Laurent Blanc facts for kids
Blanc in 2013
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 19 November 1965 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Alès, France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.92 m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Centre-back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Al-Ittihad (manager) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1976–1978 | AS Rousson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1980 | Olympique Alès | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1983 | Montpellier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1991 | Montpellier | 243 | (76) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Napoli | 31 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Nîmes | 29 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Saint-Étienne | 70 | (18) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Auxerre | 23 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Barcelona | 28 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Marseille | 63 | (14) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Inter Milan | 67 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Manchester United | 48 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 602 | (125) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–2000 | France | 97 | (16) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2010 | Bordeaux | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Paris Saint-Germain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Al-Rayyan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Lyon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Al-Ittihad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Laurent Robert Blanc is a famous French football manager and former player. He was born on November 19, 1965. During his playing days, he was a strong centre-back (a defender). People called him Le Président (The President) because he was such a great leader on the field, especially when he played for Marseille. Many consider him one of the best defenders ever!
Blanc played for many top clubs like Montpellier, Napoli, Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Manchester United. He was also a key player for the French national team, playing 97 games and scoring 16 goals. He helped France win the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. In 1998, he scored the first-ever "golden goal" in World Cup history against Paraguay.
After retiring as a player, Blanc became a manager. He led Bordeaux to a league title in 2009. He then managed the French national team and later Paris Saint-Germain, where he won many more trophies. Today, he manages Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Laurent Blanc started his football journey in Alès, France. He signed his first professional contract with Montpellier in 1983.
Early Years at Montpellier
At first, Blanc played as an attacking midfielder. He was very skilled with the ball. He helped Montpellier move up to Division 1 in 1987. Later, a coach named Michel Mézy suggested he try playing as a defender. This was a great idea because his strong build and calm attitude made him perfect for the role.
He became a top defender and still scored many goals for Montpellier, mostly from penalties and headers. He even won the Coupe de France (French Cup) in 1990, scoring in the final match! Blanc is still Montpellier's all-time leading goal scorer with 83 goals.
Adventures Abroad and Return to France
In 1991, Blanc moved to Italy to play for Napoli in Serie A. He had a good season, scoring six goals. But he felt he couldn't play his best there, so he returned to France after just one year. He played for Nîmes and then Saint-Étienne. He quickly became one of the best defenders in the league again.
After a successful time at Saint-Étienne, he joined Auxerre in 1995. Even though he got injured early on, he came back strong. He helped Auxerre win both the league title and the French Cup in the same year, which is called a "double"!
Time with Barcelona
Blanc's success caught the eye of big European clubs. He decided to join Barcelona in Spain because their manager, Johan Cruyff, really wanted him. However, Cruyff was fired the same day Blanc joined, which made his time at Barcelona a bit difficult.
He won the Supercopa de España with Barcelona. He played regularly but faced some injuries and even got a red card in a European match. After one season, he decided to leave, especially with the 1998 FIFA World Cup coming up.
Becoming "The President" at Marseille
Rolland Courbis convinced Blanc to join Marseille. This move was great for both Blanc and the club. Blanc quickly became a leader for the team, which needed confidence. He helped Marseille finish fourth in his first season, scoring 11 goals. This is when he earned his famous nickname, "Le Président" (The President).
The next season was exciting but also a bit frustrating. Marseille finished second in the league, just one point behind Bordeaux. They also reached the UEFA Cup final but lost to Parma. After this, Blanc moved to Inter Milan in Italy, where he was named their Player of the Year in 2000.
Playing for Manchester United
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson had tried to sign Blanc many times before. Finally, in 2001, at 35 years old, Blanc joined Manchester United to replace Jaap Stam. He faced some challenges early on, but his form improved throughout the season.
He scored four goals for Manchester United. One was in the league against Tottenham Hotspur, and three were in the Champions League. Blanc retired from playing football after helping United win the 2002–03 FA Premier League title in 2003.
International Career for France
Blanc had a fantastic career playing for his country, France.
Early Success and European Championships
He won the 1988 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with the French Under-21 team. He was even named the best player of that tournament by UEFA.
Blanc made his debut for the senior national team in 1989. France didn't qualify for the 1990 World Cup, but they then went on an amazing 19-game unbeaten run! This included winning all eight of their qualifying matches for UEFA Euro 1992. However, they were knocked out in the group stage of the tournament by Denmark.
After France missed out on the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Blanc briefly retired from international football. But the new national team manager, Aimé Jacquet, convinced him to come back. Blanc returned for the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifiers and scored a goal. In the tournament, he formed a strong defense with Marcel Desailly. He scored a goal against Bulgaria and scored the winning penalty in a shootout against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. France lost in the semi-finals on penalties, but Blanc scored his kick again.
World Cup and European Championship Wins
France hosted the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and Blanc was a key player. He played brilliantly throughout the tournament. On June 28, 1998, he scored the first-ever "golden goal" in World Cup history against Paraguay in the knockout stage. In the quarter-final, he helped France keep a clean sheet against Italy and scored the winning penalty in the shootout.
Blanc missed the final after receiving a red card for an incident in the semi-final against Croatia. Even without him, France won the World Cup for the first time, beating Brazil 3–0!
Blanc was also part of the team that won UEFA Euro 2000. Even though some people worried about his age, he was a reliable defender. He even scored France's first goal of the tournament against Denmark. He retired from international football after this tournament.
Blanc was famous for kissing his good friend and goalkeeper Fabien Barthez's head before every match for good luck. This ritual continued when they played together for Manchester United in Champions League games. The French national team was unbeatable when Blanc, Desailly, Lilian Thuram, and Bixente Lizarazu played together in defense.
In 1999, fans voted him the fourth-best French player of all time, showing how important he was to French football.
Managerial Career
After his amazing playing career, Laurent Blanc moved into football management.
Leading Bordeaux to Success
On June 8, 2007, Blanc became the new manager of Bordeaux. In his first season, he led the club to second place in the league and won the Manager of the Year award. His second season was even better! Bordeaux won their last 11 league matches, setting a new French record, and clinched the 2008–09 Ligue 1 title. They also won the 2008–09 Coupe de la Ligue (League Cup).
In the 2009–10 Champions League, Blanc's Bordeaux team finished first in their group without losing a single match. They reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by fellow French team Lyon.
Managing the French National Team
In May 2010, Blanc left Bordeaux to become the manager of the French national team, replacing Raymond Domenech after the 2010 World Cup. When he took over, the French Football Federation decided to suspend all 23 players from the previous World Cup team.
His first game as manager was a 2–1 loss to Norway. However, Blanc's team soon improved. They topped their Euro 2012 qualifying group and won friendly matches against strong teams like England, Brazil, and Germany.
At UEFA Euro 2012, France drew with England and beat Ukraine. They reached the quarter-finals but were defeated 2–0 by the defending champions Spain. Blanc stepped down as national team manager in June 2012.
Triumphs with Paris Saint-Germain
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Blanc was appointed manager of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in June 2013. He quickly found success, winning his first trophy with the club, the 2013 Trophée des Champions, in August. In April 2014, PSG won the 2014 Coupe de la Ligue Final (League Cup).
PSG's European journey in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League ended in the quarter-finals against Chelsea. However, on May 7, 2014, PSG won the Ligue 1 title! Blanc then signed a new contract.
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His second season started with another 2014 Trophée des Champions win. In April 2015, PSG won the Coupe de la Ligue again. They also won the Ligue 1 title for the third year in a row in May 2015.
In February 2016, Blanc signed another contract extension. PSG reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the fourth year in a row but lost to Manchester City. Blanc faced criticism after a tough Champions League match. On May 21, 2016, PSG defeated Marseille to win the 2016 Coupe de France Final. This meant PSG won the domestic treble (Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue) for the second season in a row!
Despite this success, PSG's president felt the Champions League exit was a failure. On June 27, 2016, Blanc and his assistant coach left the club by agreement.
Recent Managerial Roles
On December 19, 2020, Blanc became the head coach of Qatari club Al-Rayyan. He stayed there until February 2022.
On October 9, 2022, Blanc was appointed manager of French club Lyon. He left Lyon on September 8, 2023.
Most recently, on July 13, 2024, Blanc was named the head coach of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad.
Career Statistics
Playing Career by Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Montpellier | 1983–84 | Division 2 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |
| 1984–85 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 5 | |||
| 1985–86 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 6 | |||
| 1986–87 | 34 | 18 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 18 | |||
| 1987–88 | Division 1 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 6 | ||
| 1988–89 | 35 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 16 | ||
| 1989–90 | 36 | 12 | 6 | 2 | — | 42 | 14 | |||
| 1990–91 | 38 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 46 | 15 | ||
| Total | 243 | 76 | 16 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 267 | 80 | ||
| Napoli | 1991–92 | Serie A | 31 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 34 | 6 | |
| Nîmes | 1992–93 | Division 1 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 30 | 1 | |
| Saint-Étienne | 1993–94 | Division 1 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 5 | |
| 1994–95 | 37 | 13 | 2 | 0 | — | 39 | 13 | |||
| Total | 70 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 18 | ||
| Auxerre | 1995–96 | Division 1 | 23 | 2 | 8 | 2 | — | 31 | 4 | |
| Barcelona | 1996–97 | La Liga | 28 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 38 | 1 |
| Marseille | 1997–98 | Division 1 | 31 | 11 | 4 | 2 | — | 35 | 13 | |
| 1998–99 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 44 | 4 | ||
| Total | 63 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 79 | 17 | ||
| Inter Milan | 1999–2000 | Serie A | 34 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | 41 | 3 | |
| 2000–01 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 44 | 3 | ||
| Total | 67 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 85 | 6 | ||
| Manchester United | 2001–02 | Premier League | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 46 | 3 |
| 2002–03 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 29 | 1 | ||
| Total | 48 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 3 | 75 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 602 | 125 | 54 | 7 | 56 | 5 | 712 | 137 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 1989 | 6 | 1 |
| 1990 | 7 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 6 | 2 | |
| 1992 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 8 | 3 | |
| 1994 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 4 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 10 | 3 | |
| 1997 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 13 | 3 | |
| 1999 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 12 | 2 | |
| Total | 97 | 16 | |
- Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Carapellese goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 1989 | Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse, France |  Cyprus |
2–0 | 2–0 | 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 2 | 21 January 1990 | Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait |  Kuwait |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly | |
| 3 | 20 February 1991 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France |  Spain |
3–1 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying | |
| 4 | 14 August 1991 | Poznań Stadium, Poznań, Poland |  Poland |
4–1 | 5–1 | Friendly | |
| 5 | 17 February 1993 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel |  Israel |
2–0 | 4–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 6 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 7 | 8 September 1993 | Tampere Stadium, Tampere, Finland |  Finland |
1–0 | 2–0 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 8 | 26 April 1995 | Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France |  Slovakia |
3–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying | |
| 9 | 1 June 1996 | MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany |  Germany |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly | |
| 10 | 18 June 1996 | St James' Park, Newcastle, United Kingdom |  Bulgaria |
1–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 1996 | |
| 11 | 9 October 1996 | Parc des Princes, Paris, France |  Turkey |
1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | |
| 12 | 25 February 1998 | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France |  Norway |
1–1 | 3–3 | Friendly | |
| 13 | 29 May 1998 | Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca, Morocco |  Morocco |
1–1 | 2–2 | Friendly | |
| 14 | 28 June 1998 | Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France |  Paraguay |
1–0 | 1–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup | |
| 15 | 26 April 2000 | Stade de France, Paris, France |  Slovenia |
2–2 | 3–2 | Friendly | |
| 16 | 11 June 2000 | Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges, Belgium |  Denmark |
1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 |
Managerial Statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Bordeaux |  |
8 June 2007 | 16 May 2010 | 159 | 93 | 31 | 35 | 261 | 160 | +101 | 58.49 | |
| France | |
2 July 2010 | 30 June 2012 | 31 | 17 | 8 | 6 | 43 | 22 | +21 | 54.84 | |
| Paris Saint-Germain | |
25 June 2013 | 27 June 2016 | 173 | 126 | 31 | 16 | 391 | 126 | +265 | 72.83 | |
| Al-Rayyan |  |
19 December 2020 | 13 February 2022 | 51 | 19 | 10 | 22 | 70 | 73 | −3 | 37.25 | |
| Lyon | |
9 October 2022 | 8 September 2023 | 37 | 17 | 8 | 12 | 60 | 50 | +10 | 45.95 | |
| Al-Ittihad |  |
13 July 2024 | present | 19 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 46 | 14 | +32 | 84.21 | |
| Total | 470 | 288 | 90 | 92 | 871 | 445 | +426 | 61.28 | ||||
Awards and Achievements
Laurent Blanc has won many awards and trophies both as a player and as a manager.
As a Player
Montpellier
- Coupe de France: 1989–90
Auxerre
- Division 1: 1995–96
- Coupe de France: 1995–96
Barcelona
- Copa del Rey: 1996–97
- Supercopa de España: 1996
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97
Manchester United
- Premier League: 2002–03
France U21
France National Team
- FIFA World Cup: 1998
- UEFA European Championship: 2000
Individual Awards
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship Golden Player: 1988
- French Player of the Year: 1990
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1992, 1996, 2000
- Pirata d'Oro (Inter Milan Player of the Year): 2000
As a Manager
Bordeaux
- Ligue 1: 2008–09
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2008–09
- Trophée des Champions: 2008, 2009
Paris Saint-Germain
- Ligue 1: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
- Coupe de France: 2014–15, 2015–16
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
- Trophée des Champions: 2013, 2014, 2015
Individual Manager Awards
- Ligue 1 Manager of the Year: 2008, 2015, 2016
- French Manager of the Year: 2009, 2015
- Saudi Pro League Manager of the Month: October 2024
Honors and Orders
- Knight of the Legion of Honour: 1998 (A special award from France)
See also
In Spanish: Laurent Blanc para niños
