How many times have we referred to a young prospect as “the next X”? Brazilian wingbacks are always compared to Cafú or Dani Alves, Argentinian midfielders are considered the new Fernando Redondo or any rising Spanish midfielders that are quickly compared to Xavi Hernández or Andrés Iniesta. Most times, those comparisons become a heavy burden for these young stars to carry.
That’s what happened to Yoann Gourcuff, known as the ‘petit Zizou’ since his early days at Rennes. His skill with the ball, his dribbles, his ability to squeeze between the lines, and his grace seemed to forecast a bright future for Gourcuff to follow in the footsteps of Real Madrid’s mythical number 5, but there will always be only one Zinedine Zidane.
The attacking midfielder from Ploemeur played his first match in Ligue1 at 17 years old, and just two seasons later he took the leap to Milan, who got ahead of every other large club in Europe to sign him in 2007. Despite winning the Champions League with Milan in 2007, his stint in Italy was a bust, and two years later he returned to France on a loan to Girondins Bordeaux.
Gourcuff played with Kaká for AC Milan
The best player in Ligue1
His return couldn’t have gone better, Gourcuff had his best season yet in 2009: He won the league trophy with Bordeaux and was chosen as the Best Player in the tournament after scoring 15 goals and giving 14 assists. This kind of production motivated the team to fork out 13,4 million euros to get Gourcuff full-time.
Another good season under coach Laurent Blanc earned him a spot on the French squad to play the 2010 World Cup, which didn’t go so well for France. There were issues in the locker room, and Gourcuff received a red card in the last group-stage match against South Africa. The team was eliminated in the group stage.
Lyon, the beginning of the end
Two months later, and still just 24 years old, Gourcuff left Girondins and became the new star of Olympique Lyon; this trade laid the foundations for his decline. During the five seasons he spent in Lyon, Gourcuff wasn’t able to reach the level he showed in Bordeaux, and he returned to Rennes in 2015 in the hopes of injecting new life into his career.
This never happened. He played 126 minutes for modest Dijon, where he arrived in 2018, this was the end of his professional career as another heir to Zidane’s throne faded into the ether.
Back to his first love
In an unexpected twist, Gourcuff went back to his first love in 2019, switching the cleats for a tennis racket, and going back to competition, but this time it was on the tennis court. The fact is that, before he was considered one of the most promising stars in European football, Yoann was also a tennis prodigy. At the moment, he’s playing with Larmor-Plage in the men’s Regional 1, where he remains undefeated, according to ‘Le Telégramme.’
Yourcuff as a tennis player
