Antoine CUISSARD

Antoine Cuissard (nicknamed "Tatane") was born in Saint-Etienne, but made his first steps in football with Lorient, a club which was founded by his Grandmother in 1926. He was a pacy, agile and intelligent player. He was soon picked up by the professional clubs' scouting network, and he signed for AS Saint Etienne in 1944. There he would play as a winger, and produced numerous high-quality performances in a green shirt, which permitted him to open the doors to the French national side in 1946. That same year, much to everyone's surprise, he left Saint-Etienne to sign for Lorient, who were playing in the Division d'Honneur at the time, helping the club to rebuild in the aftermath of the war. He would remain an international footballer, and would still get called up the national team. Eventually, he would return to Saint-Etienne in 1947, where he would become an undisputed first choice player in the starting eleven for the following five seasons. A combative and formidable player, he was also versatile - capable of playing in all positions. From the 1949/1950 season, he was converted to a central defender. But with ever-decreasing gametime in his final season at Saint-Etienne, he chose to leave in 1952 to sign for AS Cannes on a six-month deal. In 1953, he moved on to Nice, with whom he would go on to win the French Cup in 1954. That year would also see him make what would prove to be his final apperance in the France shirt, totalling 27 caps and one goal. A lover of Brittany, he returned to the region to join Stade Rennais in 1955, where he would remain an effective attacker, finishing 3rd top-scorer in the Second Division in 1958, scoring 24 goals, and helping his team to the Second Division title in 1956. Rennes would be the final stop of his professional career, hanging up his boots in 1959. A year later, he would begin his new career as a manager, firstly with Lorient, before returning to Rennes, on two occasions, where he would take over the First Team with inconsistent results. He would also go on to manage in Corsica and in Switzerland. Having spent a period of time as Sporting Director with Stade Rennais, he quit football altogether in 1978, and headed off to live in Saint-Brieuc, where he passed away on 3rd November 1997.