| Laurent Robert Blanc (French pronunciation: ; born 19 November 1965) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He last managed Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad. He has the nickname Le Président, which was given to him following his stint at Marseille in tribute to his leadership skills. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time.
Blanc played professional football for numerous clubs, including Montpellier, Napoli, Barcelona, Marseille, Inter Milan and Manchester United, often operating in the sweeper position. He is also a former French international, earning 97 caps and scoring 16 international goals. He represented the country in several international tournaments, including the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, both of which France won. On 28 June 1998, Blanc scored the first golden goal in World Cup history against Paraguay.
He began his managerial career at Bordeaux in 2007, winning domestic honours including the 2008–09 Ligue 1 title. After leaving Bordeaux in 2010 he became the manager of the France national team until 2012, replacing Raymond Domenech in the wake of a disastrous 2010 FIFA World Cup performance and leading the country to the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2012. Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License - Full article |
|  |
Stories
From fixed shapes to moving ideas
Potential Bruno Fernandes exit
Celebrate the World Cup 2026
EPL promoted clubs
Club World Cup Qualification
A-League 2025 ending
Transfer talk
Liverpool 2025 Season
Liverpool Influence in the Champions League
Sports-Themed Online Games
|