15 years ago, Yoann Gourcuff scored a legendary goal with Bordeaux against PSG. Enough to fuel the comparison with Zinedine Zidane, which is difficult to bear.
It is perhaps the most memorable goal in the history of Ligue 1, in the 21st century anyway. On January 11, 2009, January 15, Yoann Gourcuff scored this famous goal, the masterpiece of his career, against Paris Saint-Germain.
The technical sequence is sublime, and impresses as much by its accuracy as by its speed of execution. Served with his back to goal by Matthieu Chalmé, Gourcuff manages to erase Sylvain Armand with a roulette to turn around. He then places a double-contact to leave Sammy Traoré on the spot, and then adjusts Mickaël Landreau with a sharp right. Chaban-Delmas exults, and delights in this gem a second time when the slow motion is broadcast on the giant screens.
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15 years (already) of this Zidanesque goal… 🙌#OnThisDay #That day #League1Legends
👋 @girondins @gregmargotton 👋 pic.twitter.com/hPd8745olJ
— Ligue 1 Uber Eats (@Ligue1UberEats) January 11, 2024
What contributed to the legend of this goal was also the live commentary on Canal+ (see video below). Grégoire Margotton ignites as it should, in the company of Christophe Dugarry and Laurent Paganelli. The one who is now the voice of the Blues on TF1 aur: has this very apt sentence, on the spot, just after Gourcuff’s moment of magic: “ We compare him to Zidane and we will compare him a little more to Zizou after such a sequence. This player is unique“.
Not missed, indeed. The day after the match, L’Equipe headlined “It’s great”, in reference to both Gourcuff’s goal and this victory for Bordeaux against PSG (4-1), which puts the Girondins back in the race for the title. champion. Laurent Blanc’s men managed to dethrone Olympique Lyonnais that season, after seven years of Les Gones’ reign.
But two days later, on January 13, L’Equipe released its famous front page which made Gourcuff the “successor” by Zidane. An elegant playmaker, revealed in Bordeaux, the Breton indeed had traits in common with the legendary 1998 world champion. Unfortunately for him, the sequel did not live up to expectations, and the comparisons with the one who is certainly the greatest French player in history did not help…
