Laurent Blanc

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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.

In Their Own Story

The season following the 1998 World Cup was both successful and frustrating for Blanc and Marseille. They finished runners-up in the championship, only one point shy of Bordeaux, and reached the UEFA Cup final. In that final against Parma, the match took a decisive turn when Hernán Crespo intercepted a back pass from Blanc to score the opening goal. This mistake led to a 3–0 loss, marking a low point in an otherwise stellar campaign where Blanc had been instrumental in securing the league runner-up spot. His time at PSG concluded with him leaving for Inter Milan, where he would later win the Pirata d'Oro award, cementing his reputation as one of Europe's elite defenders even after such a high-profile error.

Reader's Guide

Blanc 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. In 2013, he was hired by Paris Saint-Germain, where he would win eleven trophies, including two domestic doubles. After three successful years with Paris Saint-Germain he left the club in June 2016, and was hired Al-Rayyan in 2020. Following more than six years without coaching in Europe, he was appointed manager by Lyon in October 2022, but he was sacked the following year and in 2024 became the manager of Al-Ittihad.

Did You Know?

• Blanc scored the first golden goal in World Cup history against Paraguay on 28 June 1998.
• He was nicknamed 'Le Président' during his time at Marseille.
• Blanc remains Montpellier's all-time leading goal scorer with 83 goals in all competitions.
• He won the Pirata d'Oro (Inter Player of the Year) in 2000.
• Blanc was sent off in the 1998 World Cup semi-final against Croatia, missing the final.