Yoann Gourcuff

Yoann Gourcuff is undoubtedly one of the greatest wasted talents in the history of football, due to injuries. Named as the new Zinedine Zidane, he will have only suffered from the comparison.

450

Games

Goals

Assists

Trophies

2003/06 Stade Rennais (FRA) 80 games, 6 goals

2006/08 AC Milan (ITA) 55 games, 3 goals

2008/09 Girondins de Bordeaux (FRA) (Loan) 49 games, 15 goals

2009/10 Girondins de Bordeaux (FRA) 46 games, 9 goals

2010/15 Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) 128 games, 19 goals

2015/18 Stade Rennais (FRA) 53 games, 7 goals

2018/19 Dijon FCO (FRA) 8 games

With the National Team :

31 caps, 4 goals

(Friendly Matches: 16 caps)

(World Cup Qualifiers: 10 caps, 1 goal)

(Euro Qualifiers: 3 caps, 3 goals)

(World Cup: 2 caps)

1st cap: August 20, 2008 against Sweden (3-2)

Last cap: June 5, 2013 against Uruguay (0-1)

From Brittany to AC Milan

Yoann Gourcuff was born on July 11, 1986 in Ploemeur, he is a player enormously gifted technically, with a style similar to that of Zinedine Zidane, he climbs little by little the ranks of the youth categories and passes through the youth teams of France. In 2005, he is also part of the French Team U19 European champion.

The French attacking midfielder will have started football very early and in 1992, he was already part of the training center of FC Lorient, at 6 years old. In 2001, he left it to join the training center of Stade Rennais, during his time in the youth categories of the Rennes club, he won the Gambardella Cup.

Yoann Gourcuff made his professional debut in February 2004, still with Stade Rennais. He gradually made a place for himself in the team and established himself as a real starter during the 2005-2006 season, at the end of which he signed for one of the best European teams: AC Milan.

Unfortunately, due to the competition, he struggled to establish himself in the squad, because at 20 years old, he logically came behind Pirlo, Seedorf, Kaká... He still won the 2007 Champions League. And after two seasons, he went on loan to the Girondins de Bordeaux.

One of the most talented players in the world

This year on loan was to be the year of his explosion, in Bordeaux, he was called "The new Zidane", and impressed with his qualities, precise passes, efficient dribbling, clean finishing and great elegance with the ball at his feet. At the end of the season, he was logically among the best players in the world in his position: 49 matches, 15 goals and 14 assists, standards that are reminiscent of Zidane's...

Quite reserved, he is a player who does not make waves and for whom the Bordeaux supporters will fall in love. It was also during this year 2008 that he had his first match with the French team. He scored his first goal with the national team on October 11, 2008 against Romania during a qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup.

This 2008/09 season was the best of his career. He was voted best player in Ligue 1 with a total of 12 goals and 10 assists in the competition, best French player of the season and finished in 20th place in the Ballon d'Or. With his team, he won a historic treble: Ligue 1, French League Cup and Trophée des Champions, he also finished man of the match in the match for the last trophy.

At the peak of his art, the supporters could only hope for great things for their magnificent attacking midfielder, but fate would have chosen otherwise. The player was bought at the end of his loan for 13.5 million euros (while he was already worth 18.5).

But the 2009/10 season already announced the beginnings of the end, indeed, Gourcuff experienced his first injuries, 3 in total during the season, for problems with his thighs and adductors. Despite everything, the player remained the major element of the team and had a season with 43 matches, 9 goals and 12 assists. In the Champions League, he delighted and delivered 2 assists, plus scored 2 goals in 8 games. At almost 24 years old, he was then one of the best French players, his market value reaching 24 million euros.

A career destroyed by injuries

At the end of the season, he joined the French team, and was taken to task by many players for his lack of frankness. Always withdrawn to speak, he took the situation badly and it showed in his performances. The French adventure during the 2010 World Cup was a disaster and a national shame that would stain the careers of many players. After the World Cup, he would only play 9 times in the French team, due to non-selections or injuries.

Olympique Lyonnais came to get the attacking midfielder for 22 million euros in 2010, the club record at the time, and intended to make the player the symbol of a new breath of life for Lyon. But the adventure was going to be a failure, even if the beginnings were good (first season with 4 goals and 6 assists in 36 games), the player accumulated injuries.

In total, he suffered 22 injuries in 5 seasons at Lyon, and missed 188 games during this period. His market value fell, going from 22 million to 4 million euros... The player struggled to come back from his injuries and no longer had the impact he had at Bordeaux. In the French team, he no longer played from 2013.

Return to Brittany and end of career

He therefore left for Stade Rennais, at 29 years old, in the shoes of a huge waste of football. Ruined by injuries, he continued to alternate between hospital stays and on the pitch. And at 32, he left Rennes to join Dijon FCO before getting injured again, he ended his career after a final season of 8 matches, at 33.

Gourcuff will be the symbol of a talented, graceful player, who loved playing football but whose destiny was broken by injuries that did not leave him behind throughout his career. A player who will forever remain as one of the favorites of the Bordeaux public and more generally of lovers of the French championship, which he marked with his talent.