Laurent Robuschi (born 5 October 1935) is a French former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

striker who played for

Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux () or simply Bordeaux, is a French football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It competes in the Championnat National 2 ...

in the 1960s and was part of French national team at the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the 1966 FI ...

. He is also the maternal grandfather of Anthony Gonzalez, known for his work in the band M83.

Playing career

Club career

Born on 5 October 1935 in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionRaoul Chaisaz, a former professional player from the 1930s. Due to his small height, he had a low center of gravity, being also a lively and tenacious winger with a great short pass. In 1953, he joined , but he was unable to find a breakthrough to

OGC Nice Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice (), commonly referred to as OGC Nice or simply Nice, is a French professional association football, football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of Footb ...

, so he was sent to

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

in 1954, where he once again had few chances, playing only 8 league matches in his two seasons there; in the latter, he scored 3 goals in as many matches to help Monaco to a 3rd-place finish in the championship. In 1956, Robuschi joined

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, then in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

, where he finally established himself as an undisputed starter on the left wing, scoring 14 goals as Cannes finished 18th, although it escaped from relegation in the playoffs. In the 1958–59 season, he was the team's top scorer with 21 goals, but his side finished 17th in the D2 championship, just one-off from the relegation zone. His goal-scoring exploits did not go unnoticed by

, which signed him in 1959, and where he teamed up with the veteran Gunnar Andersson, the top scorer in OM's history, and Xercès Louis, a former international, but it was Robuschi who stood out, with 21 goals, but he was once again let down by his team, which finished last in the league. Laurent played a crucial role in helping Bordeaux return to the top-flight in 1963, and in their first season back, the club finished 4th. Robuschi was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the Bordeaux team in the 1960s, scoring around 15 goals per season, with peaks of 20, but his goalscoring prowess proved insufficient to help Bordeaux win a title, finishing as league runner-ups on two occasions in 1965 and 1966, both behind

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, and even reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the

1963–64 Coupe de France The 'Coupe de Frances results of the '1963–64 season'. Olympique Lyonnais won the final played on May 10, 1964, beating Girondins de Bordeaux. Round of 64 !colspan="3" align="center", 12 January 1964 , - !cols ...

, which ended in a 2–0 loss to OL. He remained loyal to Bordeaux for eight years, from 1959 until 1967, scoring a total of 115 goals in 264 matches. He then went to

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...

, where he was only able to score 3 goals in 26 league matches during his first season there, so he then returned to his hometown, where he found a position as a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

, playing sporadically until 1975, aged 40. In total, he scored 68 goals in 189 Ligue 1 matches.

International career

On 5 May 1962, the 26-year-old Robuschi made his international debut for France in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. In total, he earned five

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for the Blues between 1962 and 1966, being a member of the French squad that participated at the 1964 European Championship and the 1966 World Cup in England.

Managerial career

After his career as a player ended, Robuschi remained linked to Antibes, now as a full-time coach, a position that he held for nearly two decades, from 1975 until 1993, when he decided to retire.

Honours

;Girondins de Bordeaux *

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

: **Runner-up (2): 1964–65 and 1965–66 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

: **Runner-up (1): 1963–64

Notes

References

1935 births Living people French men's footballers France men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Ligue 1 players AS Monaco FC players AS Cannes players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Olympique de Marseille players 1966 FIFA World Cup players 20th-century French sportsmen {{france-footy-forward-1930s-stub