Sébastien Serge Louis Desabre (; born 2 August 1976) is a French professional football manager who is head coach of the DR Congo national team.
Nicknamed "The Florist" he has also served as manager of the Uganda national team from 2017 until 2019.
Early life Desabre was born in Valence.
Managerial career Desabre coached amateur teams, achieving several promotions. He then coached Cannet Rocheville in the south of France.
At age 34 he moved to coach in Africa. He coached ASEC Mimosas, Coton Sport and Espérance de Tunis. He was also head coach of Ismaily SC in the Egyptian Premier League. He later coached Recreativo do Libolo, Dubai Club, JS Saoura and Wydad AC.
In December 2017, prior to the 2018 African Nations Championship, he signed a multiple-year contract to manage the Uganda national team. He replaced Milutin Sredojević, who left in July 2017 to become coach of the Orlando Pirates. In November 2018, the Uganda was nominated with five others for the CAF Men's national team of the year award 2018.
On 17 November 2018, the Cranes qualified for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations after defeating Cape Verde. The team advanced out of Group A to the Round of 16, in second position, behind group leader and tournament hosts, Egypt. However, the team was eliminated after losing 1–0 to Senegal on 5 July 2019. The following day, Desabre's contract with the Cranes was terminated by mutual consent despite the success.
On 8 July 2019, Desabre was announced as the new head coach of the Egyptian Premier League club Pyramids. On 19 January 2020, Desabre rejoined Wydad AC.
DR Congo In 2022, he was appointed coach of DR Congo national team, replacing the Argentine Héctor Cúper, after DR Congo failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. His contract was signed for four years, with the aim of guiding DR Congo to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. During the 2026 World Cup qualification, DR Congo defeated both Cameroon and Nigeria in the second round, before achieving a 1–0 extra-time win over Jamaica in the inter-confederation play-offs to secure their second World Cup appearance after 1974.
Personal life
Desabre is married and has two sons.
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamNat.FromToRecordES Cannet1 July 200624 October 2010ASEC Mimosas24 October 20105 October 2012Coton Sport19 October 20124 November 2013Esperance (caretaker) 3 December 201316 September 2014Libolo6 January 20154 October 2015JS Saoura1 July 201631 August 2016Wydad AC17 October 20166 January 2017Ismaily11 July 201727 December 2017Uganda28 December 20176 July 2019Pyramids7 July 201918 December 2019Wydad AC20 January 202025 February 2020Chamois Niort16 June 20207 August 2022DR Congo22 August 2022PresentCareer Total
Honours ES Cannet-Rocheville Régional 2 Group B: 2006–07 Division d'Honneur Méditerranée: 2007–08
ASEC Mimosas Coupe de Côte d'Ivoire: 2011 Coupe Houphouët-Boigny: 2012
Coton Sport Elite One: 2013
Espérance de Tunis Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1: 2013–14
Recreativo do Libolo Girabola: 2015 DR Congo
African Cup of Nations: 4th place, 2023
References
External links
Sébastien Desabre Interview Sébastien Desabre Interview with Sofoot