Laurent Blanc | ||
Personal information | ||
---|---|---|
Full name | Laurent Robert Blanc | |
Date of birth | 19 November 1965 | |
Place of birth | Alès, France | |
Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 31⁄2 in) | |
Playing position | Sweeper | |
Club information | ||
Current club | Bordeaux (manager) | |
Senior career1 | ||
Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
1983–1991 1991–1992 1992–1993 1993–1995 1995–1996 1996–1997 1997–1999 1999–2001 2001–2003 |
Montpellier Napoli Nîmes Saint Etienne Auxerre FC Barcelona Marseille Internazionale Manchester United Total |
251 31 (6) 29 (1) 70 (18) 24 (2) 28 (1) 79 (17) 67 (6) 48 (1) 665 (132) |
(77)
National team | ||
1989–2000 | France | [1][2] | 97 (16)
Teams managed | ||
2007– | Bordeaux | |
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
Laurent Robert Blanc (born 19 November 1965 in Alès) is a French football manager and former defender, who scored the first golden goal in World Cup history. He was known as a surprisingly high-scoring defender, although in his early career he often operated as a midfielder. He was part of the French national team that successively won the World Cup and the European Championship.
He is the current manager of FC Girondins de Bordeaux, whom he led to the Ligue 1 title in 2009.
Contents |
Club career
Early years
Laurent Blanc's career started in Montpellier, where he signed his first professional contract in 1983. A very technical player, he played as an offensive midfielder and helped Montpellier get promoted to Division 1 in 1987. Only a few years later did he settle as a defender following the advice from Michel Mézy, a position in which his physical stature (1.92 m, 82 kg) and his temper would prove invaluable. His game being perfectly fitted for the French league, he managed to score at least 12 goals (a remarkable tally for a defender) in every season at Montpellier, for the most part penalties and headers. He also won the Coupe de France in 1990, scoring a goal in the final.
Domestic success
In 1991, Blanc tried a first experience abroad when he left Montpellier for Napoli in the Italian Serie A. Despite a decent season during which he managed to score six goals, he felt like he could not fully express his potential and returned to France after just one year, to Nîmes and then Saint Etienne where again he not only imposed himself as one of the best defenders in the league but also scored goals (13 in his last season with Saint-Etienne). However, Saint-Etienne were struggling at the time and got almost relegated, only staying up because Marseille were not allowed to return to Division 1 because of their financial difficulties.
Guy Roux, impressed by Blanc and looking for a replacement for Dutch international Frank Verlaat, convinced him to join Auxerre in 1995. Despite injuring himself early in the season, Blanc came back strongly and played a great part in Auxerre's double that year.
FC Barcelona
Laurent Blanc's performances on the pitch, emphasized by Auxerre's success, drew the attention of several big European clubs. He finally signed for FC Barcelona. That second abroad experience turned out not to be as successful as he could have hoped. Johan Cruyff, who had wanted Blanc and persuaded him to sign for Barça, was sacked on the very day Blanc agreed to join the club. Blanc won the Supercopa de España against Atlético Madrid but injured himself quickly afterwards. He came back and played regularly but was sent off during the Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final against AIK then injured himself again against Extremadura, which forced him to miss the Clásico and the Cup Winners' Cup final against Paris SG. After this disappointing season and only one year away from the World Cup, he decided to leave.
The "President"
Rolland Courbis managed to convince Blanc to join Marseille, which proved beneficial for both Marseille and Blanc. Blanc quickly became a leader in a Marseille side desperately lacking confidence, and helped them reach an honourable fourth place for his first season, scoring 11 goals and earning the nickname Le Président (the President) in the process. The season following the World Cup was both successful and frustrating for Blanc and Marseille, as they finished runners-up in the championship, only one point shy of Bordeaux, and reached the UEFA Cup final, only to lose 3–0 to Parma, with Hernán Crespo intercepting Blanc's back pass to Porato to score the opener.
He then left Marseille for Inter Milan, where he enjoyed some success in defence, even winning the Pirata d'oro (Internazionale Player of the Year) in 2000.
Manchester United
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson had attempted to lure Blanc several times since 1996 and finally succeeded in 2001. Despite his age of 35 years, Blanc was brought in to replace the departing Jaap Stam. He was criticised for poor performances in the early months of his stay at Old Trafford. This was compounded when United suffered their first five losses of the season to Bolton, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea (The first letters of each team spelling B-L-A-N-C).[3][4] He retired two years later, having helped his club to the 2002-03 Premier League crown. He scored four goals during his time at Manchester United. One of these came in the league against Tottenham Hotspur,[5] and the other three all came in the Champions League in games against Olympiakos[6] and Boavista (both home[7] and away)[8]
International career
Laurent Blanc won the 1988 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, beating Greece in the final. On February 7, 1989, he made his debut for the national team against Ireland.
France, then in reconstruction after the retirement of numerous key players, did not manage to qualify for the 1990 World Cup. Shortly after that, they started an impressive 19-game unbeaten streak, including eight wins out of eight in Euro 1992 qualifying, making them one of the favorites to win the competition. They would, however, get knocked out in the pool stage by eventual winners Denmark.
After France inexplicably failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, Laurent Blanc was heavily criticised, as well the rest of the team, and he subsequently decided to retire from international football. Aimé Jacquet, after taking over the managerial position of the national team, made it one of his priorities to convince Blanc to change his mind. Blanc then became one of the key players of this new French squad which reached the semi-finals of the Euro 96, only to lose to Czech Republic in a penalty shoot-out.
That same team then entered the 1998 World Cup, which was held on home soil. Blanc was exemplary during the competition and, on June 28, 1998, he scored against Paraguay in the Round of 16 the first ever golden goal in World Cup history. He would, however, miss the final after being sent off in the semi-final against Croatia for elbowing Slaven Bilić, although replays showed that Bilić had clearly feigned the injury. The Croatian was heavily criticised afterwards.
Blanc was also part of the team that won the Euro 2000 during which, despite having been criticised for his age and lack of speed during the qualifications, he proved reliable in defence and even scored a goal against Denmark in the group stage.
He announced his retirement from international football after the Euro, following the example of his captain Didier Deschamps.
Blanc was also well-known for kissing good friend and goalkeeper Fabien Barthez's head before the start of every match, supposedly for good luck (the two did repeat this ritual when they played together for Manchester United, only for Champions League matches). Overall, he recorded 97 caps and scored 16 goals.
In 2006, the readers of France Football Magazine voted him the fourth best French player of all time behind Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Raymond Kopa.
Career as a manager
On June 8, 2007, Blanc was named the new manager of FC Girondins de Bordeaux, replacing Brazilian Ricardo. For his first season on the bench, he led Bordeaux to a very good second place in the league and won the Manager of the Year award. His second season was extremely successful, as Bordeaux won the final eleven games of the season, setting a new French record for consecutive wins,[9] and clinched the 2008–09 Ligue 1 championship title, three points clear of Marseille, having already won the Coupe de la Ligue that year. Blanc was again nominated for Manager of the Year but lost to Marseille's Eric Gerets.
Honours
As a player
- France U-21
- France
- Montpellier HSC
- FC Barcelona
- Supercopa de España (1996)
- Cup Winners' Cup (1997)
- AJ Auxerre
- Manchester United
Individual
- 1998 Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur[10][11]
- 2000 Internazionale Player Of The Year (Pirata d'oro)[12]
- 2004 Trophée d'honneur UNFP
As a manager
Statistics
Player
Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
France | League | Coupe de France | Coupe de la Ligue | Europe | Total | |||||||
1983-84 | Montpellier | Division 2 | 15 | 0 | - | |||||||
1984-85 | 32 | 5 | - | |||||||||
1985-86 | 29 | 6 | - | |||||||||
1986-87 | 34 | 18 | - | |||||||||
1987-88 | Division 1 | 24 | 6 | - | ||||||||
1988-89 | 35 | 15 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
1989-90 | 36 | 12 | - | |||||||||
1990-91 | 38 | 14 | 6 | 1 | ||||||||
Italy | League | Coppa Italia | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
1991-92 | Napoli | Serie A | 31 | 6 | - | |||||||
France | League | Coupe de France | Coupe de la Ligue | Europe | Total | |||||||
1992-93 | Nîmes Olympique | Division 1 | 29 | 1 | - | |||||||
1993-94 | Saint-Étienne | Division 1 | 33 | 5 | - | |||||||
1994-95 | 37 | 13 | - | |||||||||
1995-96 | Auxerre | Division 1 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
Spain | League | Copa del Rey | Copa de la Liga | Europe | Total | |||||||
1996-97 | FC Barcelona | La Liga | 28 | 1 | 5 | 0 | ||||||
France | League | Coupe de France | Coupe de la Ligue | Europe | Total | |||||||
1997-98 | Olympique Marseille | Division 1 | 31 | 11 | - | |||||||
1998-99 | 32 | 2 | 10 | 1 | ||||||||
Italy | League | Coppa Italia | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
1999-00 | Internazionale Milano | Serie A | 34 | 3 | - | |||||||
2000-01 | 33 | 3 | 9 | 0 | ||||||||
England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
2001-02 | Manchester United | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 46 | 3 |
2002-03 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 29 | 1 | ||
Total | France | 428 | 110 | 19 | 1 | |||||||
Italy | 98 | 12 | 9 | 0 | ||||||||
Spain | 28 | 1 | 5 | 0 | ||||||||
England | 48 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 | 75 | 4 | ||
Career Total | 602 | 124 | 57 | 4 |
International goals
Managerial stats
Last updated 2 June 2009
Nat | Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | L | D | Win % | GF | GA | +/- | ||||
Bordeaux | 2007 | 77 | 47 | 17 | 13 | 61.04% | 133 | 72 | +61 | ||
Total Career | 77 | 47 | 17 | 13 | 61.04% | 133 | 72 | +61 |
References
- ^ a b National Football Teams Player Profile - Laurent Blanc at www.national-football-teams.com
- ^ Pierrend, José Luis (23 August 2001). "Laurent Blanc - International Appearances". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/blanc-intl.html. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
- ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/blancs-spell-curses-united-618755.html
- ^ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=254403&root=england&cc=5739
- ^ "Man Utd's amazing comeback". BBC. 29 September 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/1567733.stm. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ "Man Utd go through". BBC. 23 October 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/champions_league/2344237.stm. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ "Man Utd stroll past Boavista". BBC. 5 December 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/champions_league/1691444.stm. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ "Man Utd top group". BBC. 19 March 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/champions_league/1878830.stm. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- ^ "Joy as Bordeaux end 10-year French title wait". http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090530/sp_soccer_afp/fblfralead. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
- ^ "France honors World Cup winners - Government gives Legion of Honor to players, coaches". CNN/SI. 1 September 1998. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/news/1998/09/01/france_legionhonor. Retrieved 2006-07-20.
- ^ "Décret du 24 juillet 1998 portant nomination à titre exceptionnel". JORF 1998 (170): 11376. 1998-07-25. PREX9801916D. http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=PREX9801916D. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
- ^ A CAMBIASSO IL "PIRATA D'ORO" - Inter.com (Italian)
- ^ Laurent Blanc career stats at Soccerbase
- ^ Endlar, Andrew. "Laurent Blanc". StretfordEnd.co.uk. http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/playermenu/blanc.html. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
External links
Preceded by Benoît Cauet |
Internazionale Player of the Year 2000 |
Succeeded by Giuseppe Prisco |
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