Vikash Dhorasoo

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

Vikash Dhorasoo
Dhorasoo in 2020
Personal information
Full name Vikash Rao Dhorasoo[1]
Date of birth (1973-10-10) 10 October 1973[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 Milan 12 (0)
2005–2006 Paris Saint-Germain 37 (0)
2007 Livorno 0 (0)
Total 375 (16)
National team
1999–2006 France 18 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

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 A.C. 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.

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 A.C. 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 the youth team to trial his fitness.[9]

International career

While at Lyon, Dhorasoo made his debut for the French 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.

Dhorasoo was called up for the French 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, much to the anger of French national team manager Raymond Domenech and the French Football Federation. Dhorasoo was warned against publishing the documentary. He retired from the French national team, saying "I am not interested in playing for Les Bleus any more. It's over."[10]

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.[11]

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

Personal life

Dhorasoo is of Indo-Mauritian origin. His great-grandparents were Telugu-speakers from Vizianagaram in present-day Andhra Pradesh, India who migrated to Mauritius.[12][13][14][15][16] Vikash's parents and siblings moved to France where Vikash was born as the fourth child. He began university studies in economics before committing to professional football.[17]

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.[18] He earned $527,453 in his poker career, and as of November 2020 is ranked 142nd on France's all-time winners.[19]

Dhorasoo's favorite music group is Belle and Sebastian and his favorite author is Jonathan Coe.[20]

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.[21]

Dhorasoo also works actively to fight poverty in countries such as India and has established several programs for it.[17]

Coaching career

In July 2009, he became chairman of French football club L'Entente SSG.[22]

Honours

Lyon

Bordeaux

Milan

Paris Saint-Germain

France

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. Retrieved 23 January 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. 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. "Munitis moves, Toni stays". UEFA. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  11. "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.
  12. 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.
  13. "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.
  14. "Indian connection in World Cup football". Hindustan Times. 16 June 2006. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  15. "IndianFootball.Com Interview: VIKASH DHORASOO". www.indianfootball.de. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  16. Feb 20, TNN. "Vikash Dhorasoo's pearls of wisdom | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  17. "Top NRIs Who Have Made India Proud By Their Professions". 7 January 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  18. "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.
  19. "Vikash Dhorasoo". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  20. Andy Brassell (21 February 2012). "A former life through a lens". ESPN. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  21. "Dhorasoo tackles great taboo". UEFA. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  22. http://www.lentente.fr/index.php?option=com_m2c&Itemid=42
  23. https://www.gazzetta.it/primi_piani/calcio/2004/pp_1.0.479511270.shtml
  24. "Match report: Italy – France". FIFA. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018.
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