Pierre Ducrocq (born 18 December 1976) is a French former 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 lea ...

who played as a defender or

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Club career

Born in

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune north of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official (capital) of the Val-d'Oise '' département'', although in reality the ' ...

, Ducrocq started his career at

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

, progressing through the youth ranks and making his debut in the 1994–95 season. He was loaned to

Stade Lavallois Stade Lavallois Mayenne Football Club (), also referred to as Stade Lavallois or simply Laval,Stade Laval, used by some English-speaking media outlets and journalists, is not a grammatically correct name for the club. is a Football in France, F ...

during the 1996–97 season, later becoming a regular for the first team after returning. He was loaned to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

in October 2001, with a view to a permanent deal. However, the club would not be able to purchase the player after being relegated from the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

and Ducrocq returned to PSG, signing for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

newcomers

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

where his friend and former teammate Grégory Paisley was playing. Despite being relegated from the Ligue 1 in his first season, Ducrocq played for the club until 2007. Before the start of the 2007–08, he submitted a transfer request in order to seek an opportunity to play at the top flight again. Ducrocq first travelled to Israeli club

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

, but the move was cancelled after manager

Eli Cohen Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen (‎; ‎; 26 December 1924 – 18 May 1965) was an Egyptian-born Israeli spy. He is best known for his espionage work in Syria between 1961 and 1965, where he developed close relationships with the Syrian poli ...

left the club. He then went to Turkish side

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği, commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...

, but rejected a move after being told that there were staff disagreements at the club. Ultimately, he joined his friend Grégory Paisley again in a two-year contract move to

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, suffering relegation at the

2007–08 Ligue 1 The 2007–08 Ligue 1 season was the seventieth since its establishment, and started in August 2007 and ended on 17 May 2008. The fixtures were announced in June 2007. Lyon became French champions, having won a record seventh consecutive title. ...

and losing a promotion spot in the last match of the

2008–09 Ligue 2 The Ligue 2 season 2008–09 was the sixty-seventh edition since its establishment, and began on 1 August 2008 and ended on 29 May 2009. The fixtures were announced on 23 May 2008. Promotion and relegation Teams relegated to Ligue 2 *FC Metz, re ...

after a defeat against

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

and a

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

victory in another match, falling from second to fourth place. He signed with Greek club

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

, finishing 6th in his first

Superleague Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repl ...

season and 7th in the 2010–11 before the club was relegated after found guilty of match-fixing. Ducrocq suffered an herniated disc near the end of the season and decided to quit football.

International career

Ducrocq played for the

France national under-16 football team The France national under-16 football team is the national under-16 football team of France and is controlled by the French Football Federation. The team previously competed in the annual UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship before it wa ...

at the

1993 UEFA European Under-16 Championship The 1993 UEFA European Under-16 Championship was the 11th edition of the UEFA's European Under-16 Football Championship. Players born on or after 1 August 1976 were eligible to participate in this competition. Turkey hosted the 16 teams that cont ...

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

: 1997–98 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

: 1997–98 *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ducrocq, Pierre 1976 births Living people Footballers from Pontoise Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders French men's footballers France men's youth international footballers Ligue 1 players Paris Saint-Germain FC players Stade Lavallois players Derby County F.C. players Premier League players Le Havre AC players RC Strasbourg Alsace players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England