2023-05-26 11:22:51
Martin Fourcade has hung up his spatulas… to get on the boards. The five-time Olympic champion, retired since 2020, will mature a show project entitled “Hors-piste” on his career as a high-level athlete. A total of 17 dates are planned for the fall in around ten cities.
Like other athletes before him, the Catalan will perform in a totally different field from the one in which he excels. At the twilight of a career focused – often from an early age – on sports performance, many athletes have to face this “little death of the athlete” and retrain in a new sector. Here are some examples.
Louis Picamoles, from the XV of France with goat cheese
At 36, with a career that has seen him tread the lawns of Montpellier, Toulouse, Northampton Saints and L’Union Bordeaux Bègles, the third center line ends his career. And he has already planned the sequel. The former international has just bought 58 ha of land in the Hérault. During his last season with UBB, the 2011 vice-world champion took agricultural training. His goal: to integrate the farming world, after 18 years of practicing rugby at the professional level. Louis Picamoles is now based at the foot of the Cévennes, where he raises goats and makes organic cheeses with his wife.
Élise Bussaglia, back in teaching
After 192 selections for the French team and stints with the biggest clubs (PSG, OL, FC Barcelona, etc.), the Sedanaise decided in 2019 to hang up her crampons after the World Cup and become a teacher again. And for good reason: before becoming a professional footballer, the former Barcelonan had launched her professional life by obtaining the CRPE (competition giving access to the profession of teacher).
“It was very demanding in terms of organization and work, recalls the quadruple champion of France in an interview with Telerama. I was revising during the day before training in the evening with PSG. I had the competition in Yvelines, then I practiced for a year (in 2010-2011, Ed). And there, it was even harder. I took care of my class before practice. I had almost no time to relax. I was always busy with football or work. »
Éric Cantona, a certain success in the cinema
A talented footballer with an unpredictable character, Eric Cantona is a Manchester United legend. The native of Marseille, who left the grounds of the Premier League (championship which he won four times) in 1997, will convert to beach soccer, a discipline which he has made popular in France.
But the former AJ Auxerre striker did not wait for the end of his career to try his hand at his other passion: cinema. He stood out in the film “Happiness is in the meadow”, by Étienne Chatiliez, and then appeared in around twenty films. We also owe him “Looking for Éric”, co-produced with Ken Loach, presented at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival in the official selection, in which he plays his own role. “Éric The King” is currently starring in the action film AKA, released on Netflix on April 28, which has become the most viewed French film in the world on the platform.
Bernard Hinault, passion for breeding
From the top of his impressive track record (5 Tours de France, 3 Tours of Italy and 2 Tours of Spain in particular), Bernard Hinault had an intimate ambition, realized as soon as his bike was hung up. In 1986, he moved with his family to a farm in Calorguen, bought three years earlier, to become a farmer.
For 20 years, the Breton will devote himself to breeding 150 Charolais cows. At the same time, Hinault keeps a foothold in the world of cycling. Between 1987 and 2016, he took care of public relations at Amaury Sport Organisation, in particular on the Tour de France. He will also be coach of the France team from 1988 to 1993, succeeding Jacques Anquetil.
Stéphane Guivarc’h in the pools
Among the players who made up the world champion team in 1998, most became coaches or consultants. Stéphane Guivarc’h, for his part, has chosen a completely different path. The former goalscorer for Stade Rennais and then AJ Auxerre has become a swimming pool seller at home in Brittany.
“It’s not because we were world champion that we don’t have the right to work in another area, he told us in 2018. On the contrary, it shows that we can do something else only football and it breaks, in passing, some received ideas. I assume that everyone does what they want. I don’t look at what other people are doing, that doesn’t interest me. I never researched the cameras. I exist for what I am. »
Vincent Clerc, entrepreneur at McDonald’s
After 17 years of professional rugby, the former Stade Toulousain and France player Vincent Clerc has become an example of successful retraining. He was able to anticipate his post-career, by obtaining a Master’s degree in sports management at the Toulouse School of Management in 2008. After having managed several companies, while being a consultant for France Télévisions, the Isérois has been the boss of a McDonald’s franchise in Toulouse.
“The process is long, there is a real selection at Mc Donald’s, and no free pass, he explained to the Midi Dispatch. I had to complete a 15-month training course, working in all positions, from team member to manager. I invested the savings from my rugby career, it’s a real commitment to a career as a business manager. »
Jeremy Clement and his olive oil
After a rich career during which he played 328 games in the French elite, the former defensive midfielder of PSG has converted into an entrepreneur. And for this, Jeremy Clément has teamed up with Remo Simonetti and Isabelle Cristina, a couple who work in wine production. Together, they launched in 2021 in the production and sale of olive oil. The “Romeo and Juliet” brand was born, the first name being that of the 38-year-old son of Isérois.
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