Jean-Paul Rabier

Jean-Paul Rabier is a French football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 club MC Alger.

Biography

In April 1971, while playing for Stade Lannionnais, Jean-Paul Rabier took part in the National Cadets Cup with the Ligue de l'Ouest, in a team whose goalkeeper was Pierrick Hiard. He left Lannion for Rennes in 1972. A defensive midfielder, he won the Gambardella Cup in 1973 with Stade Rennais and played 150 matches with his training club before moving to US Valenciennes-Anzin in 1979.
In 1982, he joined Laval, then coached by Michel Le Milinaire, in Division 1. He was on the field during his team's remarkable achievement in the 1983-84 UEFA Cup season, where they faced the formidable Dynamo Kyiv team, featuring Blokhin and Zavarov. The first leg in the Soviet Union ended in a flattering 0-0 draw, after which the courageous Laval players triumphed in the return leg, thanks to José Souto's only goal of the match, in front of a packed Francis-Le-Basser stadium for the occasion.

Career

Rabier played for Rennes, Valenciennes, Laval and Lens.
He coached Guingamp, La Roche VF, Rouen, Besançon, AS Vitré, football team|Burkina Faso], MC Alger, Alkhor, F.C. Ryūkyū. He was appointed manager of the Madagascar national football team in April 2010.