Laurent Robert Blanc was born on 19 November 1965 and is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, and is currently the manager of Ligue 1 club Lyon.
38 Facts About Laurent Blanc
2.
Laurent Blanc has the nickname Le President, which was given to him following his stint at Marseille in tribute to his leadership skills.
3.
Laurent Blanc is a former French international, earning 97 caps and scoring 16 international goals.
4.
Laurent Blanc represented the country in several international tournaments, including the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, both of which France won.
5.
On 28 June 1998, Laurent Blanc scored the first golden goal in World Cup history against Paraguay.
6.
Laurent Blanc's career started at Montpellier, where he signed his first professional contract in 1983.
7.
Laurent Blanc's game being perfectly fitted for the French league, he managed to score at least 12 Division 1 goals per season in his last three seasons at Montpellier, for the most part penalties and headers.
8.
Laurent Blanc won the Coupe de France in 1990, scoring a goal in the final match.
9.
Laurent Blanc remains Montpellier's all-time leading goal scorer, with 83 in all competitions.
10.
In 1991, Blanc tried his luck abroad when he left Montpellier for Napoli in the Italian Serie A Despite a decent season during which he managed to score six goals, he felt like he could not fully express his potential and returned to France after just one year, to Nimes and then Saint Etienne, where again he imposed himself as one of the best defenders in the league.
11.
Guy Roux, impressed by Laurent Blanc and looking for a replacement for Dutch international Frank Verlaat, convinced him to join Auxerre in 1995.
12.
Laurent Blanc agreed to join Barcelona in Spain largely because manager Johan Cruyff wanted him and persuaded him to sign.
13.
Laurent Blanc was in the side when Barcelona won the Supercopa de Espana against Atletico Madrid, but was injured soon afterwards.
14.
Laurent Blanc played regularly upon his return from injury, but was sent off during the Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final against AIK.
15.
Laurent Blanc then injured himself again against Extremadura, which forced him to miss the Clasico and the Cup Winners' Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain.
16.
Rolland Courbis managed to convince Laurent Blanc to join Marseille, which proved beneficial for both the club and Laurent Blanc.
17.
Laurent Blanc quickly became a leader in a team that was desperately lacking confidence, and helped Marseille finish in fourth place in his first season, during which he scored 11 goals and earned the nickname "Le President".
18.
Laurent Blanc initially arrived at Old Trafford on a one-year contract, and as his form and his team's form improved throughout the season, he was eventually awarded a fresh one-year contract to give him a second season in Manchester.
19.
Laurent Blanc was nicknamed "Larry White" by fans as a loose translation of his name.
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Laurent Blanc scored four goals during his time at Manchester United.
21.
Laurent Blanc won the 1988 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, his team beating Greece in the final.
22.
Laurent Blanc was named the tournament's Golden Player by UEFA.
23.
On 7 February 1989, Laurent Blanc made his debut for the senior national team against the Republic of Ireland.
24.
Laurent Blanc was exemplary during the competition and, on 28 June 1998, scored the first-ever golden goal in World Cup history against Paraguay in the round of 16.
25.
Laurent Blanc missed the final after being sent off in the semi-final against Croatia for slapping Slaven Bilic.
26.
Laurent Blanc was part of the team that won UEFA Euro 2000 during which, despite having been criticised for his age and lack of speed during the qualifications, he proved reliable in defence and even scored France's first goal of the tournament against Denmark in the group stage.
27.
Laurent Blanc announced his retirement from international football after the competition, following the example of his captain Didier Deschamps.
28.
Laurent Blanc was well known for kissing good friend and goalkeeper Fabien Barthez's head before the start of every match, supposedly for good luck.
29.
On 8 June 2007, Laurent Blanc was named the new manager of Bordeaux, replacing Brazilian Ricardo Gomes.
30.
Laurent Blanc was again nominated for Manager of the Year but lost to Marseille manager Eric Gerets.
31.
On 16 May 2010, Laurent Blanc confirmed his departure from Bordeaux after three seasons in charge of the French outfit.
32.
On 26 June, French media confirmed that Laurent Blanc had signed a two-year contract with the Federation to lead the team to Euro 2012.
33.
Laurent Blanc stepped down as manager of the national team on 30 June 2012.
34.
Laurent Blanc was appointed manager of Paris Saint-Germain on 25 June 2013 shortly after previous manager Carlo Ancelotti left for Real Madrid.
35.
On 11 February 2016, Laurent Blanc signed a two-year contract extension.
36.
The French sports daily L'Equipe reported that Laurent Blanc would receive a severance deal worth 22 million euros.
37.
On 19 December 2020, Laurent Blanc was appointed as the head coach of Qatari club Al-Rayyan, replacing Uruguayan Diego Aguirre.
38.
On 9 October 2022, Laurent Blanc was appointed as the manager of French club Lyon.