Frédéric Antonetti laughs the last time Metz climbs the Ligue 1 table

On the weekend, Metz delivered another bravura result, beating Nantes to go eighth in the table on Sunday, only one point below the European spots. A 2-0 victory over Nantes is not to be won on its own, but Metz has one of the best defensive records in the league, losing just one of their last eight games. We need to give some credit to the club and their chairman, Frédéric Antonetti.

In Ligue 1, the French equivalent of David Moyes or Sam Allardyce, Antonetti was a fun figure. At Bastia, he started his managerial career, having ended an undistinguished career with the Corsican side. He took them to the Coupe de la Ligue final and led them to Europe on a couple of occasions in his seven years at the helm. The achievement won him a move to Saint-Étienne, where he led the promotion of the sleeping giants. However, his ensuing spells at Nice, Rennes and Lille were uninspiring, marked by somewhat turgid football.

It seemed like an unambitious appointment for the club when he joined freshly relegated Metz in 2018. But in his first season at the club, he led them to the Ligue 2 title and promotion before stepping aside for personal reasons; his wife was terminally ill, and he returned to Corsica to be with her. Vincent Hognon took over the staff, with Antonetti staying in an executive role at the club. Hognon kept them up, but he can't retain the form this season. In July, Antonetti's wife had died and he felt the time was right to return, so in October he replaced Hognon. As Antonetti took over, Metz was fifteenth.