French football manager (born 1983)
Sébastien Bichard Date of birth
(1983-05-29 ) 29 May 1983 (age 41) Place of birth
Le Blanc , France Height
1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Position(s)
Midfielder
Châteauroux Years
Team
Apps
(Gls )
Payerne
Bulle
Nyon
Meyrin
2014–2016
Nyon 2019
Sion (joint caretaker) 2019
Sion (joint caretaker) 2020
Kosovo (caretaker) 2024
Clermont
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Sébastien Bichard (born 29 May 1983) is a French football manager and former player. He also holds Swiss nationality .[ 1]
Playing career
Born in Le Blanc in the department of Indre , Bichard was raised in Saint-Benoît-du-Sault and attended the French Football Federation 's centre in Tours before joining the academy of LB Châteauroux .[ 2]
Aged 19, Bichard moved to Switzerland to join Stade Payerne in the fifth division. He remained in the Alpine country for the rest of his playing career with FC Bulle , FC Stade Nyonnais and FC Meyrin ; he played in the second-tier Swiss Challenge League with Nyon.[ 2]
Managerial career
Sion
Bichard began his managerial career in 2011 with the under-14 team of Vaud Nyon, and was Stade Nyonnais's head coach from 2014 to 2016. For the next two years, he was under-18 manager at FC Lausanne-Sport . He was then under-21 manager of FC Sion 's under-21 team, winning the reserve league.[ 2] Christian Zermatten .[ 3] [ 4] [ 5]
Kosovo
In November 2020, Bichard was included as an assistant to Swiss manager Bernard Challandes for the Kosovo national football team . As the manager was ill with COVID-19 , Bichard led the team in UEFA Nations League games against Slovenia and Moldova , winning the latter 1–0 and keeping the team in Group C.[ 6] [ 7]
While still assistant manager for Kosovo, Bichard took up the same position at Sion in December 2022 under Fabio Celestini .[ 8]
Clermont
In the summer of 2023, Bichard was close to being hired by French Championnat National side FC Versailles 78 , before being named assistant to Habib Beye at Red Star F.C. in the same league. The following March he left for another number-two job at Clermont Foot , who were battling relegation from Ligue 1 .[ 9]
Clermont were relegated to Ligue 2 , Pascal Gastien left, and Bichard led the team for the 2024–25 season .[ 10] Pau FC .[ 11] [ 12]
References
^ Vaney, Florian (5 March 2024). "Du Team Vaud à la Ligue 1, itinéraire d'un acharné" [From Team Vaud to Ligue 1, the itinerary of a relentless man]. 24 heures . Retrieved 9 August 2024 . ^ a b c Galipaud, Baptiste (1 July 2020). "Sébastien Bichard, entraîneur adjoint au FC Sion (D1 suisse) et originaire de l'Indre : "la Berri reste mon club de coeur" [Sébastien Bichard, assistant manager of FC Sion (Swiss first division) and originally from Indre: "Berri remains the team in my heart"]. La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest . Retrieved 4 August 2024 . ^ Guillemin, Tim (7 May 2019). "Sébastien Bichard et Christian Zermatten, un duo qui se connaît bien" [Sébastien Bichard and Christian Zermatten, a duo who know each other well]. Le Matin (Switzerland) . Retrieved 4 August 2024 . ^ " ["The state of team spirit, that is made"]. Le Matin (Switzerland) (in French). 28 November 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2024 .^ "Bettoni est le 60e coach de Sion sous l'ère Constantin: voici la liste" [Bettoni is the 60th coach of Sion in the Constantin era: here is the list]. Watson . Retrieved 4 August 2024 .^ Bourcier, Sébastien (9 May 2021). "Football : Sébastien Bichard, de Saint-Benoît-du-Sault au Kosovo" [Sébastien Bichard, from Saint-Benoît-du-Sault to Kosovo]. La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest (in French). Retrieved 4 August 2024 . ^ Vaney, Florian (18 November 2020). "Le Kosovo devra se sauver loin de Challandes, mais avec Bichard" [Kosovo will have to save themselves far from Challandes, but with Bichard]. Le Matin (Switzerland) (in French). Retrieved 4 August 2024 . ^ Da Custodia, Hugo (1 March 2023). "Avant Sion-Lugano : Sébastien Bichard n'en est pas à sa première mission commando" [Before Sion-Lugano: Sébastien Bichard is not in his first commando mission] (in French). Rhône FM. Retrieved 4 August 2024 . ^ Pruneta, Laurent (4 March 2024). "National : Sébastien Bichard, l'adjoint de Beye, quitte le Red Star pour Clermont en Ligue 1" [National: Sébastien Biachard, Beye's assistant, leaves Red Star for Clermont in Ligue 1]. Le Parisien . Retrieved 4 August 2024 . ^ "Clermont Foot : un staff recomposé autour de l'entraîneur Sébastien Bichard" [Clermont Foot: a recomposed staff around manager Sébastien Bichard]. La Montagne . Retrieved 4 August 2024 .^ "Clermont Foot – Sébastien Bichard en colère après Pau (2-2) : " Ce qu'il s'est passé sur cette action me dérange… " [Clermont Foot – Sébastien Bichard angry after Pau (2-2): "What happened in that moment drives me crazy"] (in French). Ma Ligue 2. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024 .^ "Ligue 2 : Sébastien Bichard n'est plus l'entraîneur du Clermont Foot" [Ligue 2: Sébastien Bichard is no longer manager of Clermont Foot]. La Montagne . Retrieved 28 October 2024 .
