Six years after his final professional strides, with Dijon, Yoann Gourcuff lives in peaceful retirement near Lorient, where he takes care of his two children (whom he had with TV presenter Karine Ferri). He is a tennis fanatic. The former French international also has the opportunity to go see the Merlus reserve team, since his long-time friend Arnaud Le Lan is in charge.
The former FCL left-back, 47, met the Girondins de Bordeaux last Saturday in National 2 and was questioned by Girondins4Ever on his memories of playing against the Aquitaine team. Le Lan directly mentioned his clashes with Gourcuff, the club’s scapular star from 2008 to 2010. “We knew each other from Rennes. We are relatively close also because he is from Lorient too and I have evolved a lot with his father (Christian, editor’s note) as a coach »he says.
The two players were teammates with the Rouge et Noir from 2003 to 2005, sharing 13 Ligue 1 and two Coupe de France matches. Then the two friends faced each other four times from 2009 to 2012, during a Bordeaux-Lorient (1-0) at Chaban-Delmas, two Lorient-Bordeaux (1-4 and 1-0) as well as for an OL-Lorient (3-2) at Gerland.
“Little words” with Gourcuff
“I remember facing Yoann in these confrontations. It’s special when you come across someone on the pitch who you are very, very close to, who you see outside, who you see outside in two different clubs. So it’s above all this memory, in fact, of Bordeaux, it’s of having met Yoann on the pitch where there were little words, a little bit of humor that happened like that, ultimately, on the pitch, even during the game”said Arnaud Le Lan.
“Yo” Gourcuff was the flamboyant playmaker for Laurent Blanc’s Bordelais, decisive in the French championship title in 2009 (and voted best player in Ligue 1). With Les Gones, whom he joined in 2010, the former Milanese has completely lost his angelic smile. He was already a resounding flop when he faced his friend Le Lan’s Lorient in April 2012, replacing Jimmy Briand in the second half.
