Christian Jean Gourcuff (born 5 April 1955) is a French former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player and manager. He spent a majority of his managerial career at
Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginn ...
, where he was the head coach for 25 years across three different spells.
Club career
During his playing career, Gourcuff played for
Rennais, US Berné,
Guingamp
Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 7,115 as of 2020, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guin ...
,
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
,
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds (; archaic ) is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura Mountains at an altitude of 992 metres, a few kilometres south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne, Biel/Bienne, and Fribourg, ...
,
Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginn ...
,
Le Mans
Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
and
Montreal Supra
Montreal Supra was a Soccer in Canada, Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec that played in the Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992), Canadian Soccer League from 1988 to 1992.
History
Montre ...
.
International career
Gourcuff played one match for the
Brittany regional team in 1988. It was an indoor game against the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and the final score was 6–2 in favor of Brittany.
Managerial career
Becoming a player-manager at the age of 27, Gourcuff coached
Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginn ...
,
Le Mans
Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
, Pont-l'Abbé,
Stade Rennais
Stade Rennais Football Club (SRFC, ), commonly referred to as Stade Rennais () or simply Rennes,''Rennais'' and ''Stade Rennes'', used by some English-speaking media outlets and journalists, are not grammatically correct names for the club. is ...
and
Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to:
Sports Football Men Teams
* Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
* Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya
* Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya
* Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya
* Al Ittihad SC ...
.
On 4 August 2014, Gourcuff was officially unveiled as the new head coach of the
Algeria national team, taking over the vacant spot left by the departure of
Vahid Halilhodžić
Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 May 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various nation ...
.
On 3 February 2015, Gourcuff was given a new deal despite Algeria's quarter-final exit at the Africa Cup of Nations.
In the 2018–19 season, Gourcuff was the head coach of Qatari club
Al-Gharafa
Al-Gharafa Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Ar Rayyan, Al Rayyan municipality. The club is best known for its association football, football team, although it also has teams for other sports. The ...
.
Personal life
His son,
Yoann,
is also a professional footballer who represented France at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Managerial statistics
Honours
Orders
*
Knight of the Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
: 2013
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gourcuff, Christian
1955 births
Living people
Footballers from Finistère
French men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Stade Rennais FC players
En Avant Guingamp players
FC Rouen players
FC Lorient players
Le Mans FC players
Ligue 2 players
Brittany men's international footballers
French football managers
Montreal Supra players
FC Lorient managers
Stade Rennais FC managers
Le Mans FC managers
Al-Gharafa SC managers
FC Nantes managers
Algeria national football team managers
Ligue 1 managers
Ligue 2 managers
French expatriate men's footballers
French expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada
Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players
2015 Africa Cup of Nations managers
University of Western Brittany alumni
French expatriate football managers
French expatriate sportspeople in Qatar
Expatriate football managers in Qatar
French expatriate sportspeople in Algeria
Expatriate football managers in Algeria
Knights of the Legion of Honour
Sportspeople from Brittany
20th-century French sportsmen