- Date of Birth: July 11 1986
- Height: 1.86m
- Position: Midfielder
- Club: Bordeaux
Gourcuff, the reigning Ligue 1 Player of the Year operates mainly as an attacking midfielder, but can also be utilized as a withdrawn striker.
Gourcuff signed his first professional contract in November 2003 with Staid Rennias and was promoted to the first team for the latter part of the 2003–04 season. Wearing the number 10 shirt, he appeared in 36 matches in 2005-06 scoring six goals, which included his first ever league goal against Monaco in a 2–0 win.
He quickly became a favorite among supporters and his achievements soon led to interest from clubs abroad, which resulted in a move to AC Milan. But Gourcuff was unable to break into the starting eleven. This resulted in the player being sent on loan to his current club Bordeaux. Following a successful season, in which he earned several club and individuals honours, Gourcuff signed with Bordeaux permanently.
2009-10 season is proving to be quite eventful forYoann. He began the season claiming his 4th silverware with Bordeaux on 25 July 2009, winning the 2009 Trophée des Champions title in a 2–0 victory over Guingamp. He was the Man of the Match. Two weeks later, he scored a brace in the club's opening match of the league season against Lens, in a 4-1 win. On 23 August, he scored another set of goals, this time against Nice in a 4–0 victory. In the UEFA Champions League, Gourcuff assisted on Bordeaux's only goal in their opening 1–1 draw against Juventus scored by Jaroslav Plašil. He missed two matches due to injury, both of which ended in defeats for his club. He returned to the team for Bordeaux's back-to-back matches with Bayern Munich. In the first match, which Bordeaux won 2–1, Gourcuff missed a penalty. However in the second match, he made amends scoring the winning goal in their 2–0 victory. Bordeaux remained undefeated in the group stage.
He was declared the French Player of the Year for 2009 by magazine France Football beating out the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Hugo Lloris, Thierry Henry, and Franck Ribry
Gourcuff made his debut for France on 11 August 2008 in a friendly against Sweden He scored his first goal for the country 11 October 2008 against Romania in a 2010 World Cup qualification match. The long ranger that he unleashed from almost 30 yards out drew the match at 2–2 ensuring France's positioning in the group.
The 2010 World cup will be a testing ground for Gourcuff. The expectations from him are very high as is evident from his playing style and ability being compared to French legend Zinedine Zidane. |
