Lionel André Michel Charbonnier (born 25 October 1966) is a French

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...

and former professional

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. After retiring, he became a football manager and managed Aceh United of the

Liga Primer Indonesia Liga Primer Indonesia (LPI, sometimes translated to English as ''Indonesian Premier League'') was an Indonesian independent football league held in 2011. It was managed by Konsorsium Liga Premier Indonesia and PT Liga Primer Indonesia and was n ...

in the season before they folded along with their independent league. Charbonnier played for the

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or simply Auxerre (), is a French football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division ...

side which won the Ligue 1 title and Coupe de France in the 1995–96 season under the management of Guy Roux. After eleven seasons with Auxerre from 1987 to 1998 he joined

Rangers FC Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...

in Scotland, where he won the treble of

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...

in his first season, 1998–99. They retained the League and Cup in his second season. He retired in 2002 after a season with

Lausanne Sports FC Lausanne–Sport (also referred to as LS) is a Swiss football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport played in the Swiss Super League in their most recent 2021-22 season, the highest tier of football i ...

of the

Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 seaso ...

. Charbonnier was selected 32 times to the French national team but earned his only full cap in 1997. He was a member of the squad which won the

1998 World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

on home soil, although he did not play a game. He also managed Tahiti, a French overseas territory, at under-20 level, winning the

Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It ...

's championship in that age bracket. Charbonnier qualified the Under-20 team to the 2009 World Cup in Egypt, the first time that any island has qualified in this level of competition.

Early life

Lionel André Michel Charbonnier was born on 25 October 1966 in

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglome ...

, Poitou-Charentes.

Club career

Auxerre

Charbonnier trained at

from the age of 16. He featured in their sides which won the

Coupe Gambardella The Coupe Gambardella is a French football cup competition held between the under-18s of the French football clubs, organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). The cup is regarded as an opportunity for young hopefuls to showcase their s ...

(a nationwide French competition for under-19 sides) twice in a row. In 1985 they beat

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people l ...

3–0 and in 1986 Auxerre won on penalties after drawing 0–0 with

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. Charbonnier was often a second-choice goalkeeper in his early seasons at Auxerre, kept out by

Bruno Martini Bruno Ludovic Jean Roger Martini (25 January 1962 – 20 October 2020) was a French professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His professional career was closely associated with Auxerre, for which he played 13 years. Having won more t ...

who had played for the club since 1981. One of Charbonnier's most important matches in the first team was a semi-final in the

1992–93 UEFA Cup The 1992–93 UEFA Cup was won by Juventus, who beat Borussia Dortmund 6–1 on aggregate in the final, a record score for a UEFA Cup final. It was the third victory in the competition for the Italian team (first club to reach this record). Thr ...

against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...

, which he lost on sudden-death penalties after both teams won their home leg 2–0. Following a serious injury to Martini at the beginning of the 1993–94 season, Charbonnier became the first choice goalkeeper, winning that season's Coupe de France final. His form caused Martini to transfer to

in 1995 in order to play first-team football. In 1995–96 Auxerre won the Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France.

Rangers

On 16 July 1998, only four days after the World Cup Final, he joined Rangers of the

, signed by Dutch manager

Dick Advocaat Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat (; born 27 September 1947) is a Dutch former football player and coach who is currently the head coach of Eerste Divisie side ADO Den Haag. Advocaat was successful as a football player and as a coach, including three stint ...

for £1.2 million. Charbonnier wore the number 1 shirt and initially competed with Antti Niemi for a place in the team. He suffered a

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in a toy Jacob's la ...

injury soon after but made 19 appearances throughout the season, including 11 in the league as Rangers won the

1998–99 Scottish Premier League The 1998–99 Scottish Premier League season (also known as the 1998–99 Bank of Scotland Scottish Premier League for sponsorship reasons from 11 March) was the inaugural season of Scottish Premier League football, the top division of Football in ...

title.

Stefan Klos Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

was signed in December 1998 and immediately became Rangers' first choice. At the end of the 1998–99 season Rangers completed the treble, also winning the

. The following season, Klos retained his place as he had impressed in Charbonnier and Niemi's absence. Rangers won the league and Cup again, but were beaten in the quarter-final of the League Cup 1–0, away to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

. Charbonnier made 11 appearances in all competitions this season, though none after December 1999. In his final season at the club, he was fourth choice and did not play a single game in any competition. Klos played 47, Jesper Christiansen of Denmark played six while Scottish player Mark Brown played in three games. Rangers won no trophies and finished second to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

in the league. Charbonnier's contract ended at the end of the season and he left Ibrox.

Lausanne

When his Rangers contract ended, he joined

of Switzerland's top flight (then called Nationalliga A). They finished 11th out of 12 in the 2001–02 season but were relegated alongside

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 ...

(8th) and AC Lugano (3rd) due to licensing regulations.

International career

Charbonnier received one cap for France, against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on 11 June 1997 in the 1997 Tournoi de France, at the

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin and Stade Roland Garros. The stadium, with a seating capacity of 47 ...

stadium in Paris; the match finished in a 2–2 draw. He was one of the three goalkeepers of the French national team that won the

on home soil.

Fabien Barthez Fabien Alain Barthez (born 28 June 1971) is a French racing driver and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he played football in both France and England with Toulouse, Marseille, AS Monaco, Manchester United ...

was the goalkeeper who kept Charbonnier out of the starting eleven.

Managerial career

Poitiers and Sens

He became general manager of his hometown club

Stade Poitevin Stade Poitevin FC is a French association football, football team based in the city of Poitiers, which was established in 1921. It was known as Poitiers FC between 2007 and 2018, and had a number of other names in its history. The club (as Stade Po ...

in 2002 shortly after retiring. He parted with them in 2004. In 2005, he became the manager of another French lower-league club, FC Sens, until leaving in 2007 for international management.

Tahiti Under-20

In 2007 became national coach of the

Tahiti national football team The Tahiti national football team ( French: ''Équipe de football de Tahiti'') represents French Polynesia and is controlled by the Fédération Tahitienne de Football. The team consists of a selection of players from French Polynesia, not just ...

's under-20 and under-17 sections. Charbonnier led the under-20 team to victory in the

's championship of that age bracket. In 2009, he led the Under-17 team to the final of the same competition, and also the Under-20 team to their first World Cup at any level, in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. At the World Cup Tahiti finished bottom of their group without scoring a goal and being beaten by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. At the end of the year Charbonnier was in conflict with

Reynald Temarii Reynald is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Reynald de Châtillon (1125–1187), French Knight who served in the Second Crusade *Francis Reynald Wewengkang (born 1971), current Persija Jakarta Football player *Reynald Lemaître ...

, a Tahitian who is President of the Confederation. They agreed that Charbonnier would leave his post. In 2010, he signed a consulting contract with

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

and also got another managerial post, with Aceh United of the

Honours

Player

Rangers *

: 1998–99 France *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

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 ...

Manager

Tahiti U20 *

OFC U-20 Championship The OFC U-19 Championship is a tournament held once every two years to decide the under-19 champions of Oceania and also decides who will represent Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) at the biennial FIFA U-20 World Cup. Between 1974 and 2012, ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Orders

* Knight of the Legion of Honour: 1998

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Charbonnier, Lionel 1966 births Living people Sportspeople from Poitiers Footballers from Nouvelle-Aquitaine French footballers Association football goalkeepers AJ Auxerre players Rangers F.C. players FC Lausanne-Sport players Ligue 1 players Scottish Premier League players France international footballers 1998 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players French football managers Stade Poitevin FC managers French expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Scotland Expatriate footballers in Switzerland French expatriate football managers French expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland French expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur