Christian Gourcuff

3.1. Club career

Gourcuff began his playing career at Stade Rennais, playing there from 1972 to 1974. He then moved to US Berné, where he played from 1974 to 1978. His journey continued with a stint at Guingamp from 1978 to 1980, followed by a season at Rouen in 1980-1981. He also had an international club experience, playing for La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland from 1981 to 1982. Following his time in Switzerland, he returned to France to play for Lorient from 1982 to 1986 and Le Mans from 1986 to 1989. Gourcuff concluded his playing career at Montreal Supra in Canada in 1989, where he also began his foray into management as a player-manager.

3.2. International career

Although Christian Gourcuff did not represent the French national team at the senior level, he did participate in regional representative football. In 1988, he played one match for the Brittany national football team, a regional squad representing the Brittany region of France. This particular match was an indoor game held against the United States. Brittany emerged victorious with a final score of 6-2.

4.1. Major managerial stints

Gourcuff's managerial career saw him lead several teams across different leagues and national teams. His first managerial role began as a player-manager at Lorient, where he coached from 1982 to 1986. Following this, he managed Le Mans from 1986 to 1989, and then Pont-L'Abbé from 1989 to 1991.

He returned to Lorient for his second and longest tenure, spanning from 1991 to 2001, where he cemented his reputation. This long period included a decade of guiding the club. After his second spell with Lorient, he managed Stade Rennais from 2001 to 2002.

His coaching journey then took him to the Middle East, where he managed Al-Ittihad (now Al-Gharafa) in Qatar from 2002 to 2003. He made a significant return to Lorient for his third and final spell, which lasted over a decade from 2003 to 2014, bringing his total time at the club to approximately 25 years. This period underscored his deep connection and dedication to the club, where he led the team for over 20 years in total across his various stints.

On 4 August 2014, Gourcuff was officially appointed as the new head coach of the Algeria national team, succeeding Vahid Halilhodžić. Despite Algeria's quarter-final exit at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Gourcuff was given a new contract on 3 February 2015, reflecting confidence in his leadership. He managed the Algerian team until 3 April 2016.

He returned to manage Stade Rennais for a second time, from 17 May 2016 to 8 November 2017. In the 2018-2019 season, he took on another role in Qatar, managing Al-Gharafa from 19 May 2018 to 3 June 2019. During this period, he notably commented on the modest attendance at matches in Qatar, stating that they often played in front of around 30 people. His final managerial stint was with Nantes in France, from 8 August 2019 to 8 December 2020.

4.2. Managerial statistics

As of 6 December 2020, Christian Gourcuff's managerial record by team and tenure is as follows:

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				Games managed	Games won	Games drawn	Games lost	Winning percentage
Lorient		1 July 1982	1 July 1986	125	64	26	35	51.2
Le Mans		1 July 1986	1 January 1989	83	37	21	25	44.6
Pont-l'Abbé		1 September 1989	1 July 1991	52	15	12	25	28.8
Lorient		1 July 1991	1 July 2001	404	166	109	129	41.1
Rennes		1 July 2001	1 July 2002	44	17	8	19	38.6
Al-Ittihad		1 July 2002	30 June 2003	21	9	9	3	42.9
Lorient		1 July 2003	25 May 2014	465	168	138	159	36.1
Algeria		1 August 2014	3 April 2016	21	13	3	5	61.9
Rennes		17 May 2016	8 November 2017	55	19	17	19	34.5
Al-Gharafa		19 May 2018	3 June 2019	33	13	8	12	39.4
Nantes		8 August 2019	8 December 2020	44	16	7	21	36.4
Total				1347	537	358	452	39.9