Grégory Coupet
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Grégory Coupet (born 31 December 1972) 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 lea ...
who played as a
goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...
. Coupet is most well known for his lengthy career at Lyon where he won seven Ligue 1 titles. He also played for
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...
,
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
and
Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...
, as well as the France national team.


Club career

Coupet was born in
Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, ; , before 1988: ''Le Puy'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Loire Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of south-central France. Located near the rive ...
, Haute-Loire. He began his club career with hometown team Club Olympique Le Puy, before turning professional with
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...
in 1994. He made his
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 ...
debut on 26 March 1994 in a 2–0 victory against
Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...
. After three seasons, he surprisingly moved to league rival
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
(the two cities are only 80 kilometres apart, and are long-time local and national rivals) as a replacement for
Pascal Olmeta Pascal Olmeta (born 7 April 1961) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Marseille and Lyon in the 1990s. Early and personal life Pascal Olmeta was born on 7 April 1961 in Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a c ...
in January 1997. His gamble paid off as Lyon have regularly dominated ''Le Championnat'' since 2002 and were also regular fixtures in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
. Coupet performed a memorable double save against
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
during a
2001–02 UEFA Champions League The 2001–02 UEFA Champions League was the 47th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier club football tournament, and the 10th since its rebranding from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The tournament was won by ...
match, when he first acrobatically headed an unintended lob by his team-mate Caçapa onto his own crossbar, and then immediately parried a close header by the arriving Barcelona striker
Rivaldo Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira (; born 19 April 1972), known simply as Rivaldo, is a Brazilian former footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a second striker, and on occasion deployed as a wide midfielder or as ...
. He openly wept during the group photo before France faced
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
in a
2003 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup, held in France in June 2003. France retained the title they had won in 2001, but the tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroon player Marc-Vivi ...
semi-final match, which had taken place just hours after the shocking death of his close friend and former Lyon teammate Marc-Vivien Foé. Coupet credits the aftermath of Foé's death in helping him gain a new perspective on life, in the process settling his differences with Lyon after having been engaged in a contract dispute for most of the 2002–03 season, which included at one point his vowing never to play for the club again.
citation needed The tag " itation needed''" is added by Wikipedia editors to unsourced statements in articles requesting citations to be added. The phrase is reflective of the policies of verifiability and original research on Wikipedia and has become a gener ...
'']
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 in fourth-place behind winner Petr Čech,
Dida In England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, the Diploma in Digital Applications (DiDA) was an optional information and communication technology (ICT) course, usually studied by Key Stage 4 or equivalent school students (aged 14–16) ...
and
Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is ...
respectively. He has also twice been named Ligue 1 Keeper of the Year, in 2004 and 2005. On 2 August 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 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
qualifiers. He later joked on Lyon's official television network:
"The good side...is that rancehave a
rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...
coming and I’ll be able to enjoy every bit of it."
Coupet returned to the squad in the new year, making his return in Lyon's 4–0 victory over
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 ...
side
Créteil Créteil () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, dep ...
in the
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 ...
on 6 January 2008. On 18 July 2008, Coupet was sold to
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...
for €1.5 million and an additional €250,000 bonus. In 2009 Coupet joined
Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...
where he finished his career before retiring in 2011. In the 2011 Coupe de France Final against
Lille OSC Lille Olympique Sporting Club (), commonly referred to as LOSC, LOSC Lille or simply Lille, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lille, Northern France competing in Ligue 1, the top division of Football in Franc ...
he saved a penalty from
Mathieu Debuchy Mathieu Debuchy (; born 28 July 1985) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right-back. Debuchy started his senior career at Lille OSC, Lille, where he won a Ligue 1 and Coupe de France double in the 2 ...
, but was unable to prevent his side from losing 1–0.


International career

Coupet has 34
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
with
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. He made his international debut against
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
during France's
2001 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fifth FIFA Confederations Cup and the third to be organized by FIFA. It was also the first in which the original hosts, Saudi Arabia national football team, Saudi Arabia, did not participate (they were the ...
-winning campaign. He was called up for the
2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
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 The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup, held in France in June 2003. France retained the title they had won in 2001, but the tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroon player Marc-Vivi ...
, which marked their second victory in the competition in three years. During a commemoration for the late
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
player Marc-Vivien Foé, Coupet broke down in tears, since they both were teammates while playing for Lyon in the French league. In February 2006, ''
France Football ''France Football'' is a French monthly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclus ...
'' magazine conducted a poll among its readers as to who should be France's first-choice goalkeeper for the
2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams represe ...
; Coupet received 69 percent of the votes (Barthez received 28 percent). Though Coupet started six of ten games in the 2006 World Cup qualifying rounds, coach
Raymond Domenech Raymond Manuel Albert Domenech (born 24 January 1952) is a French football manager and former player. He managed the France national team from 2004 to 2010, reaching the 2006 FIFA World Cup final. He was dismissed after their elimination from ...
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 Lyon that had contributed greatly to their streak of five Ligue 1 championships. This ultimately led to a row on 25 May 2006 between Coupet and Domenech that resulted in Coupet storming out of the team's training camp in
Tignes Tignes () is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, known for the highest skiable area and the longest ski season in Europe. It is located in the Savoie region with good ...
with his family in tow, although he later returned and made amends with the coach. Coupet became France's number one after Barthez announced his retirement from both club and country football in August 2006. His first regular stint – during the
UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan ...
– however, got off to a less-than-desired start; France were upset by
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
1–0 on 7 October and a hand injury suffered in that match kept him out of France's 5–0 victory over the
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...
four days later. He was first choice goalkeeper for the tournament proper stage of
Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
, conceding six goals in three matches as France were eliminated in the group stage. During the
2010 World Cup qualifiers Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...
,
Hugo Lloris Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (born 26 December 1986) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Lloris began his career wi ...
and
Steve Mandanda Steve Mandanda Mpidi (; born 28 March 1985) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais FC, Rennes. A product of the Le Havre AC, Le Havre academ ...
were favored by Domenech for the goalkeeping job, with Coupet called up as a reserve for a few games. Coupet was not selected to France's final World Cup squad, as Cédric Carrasso instead was chosen to join Lloris and Mandanda on the roster. On 1 July 2010, Coupet announced his retirement from international football, saying, "I will be 39 years old when
Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
commences, and I can't see myself being included in another squad for France, with Hugo Lloris and Steve Mandanda favoured over me. It happened with Fabien Barthez, he was just too good for me. When he retired, I thought I'd have 4–6 years as France's number 1, but of course it isn't to be as it seems. I therefore declare my retirement from international football, and will not be included in any more France squads. I will not reconsider my retirement now, as I have made up my mind."


Coaching career

After retiring from professional football in 2011, he worked as a sports consultant for RMC radio as well as the CFoot and
beIN Sport beIN Sports ( ) is a Qatari multinational network of sports channels owned and operated by the media group beIN. The network has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and it ...
television channels. In July 2016, Coupet returned to
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
as goalkeeper coach for the club's B-team. In November 2017, Lyon confirmed that Coupet would continue as goalkeeping coach of Lyon's
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 ...
team from the New Year. On 20 May 2020, Lyon confirmed that Coupet would leave the club at the end of the season, as his contract was expiring. It was further confirmed that Coupet would continue his career at
Dijon FCO Dijon Football Côte d'Or (; ), commonly referred to as Dijon FCO or simply as Dijon, is a French Football in France, football club based in Dijon. The club was founded in 1998 as a result of a merger between two local clubs in the city, and co ...
, also as goalkeeping coach. On 17 January 2022, Coupet left Dijon and instead joined
FC Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux () or simply Bordeaux, is a French Association football, football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde (department), Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitain ...
, also as a goalkeeping coach.


Career statistics


Club


International


Honours

Lyon * Division/Ligue 1: 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 *
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 ...
: 2007–08 *
Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...
: 2000–01 *
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 cup, super cups found in many other count ...
:
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
,
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
,
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
,
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
,
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
*
UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...
:
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
Paris Saint-Germain * Coupe de France: 2009–10 France *
FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...
:
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
,
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
*
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
runner-up:
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
Individual *
Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...
Best Goalkeeper:
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
* Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06 * Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06 * ESM Team of the Year: 2006–07


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coupet, Gregory 1972 births Living people Sportspeople from Le Puy-en-Velay Footballers from Haute-Loire French men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers AS Saint-Étienne players Atlético Madrid footballers Ligue 1 players La Liga players Olympique Lyonnais players Paris Saint-Germain FC players France men's international footballers 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Occitan sportspeople