Yoann Gourcuff’s career is a mess and the reason is simple: his time at Olympique Lyonnais derailed him on the path to the very high level. Number 10 talented and generous in effort, the Morbihannais exploded at the Girondins de Bordeaux. His genius (12 goals and 10 assists, including his banger
memorable against PSG) offered the title of French champion to Laurent Blanc’s team. He was voted best player in Ligue 1 and finished 20th in the 2009 Ballon d’Or.
In the summer of 2010, the scandalous World Cup of Raymond Domenech’s French team in South Africa put Gourcuff in the first turmoil. The new phenomenon of the Blues did not get along with the asserted crack of the band, namely Franck RibĂ©ry. Jean-Michel Aulas then made him the most expensive recruit in OL history, compared to 22 million euros with 4.5 million bonuses. The Breton was even presented at the Stade de Gerland in front of the supporters!
From his first season, Yoann Gourcuff failed to establish himself as the new playmaker of Les Gones (33 matches in all competitions, 4 goals, 5 assists). And this, even before the following years marked by repeated small injuries. For Souleymane Diawara, his former friend in Bordeaux, Gourcuff was very poorly received in the Rhone locker room. Quite simply.
The jealousy of the Lyonnais towards Gourcuff
“It’s sad because I think there was a lot of jealousy from certain players at Lyon. It’s special Lyon, the gang of Lyonnais as they say there… Either they adopt you or they kill you. Yo, it was the handsome kid, the president (Aulas) who traveled to Bordeaux by jet to pick him up… Everyone spoke of him as the future Zizou, number 10, good-looking, sponsored by big luxury brands, that wasn’t done before, he was one of the first. So it can create jealousy, what if he comes here? A footballer, when mentally you are not ready, it is very difficult to play football”responded the ex-defender to SmaĂŻl Bouabdellah in the podcast
Kampo.
At OL, Yoann Gourcuff therefore paid the price for the base made up of the oldest members of the squad and the kids who left the training center. He played with the “locals” Rémy Vercoutre, Anthony Lopes, Samuel Umtiti, Jérémy Pied, Maxime Gonalons, Jordan Ferri, Clément Grenier and Alexandre Lacazette. The former French international “had the gestures a little” by Zinedine Zidane and “even the wheels” (dixit Diawara), but unlike “Zizou”, he only took off when he left Bordeaux.
