Laurent Blanc

french association football player and coach
Laurent Robert Blanc ( natural 19 November 1965 ) is a french professional football director and early musician who played as a centre-back. He is the head coach of Qatar Stars League clubhouse Al-Rayyan. He has the nickname Le Président, which was given to him following his least sandpiper at Marseille in tribute to his leadership skills. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] Blanc played professional football for numerous clubs, including Montpellier, Napoli, Barcelona, Marseille, Inter Milan and Manchester United, frequently operating in the sweeper position. He is besides a former french international, earning 97 caps and scoring 16 international goals. He represented the country in several international tournaments, including the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, both of which France won. On 28 June 1998, Blanc scored the first golden goal in World Cup history against Paraguay.

Reading: Laurent Blanc

He began his managerial career at Bordeaux in 2007, winning domestic honours including the 2008–09 Ligue 1 championship. After leaving Bordeaux in 2010 he became the coach of the french national team until 2012, replacing Raymond Domenech in the aftermath of the 2010 FIFA World Cup [ 7 ] and leading the country to the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2012. In 2013, he was hired by Paris Saint-Germain, winning far honours. After three successful years with Paris Saint-Germain he left the club in June 2016 .

Club career [edit ]

early years [edit ]

Blanc was born in Alès, France. [ 4 ] His career started at Montpellier, where he signed his beginning professional contract in 1983. A very technical, however decelerate musician, he played as an attacking midfielder and helped the cabaret get promoted to Division 1 in 1987. alone a few years by and by did he settle as a defender following the advice from Michel Mézy, a put in which his physical stature ( 1.92 thousand, 86 kilogram ) and his disposition would prove invaluable. His game being perfectly fitted for the french league, he managed to score at least 12 Division 1 goals per season in his last three seasons at Montpellier, for the most partially penalties and headers. He besides won the Coupe de France in 1990, scoring a goal in the final match. Blanc remains Montpellier ‘s all-time contribute finish scorer, with 83 in all competitions ( 76 altogether in Division 1 and Division 2 ). On 5 August 2017, Souleymane Camara scored the only goal ( in the 59th minute ) in Montpellier ‘s Matchday 1 Ligue 1 1–0 gain against SM Caen to register his 48th Ligue 1 goal for Montpellier, breaking Blanc ‘s longstanding Montpellier read of 47 Division 1 goals scored in four seasons. [ 8 ] In 1991, Blanc tried his fortune overseas when he left Montpellier for Napoli in the italian Serie A. Despite a becoming season during which he managed to score six goals, he felt like he could not fully express his potential and returned to France after merely one class, to Nîmes and then Saint Étienne, where again he imposed himself as one of the best defenders in the league. Although Blanc scored 13 goals in his last season at Saint-Étienne, les Verts were about relegated, only staying up because Marseille were not allowed to return to the first division because of the club ‘s fiscal difficulties. Guy Roux, impressed by Blanc and looking for a substitute for Dutch international Frank Verlaat, convinced him to join Auxerre in 1995. Despite injuring himself early in the temper, Blanc came back strongly and played a great part in the team ‘s double that year .

Barcelona [edit ]

Blanc ‘s success at Auxerre drew the attention of respective big european clubhouse. Blanc agreed to join Barcelona in Spain largely because coach Johan Cruyff wanted him and persuaded him to sign. But on the very day that Blanc said yes to Barça, Cruyff was sacked, and Blanc ‘s spell with the club was a less than happy one. blanc was in the side when Barcelona won the Supercopa de España against Atlético Madrid, but was injured soon afterwards. He played regularly upon his render from injury, but was sent off during the Cup Winners ‘ Cup quarter-final against AIK. He then injured himself again against Extremadura, which forced him to miss the Clásico and the Cup Winners ‘ Cup final examination against Paris Saint-Germain. After this disappointing season and only one year aside from the 1998 World Cup, he decided to leave .
Rolland Courbis managed to convince Blanc to join Marseille, which proved beneficial for both the golf club and Blanc. Blanc cursorily became a drawing card in a team that was desperately lacking confidence, and helped Marseille finish in fourth topographic point in his first season, during which he scored 11 goals and earned the nickname “ Le Président “ ( “ The President ” ). The season following the World Cup was both successful and frustrating for Blanc and Marseille, as they finished runner-up in the championship, lone 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 passing to Stéphane Porato to score the opener. Afterwards, Blanc left Marseille for Inter Milan, where he enjoyed some success, winning the Pirata d’Oro ( Inter Player of the class ) in 2000 .

manchester United [edit ]

Manchester United director Alex Ferguson had attempted to lure Blanc several times since 1996 and last succeeded in August 2001 when, at the historic period of 35, Blanc was brought in to replace the sidetrack Jaap Stam. He was criticised for inadequate performances in the early months of his bide at Old Trafford, when United suffered five defeats in the league by 1 December 2001 – with some critics even being exquisite to point out that the five teams who had beaten them in the league began with the letters which spelt out Blanc ‘s surname – Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle United, and Chelsea. He initially arrived at Old Trafford on a annual contract, and as his shape and his team ‘s shape improved throughout the season ( although it was n’t enough for United to catch Arsenal in the title slipstream ), he was finally awarded a fresh annual contract to give him a second temper in Manchester. He scored four goals during his time at Manchester United. One of these came in the league against Tottenham Hotspur, [ 9 ] and the early three all came in the Champions League in games against Olympiacos [ 10 ] and Boavista ( both home [ 11 ] and away ). [ 12 ] Blanc retired from football after helping United win the 2002–03 Premier League title. [ 13 ]

International career [edit ]

Blanc won the 1988 european Under-21 Championship, his team beating Greece in the final. [ 14 ] He was named the tournament ‘s Golden Player by UEFA. [ 15 ] On 7 February 1989, Blanc made his debut for the senior national team against the Republic of Ireland. France, then in reconstruction after the retirement of numerous key players, did not manage to qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. concisely after that, they started an impressive 19-game unbeaten streak, including eight wins out of eight in Euro 1992 modification, making them one of the favorites to win the contest. They would, however, get knocked out in the group stage by eventual winners Denmark. After France failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Blanc was heavily criticised, adenine well the rest of the team, and he subsequently decided to retire from external football. Aimé Jacquet, after taking over the managerial side of the national team, made it one of his priorities to convince Blanc to change his mind. Blanc returned to the team for the Euro 1996 qualification campaign and scored in a 4–0 winnings over Slovakia. At the tournament finals, he formed a cardinal defensive partnership with Marcel Desailly. Blanc scored France ‘s opening goal in the final group match against Bulgaria in a 3–1 winnings to put the team into the quarter-finals, where they faced the Netherlands at Anfield. Blanc scored France ‘s winning punishment kick in the gunfight after the match had ended 0–0. France then lost on penalty kicks at the semi-final stagecoach after drawing 0–0 with the Czech Republic. however, Blanc again successfully converted his kick. France then entered the 1998 FIFA World Cup, which was held on base dirt. Blanc was admonitory during the rival and, on 28 June 1998, scored the first-ever fortunate goal in World Cup history against Paraguay in the round of 16. In the quarter-final, Blanc helped France to a cleanse tabloid over Italy and scored the winning penalty as Les Bleus prevailed in the gunfight. He missed the final examination after being sent off in the semi-final against Croatia for slapping Slaven Bilić. The sending off was the first ( and merely ) red wag of Blanc ‘s international professional career. Despite Blanc ‘s absence, France lifted the World Cup for the first time after defeating Brazil 3–0 at the Stade de France. The two goals conceded during the tournament by France was a modern record for a World Cup winner. This record was matched by Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010. Blanc was besides part of the team that won UEFA Euro 2000 during which, despite having been criticised for his long time and lack of focal ratio during the qualifications, he proved authentic in defense and even scored France ‘s inaugural goal of the tournament against Denmark in the group stage. He announced his retirement from international football after the contest, following the exemplar of his captain Didier Deschamps. On 2 September 2000, Blanc, along with Deschamps and Bernard Lama, played his concluding match for Les Bleus in a friendly against England at the Stade de France. [ 16 ] Blanc was well known for kissing good friend and goalkeeper Fabien Barthez ‘s headway before the start of every catch, purportedly for well luck ( the two did repeat this ritual when they played together for Manchester United, but only for Champions League matches ). The french national team was unbeaten in all matches when it fielded the World Cup and European Championship winning defensive structure of Blanc, Desailly, Lilian Thuram and Bixente Lizarazu. [ 17 ] Overall, Blanc recorded 97 caps and scored 16 goals. In 1999, the readers of France Football cartridge holder voted him the fourth-best French player of all time, behind Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Raymond Kopa .

Managerial career [edit ]

bordeaux [edit ]

Blanc during his time with Bordeaux On 8 June 2007, Blanc was named the newfangled director of Bordeaux, replacing brazilian Ricardo Gomes. For his first season on the bench, he led the club to second rate in Ligue 1 and won the Manager of the Year prize. His second Ligue 1 temper was extremely successful. Bordeaux won the final examination 11 league matches of the 2008–09 Ligue 1 season, setting a new french record for consecutive wins, [ 18 ] to clinch the Ligue 1 title three points clear of Olympique de Marseille. Bordeaux besides won the 2008–09 Coupe de la Ligue. Blanc was again nominated for Manager of the year but lost to Marseille director Eric Gerets. In the 2009–10 Champions League campaign, Blanc ‘s Bordeaux topped a group featuring Juventus and Bayern Munich without losing a match. [ 19 ] After defeating Olympiacos in the Round of 16, they were eliminated by colleague french side Lyon in the quarter-finals .

France [edit ]

On 16 May 2010, Blanc confirmed his departure from Bordeaux after three seasons in charge of the french outfit. After resigning from his position, Blanc contacted the french Football Federation ( FFF ) to inquire about the french national team job, which was finally vacated by Raymond Domenech following the 2010 World Cup. Later that day, FFF President Jean-Pierre Escalettes confirmed that Blanc was a campaigner for the position. On 18 May 2010, with Blanc ‘s appointment to the position becoming more probable, Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud demanded recompense from the Federation. On 20 May 2010, the club reached an agreement with the FFF for €1.5 million. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] On 26 June, french media confirmed that Blanc had signed a biennial abridge with the Federation to lead the team to Euro 2012. The share was finalized a week belated and Blanc was formally named as director of the team on 2 July. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] As he took charge of France, the Federation had decided to suspend all 23 players who took separate in the south african World Cup, much to Blanc ‘s regret. [ 24 ] On 11 August, in his first plot as coach, France lost 2–1 to Norway at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo. [ 25 ] however, Blanc ‘s team soon managed to top their Euro 2012 qualifying group while besides achieving friendly wins over England, Brazil and Germany. France ‘s first match in Group D of Euro 2012 was against England and ended in a 1–1 draw, after Samir Nasri scored to cancel out a goal scored by Joleon Lescott. France then went on to win their second base peer 2–0 against Ukraine. They advanced to the quarter-finals by finishing in second base position in Group D, despite losing to Sweden 2–0 in their final group meet. France were defeated 2–0 by the defending champions Spain in the quarter-final match. Blanc stepped down deoxyadenosine monophosphate director of the national team on 30 June 2012. [ 26 ]

Paris Saint-Germain [edit ]

Blanc was appointed director of Paris Saint-Germain on 25 June 2013 curtly after previous director Carlo Ancelotti left for Real Madrid. [ 27 ] On 3 August, Blanc won his first trophy with the club, the 2013 Trophée des Champions, defeating Bordeaux 2–1 in the Stade d’Angondjé in Libreville, Gabon, coming from behind with deep goals from Hervin Ongenda and Alex. [ 28 ] A second item of silverware was won on 19 April 2014, as two goals from Edinson Cavani defeated Lyon 2–1 in the 2014 Coupe de la Ligue Final. [ 29 ] PSG ‘s european campaign ended in the quarter-finals of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League with elimination by Chelsea on away goals. [ 30 ] On 7 May 2014, after near rivals Monaco drew with Guingamp, PSG won the league, despite losing to Rennes late that day in the match in which they celebrated their triumph. [ 31 ] The follow day, Blanc was given a annual abridge extension to 2016, with club President Nasser Al-Khelaifi saying, “ We are very happy with his results this season, vitamin a well as the very attractive football the team has played. We are convinced we will win a batch more trophies together. ” [ 32 ]
Blanc ‘s second gear season in charge began with victory in the 2014 Trophée des Champions against Guingamp at the Workers ‘ stadium in Beijing. [ 33 ] On 11 April 2015, PSG retained the Coupe de la Ligue with a victory over Bastia in the final examination, with Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimović scoring two goals each in a 4–0 victory. [ 34 ] PSG won the Ligue 1 championship for the one-third back-to-back year on 16 May 2015 with a 2–1 victory at Montpellier. [ 35 ] On 11 February 2016, Blanc signed a biennial abridge extension. [ 36 ] PSG reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the fourthly back-to-back year after dispatching Chelsea in the rung of 16, but lost to Manchester City in the quarter-finals. Blanc was criticized by the french media after the Champions League quarterfinal second-leg match against Manchester City, where he had surprised many by having his team play in an unseasoned 5–3–2 formation that backfired completely. On 21 May 2016, PSG defeated Olympique de Marseille 4–2 in the 2016 Coupe de France Final. PSG frankincense won the Ligue 1–Coupe de France–Coupe de la Ligue domestic treble for the second straight season and equalled Olympique de Marseille ‘s all-time record of 10 Coupe de France titles. On 3 June 2016, when asked for his appraisal of the season during an interview given to the newspaper Le Parisien, PSG ‘s president of the united states, Nasser Al-Khelaifi described the 2015–2016 season as a failure because of PSG ‘s elimination from the Champions League by Manchester City at the quarter-final degree and stated that changes would be made before the following season and a new bicycle would begin. On 27 June 2016, PSG announced that Blanc and assistant coach Jean-Louis Gasset had left the club by reciprocal agreement that “ preserved the interests of both parties ”, noting that Blanc had “ left a significant set on the bang-up history of Paris Saint-Germain ”. The french sports daily L’Équipe reported that Blanc would receive a rupture share worth 22 million euro. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] [ 39 ]
On 19 December 2020, Blanc was appointed as the steer coach of Qatari cabaret Al-Rayyan, replacing Uruguayan Diego Aguirre. [ 40 ]

career statistics [edit ]

golf club [edit ]

International [edit ]

Appearances and goals by national team and year[43][44]

National team
Year
Apps
Goals

France

1989
6
1

1990
7
1

1991
6
2

1992
8
0

1993
8
3

1994
7
0

1995
4
1

1996
10
3

1997
7
0

1998
13
3

1999
9
0

2000
12
2

Total
97
16

managerial statistics [edit ]

As of 4 December 2021

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team

Nat

From

Record

Ref

Bordeaux

8 June 2007

16 May 2010

159
93
31
35
261
160

+101

0 58.49
[45]
France

2 July 2010

30 June 2012

31
17
8
6
43
22

+21

0 54.84
[46]
Paris Saint-Germain

25 June 2013

27 June 2016

173
126

Honours [edit ]

player [edit ]

Montpellier
Auxerre
Barcelona
Manchester United
France U21
France
Individual