It all started in 1994, when we eliminated his very strong Under-21 team. A few days ago, the latest madness: “In the 2006 final, Italy only played for 10 minutes. And Sinner is Austrian.”

Nothing doing. As soon as he sees spaghetti or anything that reminds him of Italy, Raymond Domenech loses control of his nerves, like Inspector Dreyfus at the sight of Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther. It all started way back in 1994 when, as coach of a very strong Under-21 team (Zidane, Dugarry, Makelelé…), Domenech lost on penalties to Colonnese and Delli Carri’s Italy. Cesarone Maldini did the same thing to him two years later: he beat Vieira, Wiltord, and Pires and took Brambilla and Ametrano’s Italy to the final, where they won their second European Championship. The first worrying glimmers appeared in Raymond’s eyes. The 1999 defeat against Tardelli’s Under-21 team aggravated the situation. He accused us of corruption and was disqualified.

The jump to the senior national team complicated the nervous picture. In the final in Berlin, he came within a whisker of glory, but then: Zidane’s headbutt, Grosso’s penalty, and goodbye. It was a collapse. Eliminated in the first round of the 2010 World Cup. Nantes (2020) gave him his last coaching job and took it away after four games. An astrologer, arrested for ticket touting at USA ’94, he recited Chekhov in the theater and mobbed Frey because he played in Italy. We had almost forgotten about him, we thought he had recovered, but the other day Domenech lost his mind again: “In the 2006 final, Italy only played for 10 minutes. Even FIFA said the match ended in a draw. Gattuso plays badly. Sinner is Austrian.” Obsessive mania. The trouble is that the 20th anniversary of Berlin is approaching. He will remember Materazzi and Grosso, he will see Cannavaro lifting the cup a thousand times. He really risks ending up in the Dreyfus clinic. Stay close to him, help him.