nho-doi-cua-cuu-ttk-vff-20190909104242734.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-07-01|title=Câu châm ngôn gây sốc về Liên đoàn và góc khuất ẩn sau "cú phốt" nhớ đời của cựu TTK VFF|publisher=soha.vn|access-date=6 March 2024|language=vi}}

In 2004, Letard took on the role of manager of Congo, where he stated, "I am not Zorro. Nor those marabouts of illusions who manage, alas, to convince their credulous employers in Africa that four months of intensive preparation is enough to compete with the best teams on the continent".{{Cite web|url=http://www.wwww.congopage.com/Foot-Je-ne-suis-pas-Zorro|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200410175436/http://www.wwww.congopage.com/Foot-Je-ne-suis-pas-Zorro|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-04-10|title="Je ne suis pas Zorro"|publisher=congopage.com (Archived)}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.congopage.com/Le-selectionneur-national|title=Le sélectionneur national Christian Letard envisage de démissionner|access-date=6 March 2024|language=fr}}