William Prunier

Prunier was born in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis. Prunier was a product of a Auxerre youth team that also included Eric Cantona, Basile Boli, Pascal Vahirua and Daniel Dutuel, all under the tutelage of Guy Roux. After spending many years at Auxerre, he was signed by UEFA Champions League holders Marseille in 1993. Marseille were relegated to Division 2 the following season due to match-fixing and financial irregularities, and Prunier moved on to Bordeaux, where he won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1995 playing alongside Zinedine Zidane. He also earned one cap for France in August 1992, a 2–0 loss to Brazil. In the 1995–96 season, Prunier had a fleeting and forgettable spell at Manchester United. Having bought out his contract with Bordeaux, he joined the Old Trafford club on a trial basis where he was reunited with Cantona. At the time, the manager Alex Ferguson had been looking for a continental-style defender with good passing skills. However, his arrival coincided with an injury crisis that saw the three first-choice centre-backs Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister and David May all unavailable. Prunier was hastily drafted into the first team, even though Ferguson had originally intended to use him in reserve team matches only during his trial. Prunier made his Manchester United debut against Queens Park Rangers on 30 December 1995 partnering Gary Neville in defence. He generally impressed in the match and assisted a goal for Andy Cole as well as hitting a powerful shot against the…

Prunier was named head coach of Cugnaux in 2010, followed by spells with Colomiers, Consolat, Toulon and Canet Roussillon. In June 2021, he was appointed assistant coach to manager Cris at Le Mans. The duo left the team in May 2022. On 29 October 2022, Prunier was appointed manager of Championnat National 2 side Bourges.

Bordeaux

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1995