Grégory Coupet

Grégory Coupet

Personal information
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Paris Saint-Germain
Number	1
Youth career
	Olympique Le Puy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993–1997	Saint-Étienne	88	(0)
1997–2008	Lyon	518	(0)
2008–2009	Atlético Madrid	6	(0)
2009–2011	Paris Saint-Germain	40	(0)
International career‡
2001–2008	France	34	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 May 2010 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 June 2008

Grégory Coupet (born 31 December 1972) is a French association football goalkeeper who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain. He retired from the France national team in 2008.

Club career

Coupet began his club career with hometown team Club Olympique Le Puy, before going pro with Saint-Étienne in 1994. He made his Ligue 1 debut on 26 March 1994 in a 2–0 victory against Angers. After three seasons, he surprisingly moved to league rival Lyon (the two cities are only 80 kilometers apart, and are long-time local and national rivals). His gamble paid off as Lyon have regularly dominated Le Championnat since 2002 and are also a regular fixture in the UEFA Champions League.

Coupet performed a memorable double save against Barcelona during an UEFA Champions League 2001–02 match, when he first acrobatically headed an unintended lob by a defender to his own crossbar, and then immediately parried a close header by the arriving Barcelona striker Rivaldo.

He openly wept during the group photo before France faced Turkey in a 2003 Confederations Cup semifinal 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 Foe's death in helping him gain a new perspective on life, in the process settling his differences with Lyon after having been engaged in nasty contract imbroglios for most of the 2002–03 season, which included at one point his vowing never to play for the club again.

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, fourth behind winner Petr Čech, Dida, and Gianluigi Buffon, 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 qualifiers. He later joked on Lyon's official television network:

"The good side...is that [France] have a rugby World Cup 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 side Créteil in the Coupe de France on 6 January 2008.

International career

Born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire, Coupet has 34 caps with France. He made his international debut against Australia during France's 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup-winning campaign. He was called up for the 2002 World Cup 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, which marked their second victory in the competition in three years.

In February 2006, France Football magazine conducted a poll among its readers as to who should be France's first-choice goalie for the World Cup; Coupet received 69 percent of the votes (Barthez received 28 percent).

Though Coupet started six of 10 games in the 2006 World Cup qualifying rounds, coach Raymond Domenech 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 with his family in tow, but 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 Euro 2008 qualifiers – however, got off to a less-than-desired start; France were upset by Scotland 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 four days later.

He was first choice goalkeeper for Euro 2008, conceding six goals in three matches as France were eliminated in the group stage.

During the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Hugo Lloris and Steve Mandanda were favored by Domenech for the keeping job, with Coupet called-up as a reserve for a few games. Coupet was not selected to France's World Cup team, as Cédric Carrasso instead was chosen to join Lloris and Mandanda on the roster.

On the 1st July 2010, Coupet announced his retirement from international football, saying: "I will be 39 years old when Euro 2012 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."

Honours

Lyon

• Ligue 1 – 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
• Trophée Des Champions – 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008
• Coupe de la Ligue – 2001
• Coupe de France: 2008
• Peace Cup: 2007

France

• FIFA Confederations Cup – 2001, 2003

External links

• Grégory Coupet – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Career Statistics
• Playing the waiting game
• Ambitious Coupet lays claim to Barthez's goalkeeping spot
• Not Yet at 100% (translated interview)
• Grégory Coupet face à Rivaldo en 1999