Laurent Courtois

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Laurent Courtois
Personal information
Date of birth (1978-09-11) 11 September 1978 (age 43)
Place of birth Lyon, France
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1996–1998 Lyon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–1999 Ajaccio 30 (5)
1999–2001 Toulouse 53 (4)
2001–2003 West Ham United 7 (0)
2003–2005 Istres 74 (9)
2005–2008 Levante 73 (4)
2008–2011 Grenoble 62 (5)
2011–2013 Chivas USA 33 (3)
2013 LA Galaxy 6 (0)
2014 LA Galaxy II 11 (2)
Total 349 (32)
Teams managed
2014 LA Galaxy II (assistant)
2015–2018 Lyon Academy
2019–2021 Columbus Crew (academy)
2022– Columbus Crew 2
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Laurent Courtois (born 11 September 1978) is a French former professional footballer who is currently the head coach of Columbus Crew 2, the MLS Next Pro reserve team of Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew.

Club career[]

Laurent Courtois began his career in the youth ranks of top French club Olympique Lyonnais. In the 1998–99 season he moved to AC Ajaccio in Ligue 2, where he gained his first experience. After a fine season with Ajaccio he transferred to Toulouse, where he helped the club gain promotion to Ligue 1. After a successful second season with Toulouse he was transferred to West Ham United in England. After 18 unsuccessful months with only seven Premier League appearances, Courtois left England and returned home.

He signed with FC Istres in January 2003 to restart his career.[1] In two years at the club, he appeared in 74 league matches and scored 9 goals. In 2005, he joined Spanish La Liga side Levante. He remained at the club for three years. In 2008, he returned to France joining Grenoble. He helped the club gain promotion to Ligue 1 during the 2008–09 season.

During the second half of the 2011 Major League Soccer season, Courtois signed with Chivas USA.[2] He was released on 30 June 2013, just a day after scoring a goal against the New England Revolution in a 1–1 draw.[3]

After a brief trial, Courtois signed with Chivas USA's city rivals Los Angeles Galaxy on 19 July 2013.[4]

Courtois made his debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy on 20 July 2013 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

After signing for the Galaxy's reserve squad as a player/coach, he announced his retirement on 15 August 2014 in order to obtain his coaching credentials from the FFF.[5]

Coaching career[]

Following his retirement, Courtois returned to France to work with the Olympique Lyonnais Reserves and Academy that he had developed in. He went back to the United States in 2019 to join the Academy system of Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew SC. On 28 January 2022, Courtois was named inaugural head coach of Columbus Crew 2 ahead of the first MLS Next Pro season.[6]

Personal life[]

Laurent Courtois holds a blue belt in brazilian jiu-jitsu under André Alemão Vasconcellos.

References[]

  1. ^ "Transfers - January 2003". BBC. 31 January 2003. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  2. ^ Courtois eager to play for Chivas Archived 14 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Chivas USA announce departures of Giovani Casillas, Miller Bolanos, Laurent Courtois, Joaquin Velazquez | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  4. ^ "LA Galaxy officially sign former Chivas USA midfielder Laurent Courtois | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  5. ^ "LA Galaxy II player-coach Laurent Courtois announces his retirement from professional soccer | LA Galaxy". Archived from the original on 17 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Columbus Crew 2 appoints Laurent Courtois as first Head Coach". ColumbusCrew.com. Retrieved 28 January 2022.

External links[]

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