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)

Lorient An Oriant
Lorient
Location within Brittany region  Lorient
Administration
Country	France
Region	Brittany
Department	Morbihan
Arrondissement	Lorient
Intercommunality	Pays de Lorient
Mayor	Norbert Métairie (2008—2014)
Statistics
Elevation	0–46 m (0–151 ft)
Land area1	17.48 km2 (6.75 sq mi)
Population2	58,135  (2007)
- Density	3,326 /km2 (8,610 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	56121/ 56100
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Coordinates: 47°45′N 3°22′W / 47.75°N 3.36°W / 47.75; -3.36

Lorient, or L'Orient, (French pronunciation: [lɔ.ʁjɑ̃]; Breton: An Oriant) is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.

History[link]

At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis. They later built additional warehouses across the bay in 1628, at the location which became known as L'Orient (the Orient in French). Later, the French East India Company, founded in 1664 and chartered by King Louis XIV, established shipyards there, thus giving an impetus to the development of the city. In 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession, Britain launched an unsuccessful Raid on Lorient to destroy French shipping.

In attempts to destroy German submarine pens (U-boat bases) and their supply lines, most of this city was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II (see section below). Thus, today's Lorient reflects an architectural style of the 1950s.

Geography[link]

Lorient is located on the south coast of Brittany on the Atlantic Ocean. The rivers Blavet and Scorff enter the Atlantic Ocean at Lorient.

Population[link]

With a population of 58,135 (urban area: 186,144) Lorient is the most populous commune in Morbihan, although the capital is the slightly smaller commune of Vannes.

Inhabitants of Lorient are called Lorientais.

Breton language[link]

The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 25 January 2007.

In 2008, 2.71% of the children attended the bilingual schools in primary education.^[1]

Economy[link]

Industry[link]

Lorient has a major fishing port, Port de Pêche (Breton: Porzh Pesketa), at Keroman and the docks area at Kergroise handle large cargo and passenger ships.

Tourism plays an important part in the city's economy and there are several large yachting marinas around the bay. The annual Festival Interceltique de Lorient was founded in Lorient in 1971 and attracts large numbers of tourists to the area every summer (700 000 people came in 2009).

Lorient was a former base of the French Navy but these piers, docks, etc., have now been removed. However, many important former French naval buildings remain around the quayside.

Transport[link]

Lorient South Brittany Airport is situated just west of the city at Lann Bihoue, and it has direct flights to several destinations, such as to Paris and Lyon. There are direct connections with Ireland in Summer.

The Gare de Lorient is the railway station, offering connections to Quimper, Nantes, Rennes, Paris (slightly less than 4 hours by TGV) and several regional destinations.

Keroman Submarine Base[link]

The former submarine base at Keroman

Lorient was the location of a German U-boat base during World War II. Großadmiral Karl Dönitz decided to construct the base on 28 June 1940. Between February 1941 and January 1942 three gigantic reinforced concrete structures were built on the Keroman peninsula. They are called K1, K2 and K3. In 1944 work began on a fourth structure. The base was capable of sheltering thirty submarines under cover. Although Lorient was heavily damaged by Allied bombing raids, this naval base survived through to the end of the war. Lorient was held until May 1945 by the Nazi German army, even though this city was surrounded by the American Army, since the Germans there refused to surrender.

Since they could not destroy the base and its submarine pens, the Allies had decided to flatten the city and port of Lorient, in order to cut the supply lines to the U-boat bases. Between 14 January 1943 and 17 February 1943, as many as 500 high-explosive aerial bombs and more than 60,000 incendiary bombs were dropped on Lorient. The city was almost completely destroyed.

Culture[link]

Lorient was the birthplace of: Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau (1769-1832), sailor, adventurer, and Grand Mandarin in Vietnam Jules Simon (1814-1896), statesman and philosopher; and Marie-Léontine Bordes-Pène (1858-1924), pianist

Lorient is the home of a major Celtic music festival, the Festival Interceltique de Lorient. It is also the home of FC Lorient Bretagne Sud whose stadium, Stade du Moustoir, is in the city centre. In the 2006 Tour de France, Lorient hosted the end of Stage 8.

International relations[link]

Twin towns — Sister cities[link]

Lorient is twinned with:

• Galway, Ireland, since 1978^[2]
• Vigo, Spain
• Wirral, United Kingdom
• Ventspils, Latvia
• Ludwigshafen, Germany
• České Budějovice, Czech Republic
• Denizli, Turkey

See also[link]

Brittany portal

• Mississippi Company
• U-74
• FC Lorient
• Festival Interceltique de Lorient
• Arrondissement of Lorient
• Communes of the Morbihan department

References[link]

• INSEE

Notes

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lorient

• Official website (in French)
• Keroman submarine base
• Festival Interceltique de Lorient
• French Ministry of Culture list for Lorient (French)
• See pictures on Antonio Mucherino's web site
• Tourism office (in French)

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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)

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