Yoann Gourcuff

Early career and Rennes

Gourcuff began his career with Lorient, who were, at the time, managed by his father Christian in 1992. During his time at Lorient, he also trained at PEF Ploufragan, a regional academy located in the Brittany region that trained players similarly to the Clairefontaine academy in the Île-de-France. Further to his father's departure to Rennes, Gourcuff, who initially considered rivals Nantes, followed suit and signed an aspirant (youth) contract with the club in 2001. He spent two years in the club's youth academy and, while competing domestically in the system, Gourcuff played on the club's under-19 team that won the 2003 edition of the Coupe Gambardella. Rennes defeated Strasbourg 4–1 in the final match at the Stade de France. Gourcuff scored the club's opening goal. Included on that team with Gourcuff were future club and international teammates Jimmy Briand and Sylvain Marveaux. Ahead of the 2003–04 season. Gourcuff was promoted to the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth level of French football, Gourcuff appeared in 15 matches and scored two goals with the team before signing his first professional contract in November 2003, which resulted in his promotion to the senior team by manager Laszlo Bölöni. Gourcuff made his professional debut on 25 January 2004 in a 2–0 victory to Croix-de-Savoie in the Coupe de France appearing as a substitute. On 7 February, he made his league debut in a 2–0 defeat to Auxerre…

Youth

Gourcuff was capped for France at the schoolboy level earning his first youth cap with the under-17 team in a 0–0 draw with Spain on 18 September 2002. He scored his first goal for the team on 5 February 2003 in a friendly match against the Czech Republic. Gourcuff finished the season with the under-17 team accumulating twelve appearances and netting two goals as the squad failed to qualify for the 2003 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. Gourcuff made only four appearances with the under-18 team scoring his only goal on 30 October in a 2–2 friendly draw with Ukraine. Gourcuff returned to international level with the under-19 team and was a part of the winning team at the 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Leading up to the tournament, Gourcuff scored goals against Armenia in the first qualifying round and Spain in the Elite round. The 1–0 victory over Spain assured France's qualification for the tournament. In the tournament, Gourcuff scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 victory over Norway converting two penalty kicks and scoring in the run of play. He assisted on two goals in the team's 3–2 semi-final win over Germany and played the entire match in the championship match against England. France won the match 3–1 giving the nation its sixth under-19 title and Gourcuff his first international honor. In total with the under-19 team, Gourcuff featured in 17 matches and scored seven goals. Gourcuff made his debut for the under-21 team on 18 May 2006 in a…

Club

International

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gourcuff goal

Gourcuff was born in Ploemeur, Brittany to parents Dr. Marine Thalouarn and Christian Gourcuff, both of whom are Bretons. He comes from a very athletic family: his mother was a basketball player, his older brother, Erwan, is a competitive swimmer and cyclist, while his father was a former footballer who played for several clubs in such countries as France, Switzerland, and Canada. However, his father was best known for his time at Rennes, Lorient, and Le Mans. Gourcuff's father later moved into managerial roles, having stints at Rennes, Le Mans, Lorient (three times), and Qatari club Al-Gharafa. As a youth, the younger Gourcuff excelled at both football and tennis, becoming the top player of his age group (12), but eventually opted to focus on football. While beginning his career as a football player, Gourcuff admired and drew inspiration from the playing style of the Brazil national team from the 1970s, whom he discovered from watching tapes with his father. He often attempted to emulate the skills of Brazilian legend Pelé.