Profil Yoann Miguel Gourcuff

Personal information :

Full name : Yoann Miguel Gourcuff
Date of birth :11 July 1986 (age 24)
Place of birth : Ploemeur, France
Height : 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position : Attacking midfielder
Current club : Olympic Lyon
Number : 29
Youth career :
1992–2001 Lorient
1998–2001 PEF Ploufragan
2001–2003 Rennes
Senior career:
2003–2006 Rennes
2006–2009 Milan
2008–2009 Bordeaux (loan)
2009–2010 Bordeaux
2010– Lyon
National team :
2002–2003 France U17
2003 France U18 4
2004–2005 France U19
2006–2008 France U21
2008– France

Early and personal life

Gourcuff was born on 11 July 1986 in Ploemeur, Morbihan, Brittany to parents Dr. Marine Thalouarn and Christian Gourcuff, both being Breton. Gourcuff comes from a very athletic family. His mother was a basketball player, his older brother, Erwan, is a competitive swimmer and cyclist, while his father was a former footballer who played for several clubs in such countries as France, Switzerland, and Canada, however, he is best known for his time at Rennes, Lorient, and Le Mans. Gourcuff's father later moved into the managerial role having stints at Rennes, Le Mans, Lorient (twice), and Qatari club Al-Gharafa. He currently serves as manager of Lorient, his third stint at the club, whom he has managed since 2003. As a youth, the younger Gourcuff excelled at both football and tennis, becoming the top player of his age group (12), but eventually opted to focus on football. While beginning his career as a football player, Gourcuff admired and drew inspiration from the playing style of the Brazil national team from the 1970s, whom he discovered from watching tapes with his father. He often attempted to emulate the skills of Brazilian legend Pelé.

Career : Early career

Gourcuff began his career with FC Lorient, who were, at the time, managed by his father in 1992. During his time at Lorient, he also trained at the Pôle Espoirs Football de Ploufragan, a smaller regional version of the Clairefontaine Football National Academy. Further to his father's departure to Stade Rennais, Gourcuff, who initially considered Nantes, followed suit and signed an aspirant (youth) contract with the club in 2001. While in the youth system at Rennes, he participated in the Coupe Gambardella and scored a goal in the team's 4–1 victory over Strasbourg in the final match helping the club win the 2003 edition of the youth cup.

In November 2003, Gourcuff signed his first professional contract and was promoted to the first team for the latter part of the 2003–04 season. He made his league debut on 7 February 2004 in a 2–0 defeat against Auxerre coming on as a substitute in the 76th minute. He made eight more appearances that season, which included his first start against Bordeaux in a 3–1 victory. The 2005–06 season was more successful for Gourcuff. Wearing the number 10 shirt, he appeared in 36 matches scoring six goals, which included his first ever league goal against Monaco in a 2–0 win. He formed midfield partnerships with fellow Frenchman Olivier Monterrubio and the Swede Kim Källström helping Rennes to finish 7th in Ligue 1 and winning them a place in the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Ac Milan

Having been linked with a host of big name European clubs such as Dutch club Ajax, Spanish side Valencia, and English club Arsenal of the Premier League, at the end of the 2006 season, Gourcuff moved to Milan in Italy. He signed a five-year contract with the transfer fee being approximately €3.5 million. He made his competitive debut for the Rossoneri on 9 August 2006 in the club's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie against Red Star Belgrade, appearing in the 81st minute as a substitute for Andrea Pirlo. He scored his first career goal for Milan in the club's opening Champions League group stage match against AEK Athens.

Over the course of two years with the club, Gourcuff's playing time was effectively insufficient appearing in only 36 league matches, 23 of them as a substitute. His meager playing time and slow development at the club was primarily due to injuries and manager Carlo Ancelotti overlooking and being critical of him, stating that the player had psychological issues. Gourcuff was also in direct competition with the Brazilian international and 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year winner Kaká, which caused further limits in playing time. Gourcuff did, however, earn a winner's medal with the club after they won the 2006–07 edition of the Champions League. Though, he did not crack the starting 11 or the bench for the match, his three appearances for the club in the competition made him eligible to receive a medal. He was also a part of the squads that won the 2007 UEFA Super Cup and the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup.

Following the season, on 31 May 2008, Adriano Galliani revealed Milan would loan Gourcuff to French first division club Bordeaux for the entire 2008–09 season, to allow him more playing time.

Bordeaux

"That goal was no accident." "It showed there was something magical about him. I felt ill when Zidane retired. Watching Gourcuff has cured me. When I see players like him, I feel like a small boy again."
Christophe Dugarry, on Gourcuff's goal against PSG.

At Bordeaux, Gourcuff quickly asserted himself into the squad scoring on his league debut against Caen in a 2–1 victory and also helping Bordeaux capture their 2nd Trophée des champions title. He scored Bordeaux's 4th and final goal in the team's 4–0 triumph over Vannes in the Coupe de la Ligue final. He also provided the assist on the third goal. Gourcuff also scored two goals in Bordeaux's Champions League campaign against Roma and CFR Cluj. On 11 January 2009, he scored a goal that was voted the goal of the season by fans against Paris Saint-Germain in a 4–0 victory. Upon receiving the ball from teammate Matthieu Chalmé, just outside of the box, Gourcuff performed a swift Marseille turn, eluding PSG defender Sylvain Armand, followed by quickly shifting the ball from his right foot to his left causing Sammy Traoré to lose balance, before bringing the ball back to his right foot and blasting it past Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau with the outside of his right foot.
Gourcuff during team's lineup before UEFA Champions League match.

The following two weeks, he scored his 5th and 6th goals, respectively, against Nantes in a 2–1 victory and Lille in a 2–2 draw. After going goalless in the league for seven straight weeks, Gourcuff got back on track scoring against relegation-bound Le Havre. On the 33rd match day, he scored his first career brace against his former club Rennes, his 8th and 9th goals of the season. In the ensuing three weeks, Gourcuff maintained his form scoring in all three matches, against Sochaux, Valenciennes, and Le Mans giving him a tally of 12 league goals for the season. Bordeaux won all three matches, which effectively put them in 1st position heading into the final week of the season. Bordeaux eventually won the league capturing the sixth title in the club's history. The club also recorded their second ever double, as a result of its Coupe de la Ligue title. For his efforts during the 2008–09 season, Gourcuff was awarded the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award. He was also named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year. His performances during the 2008–09 season later earned him a nomination by the French magazine France Football for the 2009 Ballon d'Or award, won by Lionel Messi with Gourcuff finishing in 20th place with six points.

Due to Gourcuff's impressive season, his parent club announced that they would be open to the player returning to Milan for the 2009–10 season. However, the club's plans were put on halt after learning of Bordeaux's intent to meet Gourcuff's buy-out clause of €15 million included in the loan deal. Despite general manager Adriano Galliani and new manager Leonardo's efforts to persuade Gourcuff to return, on 28 May, it was announced that Bordeaux had signed Gourcuff permanently from Milan with Gourcuff agreeing to a four year deal.[8][42][43] The transfer fee was undisclosed, but was in the region of €13–15 million.[44]
Gourcuff during an August 2009 training session .

Gourcuff began the 2009–10 season claiming his 4th silverware with Bordeaux on 25 July 2009, winning the 2009 Trophée des Champions title in a 2–0 victory over Guingamp. As a result of his performance, he was named Man of the Match. Two weeks later, he scored a double in the club's opening match of the league season against Lens. The final result was 4–1. The victory set a record in league play for most consecutive wins for the club with 12. On 23 August, he scored another set of goals, this time against Nice in a 4–0 victory.

In the UEFA Champions League, Gourcuff assisted on Bordeaux's only goal in their opening 1–1 draw against Italian club Juventus scored by Jaroslav Plašil. On 30 September, Gourcuff suffered a groin injury in the club's 1–0 victory over Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, which forced him to miss two league matches, with Bordeaux losing both matches, and an international call up. He returned to the team for Bordeaux's back-to-back matches with German club Bayern Munich. In the first match, which Bordeaux won 2–1, Gourcuff missed a penalty after attempting to cheekily chip the ball over goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt, however in the second match, he made amends scoring the game winning goal in Bordeaux's 2–0 victory at the Allianz Arena. Bordeaux eventually finished the group stage portion undefeated.
Gourcuff during 2009–10 season during a match against Rennes.

For most of November and the early part of December, Gourcuff suffered a dip in form in league play going scoreless and also not providing any assists. Manager Laurent Blanc later stated that Gourcuff had lacked confidence since returning from his injury following Gourcuff's second penalty miss of the season in the club's midweek 1–0 victory over Montpellier on 16 November. However, three days later, Gourcuff returned to form scoring a goal and providing the assists on the other three goals in Bordeaux's 4–1 win over Lorient. On 20 December, he was declared by magazine France Football the French Player of the Year for 2009 beating out the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Hugo Lloris, Thierry Henry, and Franck Ribéry with the latter winning the award the past two seasons prior.

On 23 February 2010, Gourcuff assisted on Bordeaux's only goal, scored by Michaël Ciani, in their shutout victory away to Greek club Olympiacos in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout round match following his delivery of a powerful and driven free kick into the box that landed at the head of the defenseman. In the second leg, he scored the opening goal in the 5th minute converting a free kick to put Bordeaux up 2–0 on aggregate. The team won the tie with a 3–1 aggregate scoreline to advance to the quarter-finals where Bordeaux faced league rivals Lyon. In the first leg, which Lyon won 3–1, Gourcuff provided the assist on an away goal scored by Marouane Chamakh.[58] In the second leg, Bordeaux recorded a first half goal, but were unable to score another as Lyon advanced to the semi-finals on a 3–2 aggregate scoreline. On 24 April in a league match against Lorient, Gourcuff endured a recurring groin injury during the early stages of the match. Despite showing signs of injury, Gourcuff remained in the match until the end of the first half. Due to the injury, Gourcuff missed the Bordeaux's final five league matches. The club recorded two wins, one draw, and two losses in the five matches which resulted in Bordeaux failing to qualify for European competition next season.

In the 2010–11 season, Gourcuff appeared in Bordeaux's first three league matches of the season. On 22 August 2010, in his final match with the club against Paris Saint-Germain, he appeared as a substitute and assisted on the game-winning goal scored by Michaël Ciani in injury time.

Lyon

On 23 August 2010, Lyon confirmed on its website that the club had reached an agreement with Bordeaux for the transfer of Gourcuff. Gourcuff had reportedly stated the previous day that he wanted to join Lyon. After passing his medical on 25 August, Gourcuff signed a five-year contract with the club for a fee of €22 million, to be paid in three installments by 31 December 2012. Gourcuff selected the number 29 shirt and made his club debut on 28 August in the team's 2–0 defeat to Lorient. Gourcuff appeared as a substitute in the match for the injured César Delgado. He scored his first goal for the club in Lyon's 3-1 win over Lille.

International career
Gourcuff was capped for France at the schoolboy level earning his first youth cap with the under-17 team in a 0–0 draw with Spain on 18 September 2002. He scored his first goal for the team on 5 February 2003 in a friendly match against the Czech Republic. Gourcuff finished the season with the under-17s with twelve appearances and netting two goals as the squad failed to qualify for the 2003 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. Gourcuff made only four appearances with the under-18 team scoring his only goal on 30 October in a 2–2 friendly draw with the Ukraine. Gourcuff returned to international level with the under-19s and was part of the winning team at the 2005 European Under-19 Football Championship. Leading up to the tournament, Gourcuff scored goals against Armenia in the first qualifying round and Spain in the Elite round.[66][67] The 1–0 victory over Spain assured France's qualification for the tournament. In the tournament, Gourcuff scored an impressive hat-trick in a 3–1 victory over Norway converting two penalty kicks and scoring in the run of play.He assisted on two goals in the team's 3–2 semi-final win over Germany and played the full 90 minutes in championship match against England. France won the match 3–1 giving the nation their sixth under-19 title and Gourcuff his first international honor. In total with the under-19s, Gourcuff featured in 17 matches and scored seven goals.
Gourcuff (8), preparing to take a corner kick for France.

Gourcuff made his debut for the under-21 team on 18 May 2006 in a preparatory friendly match for the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship against Croatia. In the tournament, Gourcuff was the team's lone underage player and played in all four of the team's matches as France reached the semi-finals losing in extra time to the Netherlands. On 5 September 2006, Gourcuff scored his first under-21 goal in a 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification match against Slovenia. France, however, failed to qualify for the tournament. On 27 March 2007, Gourcuff captained the under-21 team for the first time in a 1–0 defeat to Norway. Due to injury, he missed the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification play-offs against Germany. France lost the tie 2–1 on aggregate. The negative result ended Gourcuff's under-21 career.

Gourcuff earned his first call up to the senior team on 11 August 2008 for the team's friendly match against Sweden that was played on 20 August. He earned his first cap in that match appearing as a substitute in the 92nd minute when France's 3–2 victory had been all but confirmed. He scored his first goal for Les Bleus on 11 October 2008 against Romania in a 2010 World Cup qualification match. The wonder strike from almost 30 yards out drew the match at 2–2 ensuring France's positioning in the group.Since the match against Serbia, held a month before the match against Romania, manager Raymond Domenech has installed Gourcuff in the attacking midfield position, just behind the striker, a position that some believe has yet to be filled since the retirement of Zinedine Zidane following the 2006 World Cup. On 30 May, Gourcuff assisted on the equalizing goal scored by William Gallas in the team's 1–1 draw with Tunisia. Gourcuff was a member of France's 23-man team that competed in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. On 11 June 2010, Gourcuff made his FIFA World Cup debut in the team's opening group stage match against Uruguay. The match ended 0–0 with Gourcuff being substituted out in the second half. Following the match against Uruguay, former international Just Fontaine stated that Gourcuff "was lost" during the match. It was later reported by the media that midfielder Franck Ribéry and striker Nicolas Anelka had purposely "froze-out" Gourcuff in the Uruguay match. In the team's final group stage match against the hosts South Africa, Gourcuff was sent off in the first half after the referee ruled that he intentionally elbowed an opposing player in the face. France lost the match 2–1, which resulted in its elimination from the competition.

Due to his red card suspension in the World Cup, Gourcuff missed two call-ups to the national team in August and September. In October 2010, he was called back into the team by his former manager at Bordeaux Laurent Blanc for UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Romania and Luxembourg. In the match against Romania, Gourcuff appeared as a substitute and scored the final goal in the team's 2–0 victory.[80] He was inserted into the starting lineup against Luxembourg and responded by assisting on the opening goal scored by Karim Benzema and scoring the second goal in another 2–0 win.