Didier Tholot (born 2 April 1964) is a French former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who turned to management in 2002, and is currently manager of

Pau FC Pau Football Club (, Bearnese ), known simply as Pau, is a French professional association football club based in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, capital of Béarn. They compete in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Pau FC were found ...

. Whilst at Bordeaux he played in the

1996 UEFA Cup Final The 1996 UEFA Cup Final was a two-legged association football match contested by Bayern Munich of Germany and Bordeaux of France to determine the winner of the 1995–96 UEFA Cup. This was the only UEFA Cup final during the 1990s to not feature any ...

Playing career

Tholot was born in

Feurs Feurs (; frp, Fuèrs) is a commune in the department of Loire, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. History Antiquity The city was founded by the Romans. The name Feurs is a contraction of ''Segusiavorum Forum''. With a forum the Gallo-Roman era, cit ...

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

. After completing his training at

INF Vichy The Institut National du Football de Vichy, more commonly known as INF Vichy, was a Youth system, football academy based in Vichy, France. Founded in 1972 by the French Football Federation, it was dissolved in 1990. The academy had a team that c ...

in 1984, Tholot signed his first professional contract with

Sporting Club Toulon Sporting Club Toulon is a football club from Toulon, France, that plays in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of the French football league system. The club was founded in 1944 and played under that name until the 1999–2000 season w ...

in the first division where he learned the ropes during three years. He was then transferred to

Chamois Niortais F.C. Chamois Niortais Football Club (often referred to as ''Les Chamois'', Chamois Niortais, or simply Niort) is a French association football club based in the commune of Niort, in the Deux-Sèvres department of western France. It was founded in 1 ...

where he played for two seasons. In 1990 he was recruited by

Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional association football, football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1910 and plays in Ligue 1, the top level of Football in France, having been promoted from Ligue 2 in 2017–18 Ligue 2, 2018. ...

. In spite of the club's financial difficulties eventually leading to relegation at the end of the season, Tholot scored 14 goals in 34 competitive matches. The following season he was recruited by

AS Saint-Étienne Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (), commonly known as A.S.S.E. () or simply Saint-Étienne, is a professional football club based in Saint-Étienne in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The club was founded in 1933 and competes in ...

on a two-year contract but, given less playing time in his second season, moved on to

FC Martigues Football Club de Martigues, known as FC Martigues or just Martigues, is a French professional football club which plays in the Championnat National, the third level of football in France. The club plays at the Stade Francis Turcan, which has a ...

who were freshly promoted from Division 2. With 27 goals to his credit over two seasons, he was noticed by

FC Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux ( oc, Girondins de Bordèu) or simply Bordeaux, is a French professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde (de ...

to play forward of

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...

Christophe Dugarry Christophe Jérôme Dugarry (born 24 March 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. His clubs include Bordeaux, Milan, Barcelona, Marseille, Birmingham City and Qatar SC. He was also a member of the France team t ...

and

Bixente Lizarazu Bixente Jean-Michel Lizarazu (, born 9 December 1969) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left back for Bordeaux and Bayern Munich, among other teams. He also had 97 caps for the France national team. In a twelve-year i ...

. With Bordeaux Tholot's career reached its pinnacle. He scored the first goal of a famous second-leg home comeback victory over the great

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...

of 1996 (3-0). This team went on to reach the final of the

and to play the final of the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...

the following season, with Tholot then partnering

Jean-Pierre Papin Jean-Pierre Roger Guillaume Papin (born 5 November 1963) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a forward. He was named the Ballon d'Or and IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year in 1991. Papin was known for ...

up front. Tholot finished his playing career in Switzerland, first with

FC Sion Football Club de Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss football team from the city of Sion. The club was founded in 1909, and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have won the Swiss Super League twice, and ...

in 1997, then with

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, and ...

BSC Young Boys BSC Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation ) are a Swiss sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 15 Swiss league championships and six Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss football clubs internationally, reac ...

and finally

FC Vevey-Sports 05 FC Vevey United is a Swiss football club based in Vevey, Vaud canton. History Vevey Sports The club was founded in 1905 as ''Vevey Sports''. They had 7 seasons in the Swiss Super League: 1974–75, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984� ...

where he spent his final season taking on the role of player-coach.

Coaching career

Following an auspicious coaching debut at

, Tholot was hired by

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...

of the Swiss first division. He then moved on to manage Libourne Saint-Seurin for three seasons, notably achieving promotion to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

in his first season. Tholot's next move to

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

was short-lived as he was replaced by

Luis Fernández Luis Miguel Fernández Toledo (born 2 October 1959), known as Luis Fernandez, is a French football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Fernandez spent most of his playing career for Paris Saint-Germain. He earned 6 ...

in December 2008. In April 2009 Tholot embarked on his second stint with

in order to save the club from the drop. Not only did the team avoid relegation that year but it also won the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...

. Tholot left the club at the end of the following season. In June 2010, Tholot took on the managerial duties of

LB Châteauroux La Berrichonne de Châteauroux (), commonly referred to as La Berrichonne or simply Châteauroux, is a Football in France, French association football club based in Châteauroux. The football team is a part of a sports club that consists of seve ...

where, in spite of severe financial restrictions, he managed to keep the club in Ligue 2 for three seasons. He left the club in October 2012. In May 2014 he became Assistant Manager to

Claude Makélélé Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973) is a French football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently a youth coach and technical mentor at Chelsea, having formerly been the head co ...

at first division

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastiais ( co, Sporting Club di Bastia, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a Corsican association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Football ...

. When Makélélé was sacked in November 2008, Tholot declined the top job out of "loyalty". In December 2014 he returned to

for a third spell. As in 2009, the club avoided relegation and again won the

against FC Basel on its opponent's home ground. During the 2015–16 season, Sion qualified for the round of 16 of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

, making it out of the group stage in a pool also including

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

and

Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (russian: Футбо́льный клуб Руби́н Каза́нь, ''Futbolny klub Rubin Kazan'' , Tatar: Рубин Казан) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the second-tier ...

. Tholot left Sion 12 August 2016. In April 2018, Tholot was appointed manager of

AS Nancy Association Sportive Nancy Lorraine (), commonly known as AS Nancy Lorraine, or simply Nancy, is a French association football club founded in 1967 in Nancy, Grand Est and located in Tomblaine, in the inner suburbs of Nancy. The club currently ...

, who were struggling near the bottom of Ligue 2. Although he was successful in saving the club from relegation, a poor start to the 2018–19 season saw him removed from the post in October. After eighteen months away from management, Tholot was appointed by newly promoted

on 18 May 2020, in preparation for the new season.

Honours

As a player

Bordeaux *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

runner up:1997

As a manager

FC Sion *

: 2008–09, 2014–15 *

, qualifying for the last 16: 2015–16 Libourne Saint-Seurin * Promotion to

: 2005–06

External links

*
Didier Tholot's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tholot, Didier 1964 births Living people People from Feurs Sportspeople from Loire (department) Association football forwards French footballers Ligue 2 players Ligue 1 players Swiss Super League players SC Toulon players Chamois Niortais F.C. players Stade de Reims players AS Saint-Étienne players FC Martigues players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players FC Sion players Walsall F.C. players FC Basel players BSC Young Boys players French football managers FC Sion managers Stade de Reims managers LB Châteauroux managers AS Nancy Lorraine managers Pau FC managers French expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate football managers in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Switzerland INF Vichy players Footballers from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes