Christophe Maurice Robert Revault (22 March 1972 – 6 May 2021) was a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. After his playing career, he was the

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

of his former club

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, ver ...

Early life

Christophe Maurice Robert Revault was born on 22 March 1972 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

Playing career

Le Havre

Revault started his career with

, playing his first

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

game for them against

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As F ...

at the Parc des Princes.

Paris Saint-Germain and Rennes

Revault would return to Paris to play for

in 1997, as a replacement for

Bernard Lama Bernard Pascal Maurice Lama (born 7 April 1963) is a French football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He spent a large part of his career at Paris Saint-Germain. He was also a member of the France national team ...

, who left for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

. After a relatively disappointing spell with the Parisian club, Revault was snapped up by the

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departm ...

manager

Paul Le Guen Paul Joseph Marie Le Guen (, ; born 1 March 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Ligue 2 club Le Havre. During his playing career, Le Guen played as a midfielder, and enjoyed a s ...

, a former teammate of his at PSG, at the end of the 1997–98 season.

Toulouse

After two successful seasons with Rennes, Revault signed for

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...

, then also playing in Ligue 1. In 2001, Toulouse were forced to be relegated down two divisions for financial reasons, but despite this Revault stuck with the club, helping them gain two successive promotions back to the top flight, picking up an award for

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligu ...

's best goalkeeper of the 2002–03 season on his way. Upon his return to the top division, he was renowned as one of the finest goalkeepers plying their trade in France, although never being picked for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

's national side.

Return to Brittany

Revault stayed with Toulouse until 2006, when the new manager,

Élie Baup Élie Baup (; born 17 March 1955) is a French football manager and a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His last post was the manager of Ligue 1 side Marseille. Managerial career 1994–2009 As the club manager of Bordeaux, Baup won ...

, announced that Nicolas Douchez was his first choice for the goalkeeper's jersey, prompting a return to Stade Rennais in August 2006, where he was now the second-choice goalkeeper, snapping at the heels of young

Simon Pouplin Simon Pouplin (born 28 May 1985) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career In 2005, Pouplin signed his first professional contract with Rennes, signing with the Breton club for three years. He made his debut ...

. On 6 January 2007, Revault played his first match in the colours of Rennes since returning to the club in the Round of 32 of the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professio ...

against

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

side

Romorantin Romorantin is a traditional French variety of white wine grape, that is a sibling of Chardonnay. Once quite widely grown in the Loire, it has now only seen in the Cour-Cheverny AOC. It produces intense, minerally wines somewhat reminiscent o ...

. It proved to be a bitter-sweet experience for Revault as Rennes suffered a shocking 3–1 loss after extra time in front of their own fans at the

Stade de la Route de Lorient The Roazhon Park is a football stadium in Rennes, Brittany, France. ''Roazhon'' is the Breton name of Rennes. The stadium was inaugurated on 15 September 1912. It is located at 111 route de Lorient, in west-central Rennes. Rebuilt in 2001 and a ...

Back to Le Havre

In June 2007 it was announced that Revault would leave Rennes to return to Le Havre.

Post-playing career

Revault retired from playing in 2010, but remained at Le Havre as a scout. He served as interim

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

in two spells during 2012 and 2015, and served as their

from December 2012 until his death in May 2021.

Death

Revault was found dead in his family home in

, France on 6 May 2021 at the age of 49. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Honours

Le Havre * Division/Ligue 2: 1990–91, 2007–08 Paris Saint-Germain *

: 1997–98 Toulouse *

: 2002–03 Individual *Ligue 2 UNFP Team of the Year: 2002–03, 2007–08 *Ligue 2 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2008

References

External links

Christophe Revault's profile, stats & pics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Revault, Christophe 1972 births 2021 deaths Footballers from Paris Association football goalkeepers French footballers Le Havre AC players Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players Stade Rennais F.C. players Toulouse FC players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Championnat National players Le Havre AC non-playing staff