Vikash Dhorasoo

Vikash Rao Dhorasoo (born 10 October 1973) is a French former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder.

Vikash Dhorasoo
Dhorasoo in 2006
Personal information
Full name Vikash Rao Dhorasoo[1]
Date of birth (1973-10-10) 10 October 1973[2]
Place of birth Harfleur, France
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position(s) Central midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1998 Le Havre 137 (4)
1998–2004 Lyon 161 (11)
2001–2002 → Bordeaux (loan) 28 (1)
2004–2005 Milan 12 (0)
2005–2006 Paris Saint-Germain 37 (0)
2007 Livorno 0 (0)
Total 375 (16)
National team
1999–2006 France 18 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Born in Harfleur near Le Havre in Normandy, Dhorasoo began his football career with Le Havre AC, where he made his debut in a 0–0 draw with AS Saint-Etienne in August 1993. He was regarded as a promising midfielder as well as one of the best dribblers in Lyon history. After five years at Le Havre, he went on to play for Olympique Lyonnais in 1998.

He had a brief spell at league rivals FC Girondins de Bordeaux from 2001 to 2002, before he returned to Lyon in 2002. He won two French Ligue 1 championships with Lyonnais in 2003 and 2004, and moved abroad to play for Italian club A.C. Milan in 2004. He was an unused substitute in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, when Liverpool beat A.C. Milan on penalties, but won a runners-up medal.

PSG

Dhorasoo moved back to France in 2005, signing for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He was an important part of the PSG squad that won the 2006 Coupe de France, as he scored on a 25-yard shot in the final and secured the victory against fierce rivals Olympique de Marseille.

He was selected for the French squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, but only saw limited playing time during the tournament. At his short spell in Paris, many reporters say he was "the orchestrator of the Parisian club's game".

In September 2006, he criticised manager Guy Lacombe in an interview with L'Equipe, and a month later his contract with PSG was terminated,[3] being the first player to be sacked from a French club since 1973.

Livorno

On 3 July 2007, Livorno announced to have signed Dhorasoo with a statement on their official website[4] However, Livorno rescinded his contract in October of the same year due to differences with the club.[5] According to the club's president Aldo Spinelli, Dhorasoo refused to play with the club's youth side, which would have helped re-evaluate the player's fitness levels. Spinelli felt that this left the club with only one option, and that was to terminate the player's contract. Though Ligue 2 side Grenoble made an approach to sign the player, he finally announced his retirement on 11 January 2008.

International career

While at Lyon, Dhorasoo made his debut for the French national team in a goalless draw against Ukraine on 27 March 1999. He played another national team match in June 1999, before his national team career went into a five-year hiatus, he scored one goal in eighteen appearances for the French national team.

Dhorasoo was called up for the French national team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification in September 2004, and he represented the country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. After the World Cup, Dhorasoo publicly revealed the time spent in the French squad during the monthlong tournament, through a documentary, much to the anger of French national team manager Raymond Domenech and the FFF. Dhorasoo was warned against publishing the documentary. He retired from the French national team, saying "I am not interested in playing for Les Bleus any more. It's over."[6]

Dhorasoo made 18 national team appearances between 1999 and 2006, scoring a single goal in a heavy defeat of Cyprus.

International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 12 October 2005 Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France  Cyprus 3–0 4–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification

Personal life

Dhorasoo is of Indo-Mauritian origin. His Telugu-speaking forefathers hailed from Vizianagaram in India's Andhra Pradesh, migrated to Shiraz in Iran and then to Mauritius to work on the sugarcane plantations of the paradise islands. Vikash's parents and siblings moved to France where Vikash was born as the fourth child. He began university studies in economics before committing to professional football.[7]

Dhorasoo's favorite music group is Belle and Sebastian and his favorite author is Jonathan Coe.[8]

He is married to longtime girlfriend Émilie and has two daughters, Rose (born 8 March 2003), and Sara (13 March 2005).

He has spoken out against bigotry and in 2003 he started actively supporting Paris Foot Gay, a football club which combats homophobia and other discrimination in the sport.[9]

Dhorasoo also works actively to fight poverty in countries such as United States and has established several programs for it.[7]

In the 2020 Paris municipal election, Dhorasoo ran as the mayoral candidate for La France Insoumise in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.[10]

Coaching career

In July 2009, he became chairman of French football club L'Entente SSG.[11]

Film

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Dhorasoo did some personal filming for a film called Substitute, which was released the following year in France.

His most recent film is La très très grande entreprise, released in November 2008.

Honours

Lyon

Bordeaux

Milan

Paris Saint-Germain

References
  1. "Comunicato Stampa N. 10 del 20 Agosto 2004" [Press Release No. 10 of 20 August 2004] (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Nazionale Professionisti. 20 August 2004. p. 1. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  2. "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 11. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  3. "Midfielder Dhorasoo sacked by PSG". CNN. 11 October 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  4. "Soccer-French midfielder Dhorasoo signs for Livorno". Reuters. 3 July 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  5. "Unfit Dhorasoo leaves Livorno". Channel 4. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 1 November 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
  6. "Munitis moves, Toni stays". UEFA. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  7. "Top NRIs Who Have Made India Proud By Their Professions". 7 January 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  8. Andy Brassell (21 February 2012). "A former life through a lens". ESPN. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  9. "Dhorasoo tackles great taboo". UEFA. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  10. https://www.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKBN2102ST
  11. http://www.lentente.fr/index.php?option=com_m2c&Itemid=42
  12. https://www.gazzetta.it/primi_piani/calcio/2004/pp_1.0.479511270.shtml
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