Pierre Ducrocq (born 18 December 1976) 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 ...

who played as a defender or

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Club career

Born in

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-d'Oise ''dép ...

, Ducrocq started his career at

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

, progressing through the youth ranks and making his debut in the 1994–95 season. He was loaned to

Stade Lavallois Stade Lavallois Mayenne Football Club (), also referred to as Stade Laval or simply Laval, is a French association football club based in Laval in western France. The club was formed on 17 July 1902 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second ...

during the 1996–97 season, later becoming a regular for the first team after returning. He was loaned to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

in October 2001, with a view to a permanent deal. However, the club would not be able to purchase the player after being relegated from the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

and Ducrocq returned to PSG, signing for Ligue 1 newcomers

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

where his friend and former teammate Grégory Paisley was playing. Despite being relegated from the Ligue 1 in his first season, Ducrocq played for the club until 2007. Before the start of the 2007–08, he submitted a transfer request in order to seek an opportunity to play at the top flight again. Ducrocq first travelled to Israeli club

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

, but the move was cancelled after manager Eli Cohen left the club. He then went to Turkish side

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği (), commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern. In t ...

, but rejected a move after being told that there were staff disagreements at the club. Ultimately, he joined his friend Grégory Paisley again in a two-year contract move to Strasbourg, suffering relegation at the 2007–08 Ligue 1 and losing a promotion spot in the last match of the 2008–09 Ligue 2 after a defeat against Montpellier and a Boulogne victory in another match, falling from second to fourth place. He signed with Greek club

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia and the capital of Kavala (regional unit), Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across ...

, finishing 6th in his first Superleague Greece season and 7th in the 2010–11 before the club was relegated after found guilty of match-fixing. Ducrocq suffered an herniated disc near the end of the season and decided to quit football.

International career

Ducrocq played for the

France national under-16 football team The France national under-16 football team is the national under-16 football team of France and is controlled by the French Football Federation. The team previously competed in the annual UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship before it wa ...

at the 1993 UEFA European Under-16 Championship.

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries. His ...

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

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

* Coupe de la Ligue: 1997–98 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

: 1997–98 * UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2001

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ducrocq, Pierre 1976 births Living people Sportspeople from Pontoise Association football defenders Association football midfielders French footballers Ligue 1 players Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players Stade Lavallois players Derby County F.C. players Premier League players Le Havre AC players RC Strasbourg Alsace players French expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Footballers from Val-d'Oise