FC Lorient

100px
Full name	Football Club Lorient-Bretagne Sud
Nickname(s)	Les Merlus, Le FCL
Founded	1926
Ground	Stade du Moustoir, Lorient (Capacity: 18,500)
Chairman	Loïc Fery
Manager	Christian Gourcuff
League	Ligue 1
2011–12	17th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Football Club Lorient-Bretagne Sud (French pronunciation: [lɔˈryɑ̃-bʁətaɲ syd]; commonly referred to FC Lorient or simply Lorient) is a French association football club based in Lorient. The club was founded in 1926 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top level of French football. Lorient plays its home matches at the Stade du Moustoir located within the city. The team is managed by Christian Gourcuff and captained by goalkeeper Fabien Audard. Gourcuff formerly played for Lorient and is currently in his third stint as manager of the club.

Lorient had a relatively bleak history nationally prior to 1998 when the club made its first appearance in Ligue 1 in the 1998–99 season. Prior to that, Lorient spent the majority of its life as an amateur club. Lorient's achieved its biggest honour in 2002 when the club won the Coupe de France defeating Bastia 1–0 in the final. Lorient has never won Ligue 1, but has won the Championnat National earning this honour in 1995. Regionally, the club has won five Brittany Division d'Honneur titles and six Coupe de Bretagne.

Lorient has most notably served as a springboard club for several present-day internationals such as Laurent Koscielny, André-Pierre Gignac, Michaël Ciani, Kevin Gameiro, Karim Ziani, Bakari Koné, and Seydou Keita. French international Yoann Gourcuff, the son of Christian Gourcuff, began his career at the club before moving to Derby Breton rivals Rennes. In recent years the club has developed a reputation because of its commitment to playing a spectacular brand of football and its long-standing trust in coach Christian Gourcuff, a highly regarded tactician in France in spite of his relative lack of fame abroad.^[1]

History[link]

Football Club Lorient was founded on 2 April 1926. Lorient was formed off of La Marée Sportive, a club founded a year earlier by Madame Cuissard, a store patron who originated from Saint-Étienne, and her son Joseph. The club began play as an amateur club under the Czechoslovakian manager Jozef Loquay and won the Champions de l'Ouest in 1929, which placed the club into the Division d'Honneur of the Brittany region. In 1932, Lorient won the league and, four years later, repeated this performance. The onset of World War II limited the club's meteoric rise in the region and the departure of several players who either joined the war effort or left to play abroad effectively disseminated the club.

Following the war, Antoine Cuissard, the grandson of Madame Cuissard, joined the club as a player with intentions of rebuilding it in honor of his grandmother. Lorient began play in the Division d'Honneur. Cuissard began one of the first Lorient players to maintain a place in the France national team while playing with the club. In 1954, he played on the team that qualified for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Lorient quickly recovered and, by 1948, was playing in the Championnat de France amateur (CFA). The club spent two years in the league before falling back to the Division d'Honneur. In 1957, Lorient was promoted back to the CFA, but struggled due to being limited financially. The club, subsequently, sought club sponsors with hopes of becoming professional. In 1967, with the club earning promotion to Division 3, Lorient, led by clubs presidents Jean Tomine and Fougères decided to realize the dream of becoming a professional club. Incoming president Henri Ducassou agreed to take on the role of attaining professional status.

In the second division, Lorient struggled to consistently stay up in the league table. In the 1975–76 season, the club came close to promotion after finishing 3rd in its group. However, the following season, Lorient was relegated to Division 3. The club, subsequently, struggled financially and domestically and were on the verge of bankruptcy. During this period, Lorient played in the Division Supérieure Régionale in the lower divisions. In the early 1980s, Georges Guenoum took over the club as president and hired former Lorient player Christian Gourcuff as manager. Surprisingly, under Gourcuff, Lorient quickly ascended up the French football ladder. In 1983, the club won the Brittany Division d'Honneur and, in the following season, won Division 4. Gourcuff left the club after its first campaign in Division 3. Lorient spent the next five years in Division 3 playing under two different managers. In 1991, Gourcuff returned to the club and, after almost a decade playing in Division 3, Lorient earned promotion back to Division 2 after winning the second edition of the Championnat National.

Jean-Claude Darcheville scored the game-winning goal for Lorient in the 2002 Coupe de France final.

Lorient spent two seasons in the second division and, in the 1997–98 season, surprised many by running away with the league alongside champions Nancy. The 1998–99 season marked Lorient's first appearance in Division 1 in the club's history. The appearance was brief with Lorient struggling to meet the financial demands and stronger competition of the league. The club finished in 16th place and were relegated. Amazingly, Lorient finished equal on points with Le Havre with both clubs having the same amount of wins, losses, and draws. However, due to Le Havre having a better goal difference, Lorient was relegated. After only two seasons in Division 2, Lorient were back in the first division for the 2001–02 season. Prior to the promotion, in April 2001, a takeover of the club led by Alain Le Roch led to internal problems, which resulted in the departure of Gourcuff and one of the club's best players, Ulrich Le Pen, soon after. The club hired Argentine manager Ángel Marcos to replace Gourcuff. However, Marcos lasted only a few months.

Despite the initial issues, Lorient strengthened its squad in preparation for its return to the first division by recruiting players such as Pascal Delhommeau, Moussa Saïb, Johan Cavalli, and Pape Malick Diop. Led by Yvon Pouliquen, the new signings joined the likes of Jean-Claude Darcheville, Arnaud Le Lan, and Seydou Keita and surprised many by reaching the final of the Coupe de la Ligue. Lorient was defeated by Bordeaux in the final. Lorient continued its impressive cup form by winning the Coupe de France just two months later. In the match, Lorient faced Bastia and defeated the Corsicans 1–0 courtesy of a goal from Darcheville. The title was the club's first major honour. The celebration would however end on a sourer note as Lorient was relegated from league play in the same season.

Lorient returned to the first division, now called Ligue 1, in 2006 with a completely revamped team. Instead of spending money on players, the club focused its efforts on improving its academy and promoted several players to the first-team such as André-Pierre Gignac, Virgile Reset, Jérémy Morel, and Diego Yesso during the club's stint in Ligue 2. Lorient was also influenced by the arrival of the Malian international Bakari Koné. The club, in its return to Ligue 1, finished mid-table in three straight seasons. In the 2009–10 season, Lorient performed well domestically. In October 2009, the club reached 5th place in the table; its highest position that late in the season ever. Lorient eventually finished the campaign in 7th place; its best finish in Ligue 1.

Players[link]

Current squad[link]

As of 1 September 2011^[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Benjamin Lecomte 2 DF Lamine Koné 3 DF Pedrinho 4 MF Alaixys Romao 5 DF Bruno Ecuélé Manga 6 DF Grégory Bourillon 7 MF Arnold Mvuemba 8 MF Yann Jouffre 9 FW Innocent Emeghara 10 MF Mathieu Coutadeur 11 MF Sigamary Diarra 12 DF Lucas Mareque 13 FW Ladislas Douniama 14 DF Arnaud Le Lan 15 FW Jérémie Aliadière

No. Position Player 16 GK Fabien Audard 17 DF Maxime Baca 18 FW Gilles Sunu 19 FW Tristan Do 21 MF Cheick Doukouré 22 FW Kévin Monnet-Paquet 23 MF Mathias Autret 24 DF Wesley Lautoa 25 DF Lamine Gassama 26 MF Rémi Mulumba 27 FW Julien Quercia 28 DF Maxime Barthelme 30 GK Florent Chaigneau 33 DF Simon Falette 36 FW Joel Campbell (on loan from Arsenal)

Out on loan[link]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 20 FW Sebastián Dubarbier (at Córdoba) 29 FW Fabien Robert (at Doncaster)

Notable players[link]

Below are the notable former and current players who have represented Lorient in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1926. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 official matches for the club.

For a complete list of FC Lorient players with a Wikipedia article, see here.

Management and staff[link]

Club officials[link]

Senior club staff^[3]

• President: Loïc Féry
• General Director: Serge Arguian
• Administrative Director: Fabrice Devillers
• Director of Operations: Rachid Dray
• Director of Development: Fabrice Bocquet
• Security Director: Yannick Gey
• Communications Officer: Simon Rabaud

Coaching and medical staff

• Manager: Christian Gourcuff
• Assistant Manager: Sylvain Ripoll
• Goalkeeper Coach: Patrick L'Hostis
• Fitness Coach: Florian Simon
• Doctor: Vincent Detaille
• Kinesiotherapy: David Le Gall & Régis Bouyaux

Managerial history[link]

Dates[4][5] Name 1929–1932 Jozef Loquay Alex Bohm 1946–1948 Jean Snella 1948–1951 Marcel Lisieiro 1951–1952 Robert Hennequin 1952–1959 Georges Girot 1959 Antoine Cuissard 1960 Lucien Philipot 1961–1967 Daniel Carpentier 1967–1968 Antoine Cuissard 1968–1969 Yves Boutet 1969–1971 Émile Rummelhardt 1971–1972 André Mori

Dates Name 1972–1976 Jean Vincent 1977–1978 Louis Hon 1978–1979 Paul Le Bellec 1979–1981 Bernard Goueffic 1981–1982 Louis Lagadec 1982–1986 Christian Gourcuff 1986–1988 Michel Le Calloch 1988–1990 Alain Thiboult 1990–1991 Patrick Le Pollotec 1991–2001 Christian Gourcuff 2001 Ángel Marcos 2001–2003 Yvon Pouliquen 2003–present Christian Gourcuff

Honours[link]

Domestic[link]

• Championnat National
  • Champions (1): 1995

• Coupe de France
  • Champions (1): 2002

• Coupe de la Ligue
  • Runners-Up (1): 2002

• Trophée des champions
  • Runners-Up (1): 2002

• Division d'Honneur (Bretagne)
  • Champions (5): 1932, 1936, 1957, 1983, 1995^[6]

• Coupe de Bretagne
  • Champions (6): 1958, 1970, 1982, 1990, 2000, 2002

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website (French)

Camel Meriem (Arabic: كامل مريم‎; born 18 October 1979) is a footballer who plays for Ligue 1 club Nice as a midfielder, having previously played for Sochaux, Bordeaux, Marseille, Monaco, Aris and Arles-Avignon. He has represented France at international level.

Club career[link]

Born in Montbéliard to Algerian parents,^[3] Meriem began his career with Sochaux where he played 82 games and scored eight goals in five years. After the end of the 2001/2002 season, he signed for Bordeaux. He played three season with Bordeaux, representing his team in another 82 games, scoring eight goals before playing in the 2003/2004 season on loan for Marseille, for whom he played in the 2004 UEFA Cup Final. After the end of the season 2003/2004 he returned to Bordeaux before signing in August 2005 for Monaco. After 110 games and eight goals in four seasons he was in the summer of 2009 released from AS Monaco. He became a free agent and joined Bolton Wanderers F.C. on trial on 14 October 2009.^[4] On 26 October 2009 it was revealed that Meriem was now training and having talks with Sam Allardyce at Blackburn Rovers in a deal that could see him joining the Lancashire based club until the end of the 2009–2010 Premier League season.^[5] He returned to Rovers for a second round of trials, however the trial was terminated early when Meriem picked up a knee injury. He returned to Rovers just after the new year (2009–2010) for a third trial and talks over a deal to join the club. On 5 February 2010 free of any contractual relationship, the French midfielder has signed a new conract with Aris Saloniki, he was without a club since last June after the experience at Monaco, the player has signed with the Greek club for a year and a half. On 24 June 2010 his club Aris Thessaloniki resigned his contract and released the French midfielder into the free agent pool.^[6] On 9 August, Meriem signed a one-year contract plus an option for another year with newly promoted Ligue 1 club AC Arles-Avignon. He left AC Arles-Avignon in June 2011 on a free transfer and OGC Nice.

International career[link]

He earned his first national cap on November 17, 2004 against Poland in a 0–0 draw. He is a playmaker well known for his vision and precision passing.

Personal life[link]

His brother is FC Tournai midfielder Samir Meriem.

Honours[link]

Sochaux

• Division 2 winner: 2000–01

Bordeaux

• Coupe de la Ligue winner 2001–02

References[link]

External links[link]

• (English) Arles-Avignon.com

v t e France squad – 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Landreau 2 Réveillère 3 Escudé 4 Boumsong 5 Berson 6 Bréchet 7 Sorlin 8 Sablé 9 Govou 10 Malbranque 11 Luyindula 12 Armand 13 Frau 14 Delpierre 15 Mexès 16 Gregorini 17 Di Tommaso 18 Pedretti 19 Meriem 20 Mathis 21 Chapuis 22 Vercoutre Coach: Domenech

Jérôme Alonzo

Personal information
Full name	Jérôme Alonzo
Date of birth	(1972-11-20) 20 November 1972 (age 39)
Place of birth	Menton, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	FC Nantes Atlantique
Number	16
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1990-1995	Nice	7	(0)
1995-1997	Marseille	45	(0)
1997-2001	Saint-Étienne	100	(0)
2001-2008	PSG	71	(0)
2008-	Nantes	22	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 September 2006. † Appearances (Goals).

Jérôme Alonzo (born 20 November 1972 in Menton, Alpes-Maritimes) is a football (soccer) goalkeeper who played for Paris-Saint Germain and was the back-up keeper to Lionel Letizi, but he signed with Rangers FC. He is a strong keeper who got a lot of playing time but will most likely become the number 2 keeper again because of the arrival of French international Mickaël Landreau. On June 3, 2008 he signed for FC Nantes Atlantique on a free transfer.

His father Pierre Alonzo used to play football for AS Cannes.

External links[link]

• Jérôme Alonzo French league stats at LFP.fr (French)

This biographical article related to a French association football goalkeeper is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Alain Sibiri Traoré^[2] (born 31 December 1988 in Bobo Dioulasso) is a Burkinabé football Striker, who currently plays for AJ Auxerre.^[3]

Career[link]

Traoré began his career with Planete Champion in his homeland. He first came to prominence whilst playing for Burkina Faso in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with his performances earning him a trial with English Premier League giants Manchester United. The move was not finalised due to work permit issues, so in July 2005 he moved to French Ligue 1 side AJ Auxerre. On 4 January 2009, he was loaned out to Stade Brest 29 for six months. He returned to AJ Auxerre on 31 June 2009.^[4]

He has since become a central figure in the Auxerre team, with his performances attracting interest from Newcastle United in October 2011.

Personal life[link]

His younger brother is Bertrand Traoré, who is part of the academy setup of English Premiership side Chelsea. Both players were part of the Burkina Faso squad for the 2012 African Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of Alain Traoré
• Traore tells of Manchester United trial
• Traore reveals United trial
• Newcastle look to France again as Auxerre's Traore attracts interest from Tyneside
• Auxerre's Alain Traore claims Manchester United wanted to sign him
• Symbiotic striker signs new deal after United rejection

v t e Burkina Faso squad – 2012 Africa Cup of Nations 1 Diakité 2 Gnanou 3 D. Koné 4 Tall 5 Koffi 6 B. Koné 7 Rouamba 8 Kéré 9 Dagano 10 Al. Traoré 11 Pitroipa 12 Nakoulma 13 Bancé 14 Balima 15 Narcisse 16 Sawadogo 17 Koulibaly 18 Kaboré 19 B. Traoré 20 Ouédraogo 21 Ab. Traoré 22 Panandétiguiri 23 Sanou Coach: Duarte

This biographical article related to Burkinabé association football is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e