Vikash Dhorasoo

Vikash Dhorasoo

Dhorasoo in 2020
Personal information
Full name	Vikash Rao Dhorasoo [1]
Date of birth	(1973-10-10) 10 October 1973 (age 51) [2]
Place of birth	Harfleur, France
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
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	AC Milan	12	(0)
2005–2006	Paris Saint-Germain	37	(0)
2007	Livorno	0	(0)
Total		375	(16)
International career
1994–1996	France U21	12	(2)
1996	France Olympic	4	(0)
1999–2006	France	18	(1)
Medal record Men's football Representing   France FIFA World Cup Runner-up 2006
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

Dhorasoo spent most of his career with Lyon, winning Ligue 1 twice in 2003 and 2004, and also had a loan at Bordeaux and a spell at Paris Saint-Germain, who dismissed him in October 2006. ^[3] Abroad, he had one year at Italy's AC Milan where he reached the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, and a spell at Livorno where he did not play.

Internationally, Dhorasoo earned 18 caps and scored once for France from 1999 to 2006. He was part of their team that came runners-up at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early 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. After five years at Le Havre, he went on to play for Olympique Lyonnais in 1998.^{[ citation needed ]}

He had a brief spell at league rivals FC Girondins de Bordeaux from 2001 to 2002. He won two French Ligue 1 championships with Lyon in 2003 and 2004. ^[4]

In April 2004, Dhorasoo agreed to move abroad to play for Italian club AC Milan, on a two-year deal. ^[4] 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. ^[5]

Paris Saint-Germain

Dhorasoo with Paris Saint-Germain in 2006

Dhorasoo moved back to France in 2005, signing for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). ^[6] He was part of the PSG squad that won the 2006 Coupe de France, as he scored a 25-yard shot in the final and secured the victory against fierce rivals Marseille. ^[7]

In September 2006, he criticised manager Guy Lacombe in an interview with L'Equipe , and a month later his contract with PSG was terminated, being the first player to be sacked from a French club since the Professional Footballers Charter was set up in 1973. The reasons listed for dismissal were "His refusal to play for the reserves, his lack of loyalty, also his insubordination, disobedience and his permanent air of provocation". ^[3]

Livorno

On 3 July 2007, Livorno announced to have signed Dhorasoo with a statement on their official website. ^[8] However, Livorno rescinded his contract in October of the same year due to differences with the club, before having played. According to club president Aldo Spinelli, he refused to play a game for them. ^[9]

International career

These [fans] who come to the stadium hissing and hating me, I defend them because they are the masses, people who came from tough estates just like me.

—Dhorasoo on falling out of favour playing for France. ^[10]

While at Lyon, Dhorasoo made his debut for the France 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.^{[ citation needed ]}

Dhorasoo was called up for the France 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 month-long tournament, through a documentary titled Substitute, much to the anger of France national team manager Raymond Domenech and the French Football Federation. Dhorasoo was warned against publishing the documentary. He retired from the France national team, saying "I am not interested in playing for Les Bleus any more. It's over." ^[11]

Dhorasoo made 18 national team appearances between 1999 and 2006, scoring a single goal in a 4–0 home win over Cyprus on 12 October 2005, ensuring a place at the 2006 World Cup. ^[12]

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

Post-football career

As of 2023, Dhorasoo was a football consultant for the French sports channel L’Equipe. In 2008 he acted in the film La très très grande entreprise . He authored four books; Substitute, Comme Ses Pieds, L’Engagement – explique a ma fille et ses potes du quartier and the 2020 graphic novel J’perds pas la boule, illustrated by Emilie Gleason. He ran in the 2020 Paris municipal election. ^{[13] [14]}

Personal life

Dhorasoo is an Indo-Frenchman of Indo-Mauritian origins. His ancestors were Telugus from Andhra Pradesh, India who migrated to Mauritius in the last century. ^{[15] [16] [17] [18] [19]}

After his dismissal from PSG in 2006, Dhorasoo became a professional poker player for Winamax. He quit the game in September 2011 after a defeat at the Partouche Poker Tour in Cannes. ^[20] He earned $527,453 in his poker career, and as of November 2020 is ranked 142nd on France's all-time winners. ^[21]

Dhorasoo's favorite music group is Belle and Sebastian and his favorite author is Jonathan Coe. ^[22]

Dhorasoo is married and father of two daughters, born in 2003 and 2005. ^[23]

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. ^[24]

Coaching career

In July 2009, he became chairman of French football club L'Entente SSG. ^[25]

Honours

Lyon

• Ligue 1: 2002–03, ^[26] 2003–04 ^[27]
• Coupe de la Ligue: 2000–01 ^[28]
• Trophée des Champions: 2002, ^[29] 2003 ^[30]

Bordeaux

• Coupe de la Ligue: 2001–02 ^[31]

AC Milan

• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2004–05
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2004 ^[32]

Paris Saint-Germain

• Coupe de France: 2005–06 ^[33]

France

• FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2006 ^[34]

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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
3. "Midfielder Dhorasoo sacked by PSG". CNN. 11 October 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
4. "Milan sign Dhorasoo". Eurosport. 15 April 2004. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
5. "AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (aet)". BBC Sport. 25 May 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
6. "Dhorasoo joins PSG". Eurosport. 5 July 2005. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
7. "PSG win French Cup". Eurosport. 29 April 2006. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
8. "Soccer-French midfielder Dhorasoo signs for Livorno". Reuters . 3 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2 January 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
9. "Unfit Dhorasoo leaves Livorno". Channel 4. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 1 November 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
10. Weir, Christopher (29 December 2016). "L'Étranger: Vikash Dhorasoo and the struggle for love". These Football Times. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017.
11. "Munitis moves, Toni stays". UEFA. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
12. "La France a obtenu son billet pour le Mondial 2006 en battant Chypre" [France obtained their ticket for the 2006 World Cup by beating Cyprus]. Le Monde (in French). 12 October 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
13. Murthy, Neeraja (4 April 2023). "Former French football player Vikash Dhorasoo talks about Telugu roots and his goal to inspire the young". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 10 September 2024.
14. Team, Herald (4 April 2023). "I am happy that I now have my own comic character: Vikash Dhorasoo". Herald Goa. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
15. Rao, Dasu Kesava (22 June 2010). "Mana boy in world soccer". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 22 October 2020. Vikash's Telugu-speaking forefathers hailed from Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh (then part of Madras Presidency), migrated to Shiraz in Iran and then to Mauritius to work on the sugarcane plantations of the paradise islands.
16. "Footballer Vikash Dhorasoo turns filmmaker". DNA India. 26 April 2008. Retrieved 22 October 2020. Dhorasoo, 34, is of Indo-Mauritian extraction, his Telugu-speaking ancestors hailing from Andhra Pradesh.
17. "Indian connection in World Cup football". Hindustan Times. 16 June 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
18. "IndianFootball.Com Interview: VIKASH DHORASOO". www.indianfootball.de. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
19. 20 Feb, TNN. "Vikash Dhorasoo's pearls of wisdom | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
20. "Vikash Dhorasoo : Le jour où j'arrête le poker" [Vikash Dhorasoo: "The day I quit poker"]. Paris Match (in French). 15 August 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
21. "Vikash Dhorasoo". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
22. Brassell, Andy (21 February 2012). "A former life through a lens". ESPN.com . Retrieved 17 November 2017.
23. Poullé, Bobby; Greedharry, Vikash (July 2014). "Je suis fière de Vikash". 5plus.mu (in French).
24. "Dhorasoo tackles great taboo". UEFA. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
25. "This domain was registered by Youdot.io".
26. "Lyon 2002/2003". Footballdatabase.eu.
27. "Lyon - 2003/04". FootballSquads.co.uk.
28. "Résultat Monaco - Lyon, Coupe de la Ligue, Finale, Samedi 05 Mai 2001 - L'Équipe".
29. "Résultat Lyon - Lorient, Trophée des Champions, Trophée des Champions, Dimanche 28 Juillet 2002 - L'Équipe".
30. "Résultat Lyon - Auxerre, Trophée des Champions, Trophée des Champions, Samedi 26 Juillet 2003 - L'Équipe".
31. "Résultat Bordeaux - Lorient, Coupe de la Ligue, Finale, Samedi 20 Avril 2002 - L'Équipe".
32. "Gazzetta dello Sport - Supersheva, Supercoppa Milan".
33. "Résultat et résumé Marseille - Paris-SG, Coupe de France, Finale, Samedi 29 Avril 2006". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 7 April 2024.
34. "Match report: Italy – France". FIFA. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018.

External links

• Vikash Dhorasoo at the French Football Federation (in French)
• PSG profile (in French)
• Blog (in French)