Éric BENOIT

Eric Benoit is a ball-winning defensive midfielder and playmaker, who was a product of FC Sochaux's youth set-up as of 1967. He joined the professional squad of Sochaux in 1974, but wouldn't sign his first professional contract with the club until 1976. Over the seasons that followed, he would become an undisputed fixture in the starting line-up at the club. He would go on to make 196 appearances, scoring 25 goals through his career with Sochaux, which notably finished 2nd in the First Division in 1980. He even managed to feature in a couple of European matches in the UEFA Cup. Effective in protecting his defence, he was much sought-after. He chose to join Monaco in 1983, where he would spend two seasons, reaching the French Cup Final in both. In 1985, he signed for Olympique de Marseille, but was never able to establish himself as first-choice. He stayed there for two seasons before signing for Stade Rennais. The Red and Blacks, playing in the Second Division at the time, didn't give him many opportunities - aside from the first few league games of the season, and from there on, he was progressively frozen out at the Breton club. At the end of the 1987/1998 season, he decided to end his playing career as a professional footballer, and retrained to become a manager, notably at amateur clubs in the Rhône-Alpes and Franche-Comté regions of France.