Diacre loses match but makes history

CORINNE Diacre made history yesterday, when she became the first woman to coach a professional men’s football team in a competitive match in France.

But the former international defender was unable to engineer a debut victory for her Clermont Foot 63 side, who lost 2-1 at Brest in the country’s second division, having taken an early lead.

“It’s never nice to lose,” she told reporters after the match. “But we did good things too, which is a good sign for the future. You can’t ignore Clermont this season.”

Ms Diacre, who also celebrated her 40th birthday yesterday, was named as the club’s coach in June. She took over from Helena Costa, who quit before coaching a game after claiming male colleagues sidelined her and used her as a “face” to attract publicity.

Photo: Clermont Foot 63 screengrab