Didier Deschamps is the latest coach charged with reviving France s international fortunes as they seek to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.
After reaching the World Cup final in 2006, when they were beaten by Italy on penalties, France endured two disastrous qualification campaigns in succession.
They finished bottom of Group C at Euro 2008 and repeated the unwanted feat two years later, failing to escape Group A at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The latter tournament was marred by a player strike, as senior members of the squad rebelled against the leadership of coach Raymond Domenech.
Domenech departed after the South Africa debacle, with Laurent Blanc, a World Cup-winner as a player in 1998, taking over.
Blanc guided France to qualification for Euro 2012, but the team struggled to impose themselves in the tournament proper.
They surprisingly lost to already-eliminated Sweden in the group stages, forcing them into a quarter-final against defending champions Spain, who promptly ended the participation of Blanc s team with relative ease.
Cue Blanc s exit from the post, amid reports of player indiscipline and an ugly stand-off between star midfielder Samir Nasri and journalists.
The French Football Federation called on another veteran of the 1998 World Cup triumph on home soil, Deschamps, to pick up where Blanc left off.
A former midfielder famously disparaged as a mere water carrier by flamboyant forward Eric Cantona, Deschamps guided Monaco to the 2003/04 Champions League final in his first managerial position.
He then moved to Juventus, orchestrating the demoted club s return to the Italian top flight following the Calciopoli scandal.
His next achievement was to seal Marseille s first Ligue 1 crown since 1992, meaning Deschamps is well-credentialed going into his daunting stint as national team coach.
But as a Ligue 1 title-winning coach with unfancied Bordeaux, Blanc also came highly recommended, and his attempts to instil discipline on an unruly squad seemingly failed.
It remains to be seen if Deschamps can marshal the undeniably talented France team, with players such as Karim Benzema, Hatem Ben Arfa, Franck Ribery and Nasri at his disposal.
Their first test will come at the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, on Friday, in what Deschamps will hope is the first step on the road to a competitive showing in Brazil.
