Before becoming a successful manager in France, Jocelyn Gourvennec was an attacking midfielder for a good 16 years or so.
Playing for the likes of Nantes, Marseille, Montpellier and Rennes, the now 49-year-old enjoyed a good career as a footballer, albeit one that never took him outside of France.
That doesn’t mean he didn’t try to get himself a move abroad, with the manager recalling how he had two trials with West Ham United in the early 2000s.
Speaking ahead of Lille’s clash against Chelsea in the Champions League, which will see him play for the first time against an English opponent, whether it be as a player or from the dugout, Gourvennec opened up to La Voix des Sports about his experiences on this side of the Channel.
First holding a trial with Leicester City in October 2001, the midfielder then tried his luck at West Ham.
He said: “That was a level above, because the team was working well with Laurent Courtois, Sébastien Schemmel, Frédéric Kanouté, Titi Camara. They were looking for a medical free agent because Michael Carrick had injured his knee.
“It didn’t work out because they were looking for a more defensive profile. I’d enjoyed the quality of the sessions and the mentality of the work.”That was during the spring of 2002, and he gave it another go during the summer of 2003, returning to West Ham for a trial game.
However, the second attempt with the Hammers didn’t work out either: “I wasn’t fit enough.”
Now, he has a chance of getting one over Thomas Tuchel in the Champions League, and perhaps finally making his mark on English football in his own manner.
