updated 4:01 p.m. ET July 7, 2006

HAMELN, France - Maybe it was written in the stars all along for Raymond Domenech.

Vilified, ridiculed, whistled and booed, the coach has turned an old team seemingly headed for oblivion into a World Cup finalist in mere weeks.

Domenech will be on the sideline for Sunday’s final against Italy at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, a giant step for a coach whose only other honor was winning the second division title in the French league.

Compare that to his counterpart Marcelo Lippi, who is a world beater with five Serie A titles, four Italian Supercups, the 1996 Champions League, the European Supercup and Intercontinental Cup.

All you would get is a Gallic shrug from the gray-haired 54-year-old Domenech.

“For two years I have been focusing on this date of July 9,” he said.

All that time, he has had to fight the odds, and relentless criticism from the French media that feared the aging squad was heading for a second straight opening-round elimination.

“We are lucky to have a coach that trusted us until the end and gave us the key to success,” defender Willy Sagnol said Friday.

Domenech was ridiculed for his aversion to players born under the Scorpio sign, including such experienced players as Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires.

“I do not base myself only on astrology, but in the end, it can have an influence on my decisions,” he said.

After beating Spain, Brazil and Portugal, no one doubts his strategy now.

“I agree, sometimes it did not seem to be self-evident,” he said.

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Like the day he said that scoring goals was “not important” during the qualifying campaign when scoreless draws brought Les Bleus to the brink of elimination.

Others pointed to his decade-long reign as youth coach of the national team, with one of the most promising groups of talent in the world. He failed to win a single title.

Seemingly on purpose he ostracized the media, giving as little information as possible.

“I have other things on my mind than the well-being of the French media,” he said two months ago.

In that sense he was reminiscent of Aime Jacquet, the coach who carried a feud with the sports newspaper L’Equipe all through the 1998 campaign, right up to France’s World Cup title.

Then again, Jacquet won the sport’s supreme prize. Few had any hope Domenech would ever get close to that.

His tactics were unclear, the choice of players didn’t seem to make sense. It seemed the program was out of control as one mediocre result followed another.

But grant Domenech this: He does know how to work with the sport’s biggest stars.

When he felt he needed standout defender Lilian Thuram to come out of retirement to beef up the defense, he told the Juventus player to rejoin voluntarily or refuse selection. Grudgingly, Thuram accepted.

At 34, Thuram is one of the World Cup’s biggest stars.

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More importantly, Zinedine Zidane also came back and immediately Domenech did what Jacquet had done. Zidane became the center of the team, while the defense was built around Thuram.

“The talent was there. It had to be brought together and all had to be pointed toward one common goal. I felt I was capable of doing it,” Domenech said.

A relaxing trip to Martinique, insisted on by Domenech, and a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Costa Rica in a friendly made sure players started bonding over the winter.

Even then, it was not that simple. There was no rhythm or flow as France stumbled toward Germany after scraping through qualifying.

At Stade de France, where Les Bleus won the 1998 championship, Domenech and the team were remorselessly whistled and booed during its last preparation game.

Domenech admitted many were concerned this World Cup would not be a repeat of 1998, but of 2002. In South Korea, the defending champion failed to score a goal and was eliminated in the first round.

“I felt it, too,” he admitted.

Hence Domenech’s relief when France capped a hesitant opening round with a 2-0 win over Togo to reach the second stage.

Only then did Domenech’s plan become clear. Roving newcomer Franck Ribery finally fully grasped his job and got France back in the game against Spain. Zidane capped it with a brilliant performance with an assist and a late goal for a 3-1 win.

During 1-0 wins over pretournament favorite Brazil and Portugal, it became clear all the fear and criticism worked as a catalyst for France. The squad stuck together, and Domenech’s controversial choice of 35-year-old Fabien Barthez over Gregory Coupet in goal also paid dividends.

Led by the veterans, they created the motto, “We all have to die together.” It has all the theatrics Domenech dearly loves.

His immediate plans do not.

“After the World Cup,” he said, “I leave two weeks on holiday.”

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