#1 Yoann Gourcuff
To see the undoubted quality that Yoann Gourcuff possesses, simply look at the goal he scored for Bordeaux against Paris Saint-Germain in January 2009. During that campaign, he produced moments of magic on a weekly basis and finally seemed to be living up to his promise as France’s next Zidane following a failed spell in Italy.
A year later, he was key as Bordeaux reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, beating Juventus en route, but there was to be a sharp decline just around the corner.
He made a €22 million move to Lyon in the summer of 2010 and seemed set to continue to scale the heights, yet he was struck down by a series of problems that rendered him completely ineffective for the Rhone giants. Since then, he has never been able to go close to his best level, with some close to him even suggesting that his problems are more mental than physical.
Now, he can be found teaming up with father Christian, who is the coach of Rennes. There are the occasional glimpses of the old Gourcuff, but nothing of the sort that led to many believing that he could become the world’s greatest playmaker when at his best.
