Vikash Dhorasoo

Personal information
Date of birth	10 October 1973 (1973-10-10) (age 36)
Place of birth	Harfleur, France
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	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 St-Germain	37	(0)
2007	Livorno	0	(0)
National team
1999–2006	France	18	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Vikash Dhorasoo (born 10 October 1973) is a French former professional football midfielder, he was chairman of the French football club L'Entente SSG. 21st of September 2009 he placed 11th in WCOOP (World championship of online poker) main event for 75 000$.

[edit] Club 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. He was regarded as a promising midfielder as well as one of the best dribblers in Lyon history. 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, before he returned to Lyon in 2002. He won two French Ligue 1 championships with Lyonnais in 2003 and 2004, and moved abroad to play for Italian club AC Milan in 2004. He was an unused substitute in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final, when Liverpool beat AC Milan on penalties, but won a runners-up medal.

Dhorasoo moved back to France in 2005, signing for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He was an important part of the PSG that won the 2006 Coupe de France (French Cup), as he scored a magnficent 25 yard shot in the final and secured the victory against fierce rivals Olympique de Marseille. He was selected for the French squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, but only saw limited playing time during the tournament.

In September 2006 he criticised manager Guy Lacombe in an interview with L'Equipe, and a month later his contract with PSG was terminated,^[1] being the first player to be sacked from a French club since 1973.

On 3 July 2007 Livorno announced to have signed Dhorasoo with a statement on their official website ^[2] However, Livorno rescinded his contract in October of the same year due to differences with the club.^[3] According to the club's president Aldo Spinelli, Dhorasoo refused to play with the club's youth side, which would have helped re-evaluate the player's fitness levels. Spinelli felt that this left the club with only one option, and that was to terminate the player's contract. Even after Ligue 2 side Grenoble made an approach to sign the player he finally announced his retirement on 11 January 2008.

[edit] 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, he scored one goal in eighteen appearances for the French national team, and he represented his country at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Dhorasoo was once more called up for the French national team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification in September 2004. 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 FFF, 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."^[4]

Dhorasoo made 18 national team appearances between 1999 and 2006, scoring a single goal.

[edit] 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

[edit] Personal life

Dhorasoo is of Indo-Mauritian origin. He belongs to the Telugu community, his ancestors having migrated to Shiraz from the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, and were of the Hindu faith. He began university studies in economics before committing to professional football.

He is married to longtime girlfriend Émilie and has two daughters, Rose (born 8 March 2003), and Sara (13 March 2005).

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.^[5] Dhorasoo also works actively to fight poverty in countries such as Mauritius and has established several programs for it.

[edit] Coaching career

In July 2009, he became chairman of French football club L'Entente SSG.^[6]

[edit] Film

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Dhorasoo did some personal filming for a film called Substitute, which was released the following year in France.

His most recent film is La très très grande entreprise, released in November 2008.

[edit] Club honours

• 2001: Coupe de la Ligue with Olympique Lyonnais
• 2002: Coupe de la Ligue with Girondins de Bordeaux
• 2003: Trophée des Champions with Olympique Lyonnais
• 2003: Ligue 1 with Olympique Lyonnais
• 2004: Ligue 1 with Olympique Lyonnais
• 2006: French Cup with Paris Saint Germain

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• (French) FFF profile
• (French) PSG profile

v • d • e France squad – 1996 Summer Olympics 1 Letizi • 2 Djetou • 3 Bonnissel • 4 Laville • 5 Moreau • 6 Vieira • 7 Makélélé • 8 Dhorasoo • 9 Maurice • 10 Sibierski • 11 Pirès • 12 Toyes • 13 Candela • 14 Dacourt • 15 Vairelles • 16 Fernandez • 17 Wiltord • 18 Legwinski • 20 Dieng • Coach: Domenech

v • d • e France squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Runners-up 1 Landreau • 2 Boumsong • 3 Abidal • 4 Vieira • 5 Gallas • 6 Makélélé • 7 Malouda • 8 Dhorasoo • 9 Govou • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Saha • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Givet • 18 Diarra • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Chimbonda • 22 Ribéry • 23 Coupet • Coach: Domenech