New Caledonia: Thierry Sardo leaves National Team head coach spot

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The well-known French head coach Thierry Sardo is not anymore in New Caledonia – he departed back to France today (27th July) after 15 years of service for New Caledonian football, including five years as Les Cagous head coach. He also guided AS Mont-Dore to a Mobil Super Ligue title during his time in New Caledonia.

Sardo led New Caledonia National Football Team 2015 Pacific Games’ gold medal and also guided the national team to the semi-finals of 2016 OFC Nations Cup where they were defeated by New Zealand. During Thierry Sardo’s era, various players based overseas were introduced to the national team; names such as Jorys Mene, Jean-Philippe Saïko and Stéphane Tein-Padom received their first call-ups for Les Cagous having Sardo as a head coach. The Frenchman was also commentator of Caledonia TV for the football matches of Mobil Super Ligue, Coupe de Calédonie and OFC Champions League.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the arranged friendly matches in Estonia were cancelled – then, the final match of Sardo in charge of New Caledonia national team was the 2-1 defeat against New Zealand in 2019 Pacific Games final. It is still unsure who is going to replace Sardo, but he leaves an important legacy to New Caledonian football.