Division: Ligue 1  Tier: 1Status: ProfessionalBalance: OkayBudget: £0Training Facil.: Youth Facil.: Youth Academy: Stadium Capacity: 18,500Avg. Occupation: 66.0%Max. Occupation: 86.5%Introduction
I thought I'd write a spotlight piece on the club that I've managed since the release of the new version of FM12, I've just gone over 100 hours of gameplay in this save and it's been terribly enjoyable. I fancied finding out more about Lorient and ended reading bits and pieces about their history and this is where this piece was born. I know alot of people would say 'who' when I mentioned Lorient to them, they are a club that should be a popular one and as they are going places in French football I can see them being a winner of Ligue 1 within a short time.

History
FC Lorient spent 51 years as an amateur club after being founded in 1926 by Madame Cuissard, who was a store patron at the time. Cuissard originated from Saint-Etienne and was club chairman alongside her son Joseph. The town Lorient is based in Brittany which is located in the north west corner of France. Sitting on the Atlantic Ocean, Lorient is a typical French fishing town, also famous for it's shipping where king Louis XIV founded the French East India Company establishing shipyards there and thus giving it an impetus to the development of the town.

Madame Cuissard's grandson Antione was the first Lorient player to play for the French National Team while playing for the club, in 1954 he played on the team that qualified for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. During the same year Lorient played in the Divison d'Honneur leagues, which is below the CFA (Championnat de France Amateur). The club spent two years in that league before the club started to struggle financially, they subsequently sought club sponsors with the dream of becoming a professional club. Henri Ducassou, the incoming president agreed to take on the role of attaining professional states but they dropped further down into the regional leagues.

In the early 1980s a new club president was named, Georges Guenoum appointed former lorient player Christian Gourcuff. a named you will recognise as manager. The father of Yohan Gourcuff the Lyon player is abit of a Lorient legend, you'll find out why, later. Under Gourcuff's management Lorient flew up the French football ladder, in 1983 then won the Birttany d'Honneur and division 4 in the following season. Gourcuff left the club after the clubs first season in division 3 and Lorient ended up spending the next five season in the same division playing under two different managers.

In those five seasons Christian Gourcuff had managed Le Mans and Pont-L'Abbe but was never as successful as he was with Lorient. He returned to Brittany in 1991 and in 1995 the team earned promotion back to division 2 after winning the second edition of the Championnat National.

Recent History
Lorient always looked better when they had Gourcuff in charge of them, in their second season back in Ligue 2 they surprised alot of people by running away with the league alongside eventual champions Nancy. The following season marked Lorient's first ever appearance in the 1997/1998 season, the appearance was brief though, the club struggled to meet the financial demands and stronger competition of Ligue 1. Lorient finished 16th, equal on points with 17th place Le Harve, they both had the same amount of wins, losses and draws, however due to Le Harve having a better goal difference the club were relegated.

After 2 seasons in division 2 the club were back in Ligue 1, prior to their promotion a takeover of the club led by Alain Le Roch led to internal issues which resulted in the departure of Gourcuff and Ulrich Le Pen, one of the clubs best players at the time. They hired Angel Marcos, an Argentinian manager, however he only lasted a few months. Aside from the issues behind the scenes they signed players such as Pape Malick Diop, Johan Cavalli, Seydou Keita and Jean-Claude Darcheville to strengthen their side. Lorient were beaten finalists in the League Cup that year and kept they impressive form up by winning the Coupe de France beating Bastia in the final, the celebrations were short lived as the club were relegated from the league in the same season.

At the turn on the millennium the club decided to spend it's money on improving it's own academy and promoted several players to the first team. Andre-Pierre Gignac, Jeremy Morel, Diego Yesso and Virgile Reset were all promoted in 2005, alongside Malian International Bakari Kone the club were back in Ligue 1 in 2006.

'The French Arsenal'
Since 2006 Lorient have been in the top division and have been impressing people with the way they've gone about their business. London based French businessman Loic Ferry and their wily manager Christian Goufcuff have been placing their stamp on the side. In the French media the Brittany based club are often compared to Arsenal given their style of play but their approach off the pitch mirror the work Frenchman Arsene Wenger has done in North London.

"Despite being in different footballing dimensions both sides share many things," said Fery. "Both enjoy consistency with managers who have been with the club for over a decade, we share a similar football philosophy and we are amongst the rare clubs that make money in this industry." Last year Lorient the were only club in French football with a positive net financial result.

Labelled 'the Arsenal of Ligue 1' Lorient's style of play is down to their charismatic manager Christian Gourcuff who, in partnership with Fery, represents the combination of the club's identity and heritage with ambition and the modern business acumen required to develop the team. The side's 4-4-2 formation based on one-touch attacking football, constant passing and movement to create space whilst observing strict tactical instructions is directly similar to that of Arsenal and Barcelona whom les Merlus only just trail in statistics showing the average number of passes per match in Europe.

Honours
Championnat National - Champions (1): 1995
Coupe de France - Champions (1): 2002
Coupe de la Ligue - Runners-Up (1): 2002
Trophée des champions - Runners-Up (1): 2002
Division d'Honneur (Bretagne) - Champions (5): 1932, 1936, 1957, 1983, 1995[5]
Coupe de Bretagne - Champions (6): 1958, 1970, 1982, 1990, 2000, 2002

How does this tie into Football Manager?
How does this all add up in Football Manager? Well, Lorient are a perfect side for those thinking they want a mid table team that have the potential to reign over Europe. If you choose to start with Lorient you'll start with a very decent side on your hands. Predicted to finish 13th in the first season you'll have a board that will give you time. A mixture of old and young players will greet you, older, more influential players such as Mathieu Coutadeur, Sigamary Diarra, Alaixys Romao and Arnold Mvuemba and the highest prospects such as Gilles sunk, Benjamin Lecomte, Kevin Monnet-Paquet, Bruno Manga and Innocent Emeghara.

They have a small stadium that only holds 19,000 and the facilities aren't as good as they could be but I've played 6 years into the future with Lorient and I've had a new stadium built and the facilities have been improved no end as the board are very loyal and I now have eight of my first team squad from my youth setup.

Lorient have a great setup that you can only make better!