Former champions Nantes suffer French Cup humiliation

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PARIS, Nov 22, 2009 (AFP) - Nantes, one of France's most highly decorated clubs but which has recently fallen on hard times, suffered a French Cup humiliation at the hands of lowly amateur outfit Concarneau on Sunday.

The second division side, eight-time former first division champions and three time French Cup winners, were knocked out of the competition losing 3-0 to their modest rivals who ply their trade three leagues lower than the Canaries.

Founded in 1943 and with a past players' roll call that includes the likes of Marcel Desailly and Didier Deschamps this knockout blow represented one of the lowest points in Nantes' once proud history.

Their German-born manager Gernot Rohr, a former Bayern Munich defender, was putting a brave face on the defeat.

He said: "This loss is not particularly worrying. It's perhaps a blessing in disguise - We have to get back to work. The most important thing is the league."

Rohr's Concarneau counterpart Nicolas Cloarec was understandably thrilled with his team's performance in this seventh round tie.

"This is an extraordinary result, but we'd prepared really well for the game," said the former Lorient midfielder.