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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | December 31, 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Le Puy-en-Velay, France | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 111⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Paris Saint Germain | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Olympique Le Puy | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps (Gls)† | |
| 1993–1997 | Saint-Étienne | 88 (0) | |
| 1997–2008 | Lyon | 357 (0) | |
| 2008–2009 | Atlético Madrid | 8 (0) | |
| 2009– | Paris Saint Germain | 15 (0) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2001– | France | 34 (0) | |
| *
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league
only and correct as of September 4, 2009. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Grégory Coupet (born December 31, 1972 in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire) is a French football goalkeeper currently playing for Paris Saint Germain in France.
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Coupet began his club career with hometown team Club Olympique Le Puy, before going pro with Saint-Étienne in 1994. He made his Ligue 1 debut on March 26, 1994 in a 2-0 victory against Angers.[1] After three seasons, he surprisingly moved to league rival Lyon (the two cities are only 80 kilometers apart, and are long-time local and national rivals). His gamble paid off as Lyon have regularly dominated Le Championnat since 2002 and are also a regular fixture in the UEFA Champions League.
Coupet performed a memorable double save against Barcelona during an UEFA Champions League 2001-02 match, when he first acrobatically headed an unintended lob by a defender to his own crossbar, and then immediately parried a close header by the arriving Barcelona striker Rivaldo.[2][3]
He openly wept during the group photo before France faced Turkey in a 2003 Confederations Cup semifinal match, which had taken place just hours after the shocking death of his close friend and former Lyon teammate Marc-Vivien Foé.[4] Coupet credits the aftermath of Foe's death in helping him gain a new perspective on life, in the process settling his differences with Lyon after having been engaged in nasty contract imbroglios for most of the 2002-03 season, which included at one point his vowing never to play for the club again.
In 2005, Coupet was voted for the first time, at age 33, into the top 10 for the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award. He finished with 43 votes, fourth behind winner Petr Čech, Dida, and Gianluigi Buffon, respectively. He has also twice been named Ligue 1 Keeper of the Year, in 2004 and 2005.[5]
On August 2, 2007, Coupet suffered a torn internal medial ligament in his left knee after catching his foot in the net during a training session. He underwent surgery four days later and missed the remainder of 2007, including France's final Euro 2008 qualifiers. He later joked on Lyon's official television network:
"The good side...is that [France] have a rugby World Cup coming and I’ll be able to enjoy every bit of it."[6]
Coupet returned to the squad in the new year making his return in Lyon's 4-0 victory over Ligue 2 side Créteil in the Coupe de France on January 6, 2008.[7] Since his return, he has played all of Lyon's matches; including the Champions League games against Manchester United.
On Friday, May 23, 2008, Coupet announced that he would be playing his final game for Lyon in the French Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain.[8] After several weeks of uncertainty, it was officially confirmed by Atlético Madrid on July 7, 2008, that Coupet would continue his career at the Spanish club, signing a contract for two seasons and signed for €1.5 million.
Coupet did not play much with Atlético, which resulted in his move to Paris Saint-Germain of Ligue 1.[9][10] On 28 November 2009, Coupet suffered from a freak, potentially career-ending injury after failing to clear a loose ball.
Coupet has 34 caps with France. He made his international debut against Australia during France's 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup-winning campaign. He was called up for the 2002 FIFA World Cup as the backup to Fabien Barthez, but did not play. The following year, Coupet kept three clean sheets and conceded only three goals in five games as France won the 2003 Confederations Cup, which marked their second victory in the competition in three years.
In February 2006, France Football magazine conducted a poll among its readers as to who should be France's first-choice goalie for the World Cup; Coupet received 69 percent of the votes (Barthez received 28 percent).[11]
Though Coupet started six of 10 games in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds, coach Raymond Domenech surprisingly elected Barthez as his number one, which would relegate Coupet to the bench once again. Many had expected Coupet to be chosen as the starter due to his excellent performances with Olympique Lyonnais that had contributed greatly to their streak of five Ligue 1 championships. This ultimately led to a row on May 25, 2006 between Coupet and Domenech that resulted in Coupet storming out of the team's training camp in Tignes with his family in tow, but he later returned and made amends with the coach.[12]
Coupet became France's number one after Barthez announced his retirement from both club and country football in August 2006. His first regular stint - currently during the Euro 2008 qualifiers - however, got off to a less-than-desired start; France were upset by Scotland 1-0 on October 7, and a hand injury suffered in that match kept him out of France's 5-0 victory over the Faroe Islands four days later.
He was first choice goalkeeper for Euro 2008, conceding six goals in three matches as France were eliminated in the group stage.
In the current FIFA 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Hugo Lloris and Steve Mandanda have been favored by Coach Domenech for the keeping job, with Coupet called-up as a reserve for a few games.
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