• Bertrand Marchand spent most of his career playing for Stade Rennais

• He helped coax the best out of Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda at Guingamp

• Marchand later spent his coaching career in Tunisia, Morocco, and Qatar

Akshat Mehrish Didier Drogba had hopped from academy to academy in France before landing at Le Mans, where he spent four moderately productive years trying to drill down the cornerstones of what he hoped would be a long and successful career. The Ivorian had initially moved to Le Mans to learn accountancy at the university, but sporadic displays of brilliance turned him to a full-time career in football, leading to an eventual move to Guingamp in the winter of 2002. Moving to a new club midway through the season, Drogba registered three goals in 11 games in his first half-year at Guingamp - just four short of his best-ever tally for Le Mans, still. The following summer, the arrival of Bertrand Marchand, a forward-thinking coach with a preference for attacking football, changed the fortunes of the Ivorian for good.

Marchand coaxed the best out of Drogba, turning him from a decent contributor to a deadly striker; the Ivorian scored 21 times in 39 games in the season across all competitions, finishing third in the top goal-scoring charts in the French Ligue 1. Drogba, however, was not the only individual Bertrand Marchand coached to another level. Florent Malouda, whose arrival at Guingamp preceded Marchand’s by two years, hit double figures for the first time in the club’s kit. Guingamp were the surprise of the season that year under Marchand. They eventually finished seventh in 2002-03, just three points off a UEFA Champions League qualifying stage spot, marking their best-ever finish in the French top-flight history - a club record still standing at the time of writing. Just weeks after their top-half finish, Guingamp sold their star players to turn a nifty profit; Drogba joined Marseille while Malouda left for Lyon. Unable to recreate the magic of the year before, Bertrand Marchand couldn’t prevent Guingamp from sinking into the relegation places just a season after their heroic best. The club dropped down to the second tier, and Marchand left for an adventure on the other side of the Mediterranean. Born in Dinan in northwestern France, Marchand spent his youth training at Entente Mene-Rance before joining Stade Rennais. He lasted eight years at Rennes and enjoyed shorter spells later in his career at Montmorillon and Thouars Foot 79. Marchand hung his playing boots after a 13-year-long career immediately after his three-year stint at Thouars Foot 79, with whom he subsequently took his first steps into coaching. After coaching his former side for 12 years, Bertrand Marchand retraced his steps to Rennes, whom he assisted across various departments, from educator to assistant coach.

Impressed by Marchand’s tactical nous and man-management, Guingamp gave the Frenchman his first big break at the highest level, which he grabbed with both hands. Following his departure from Guingamp, Marchand arrived in Tunisia in 2005 to take over Club Africain, his reputation already dignified through his role in Drogba’s development. Two years later, the Dinan native traded Tunis for Sousse, leaving Club Africain for Etoile du Sahel, with whom he wrote African and Tunisian history. Forever in the shadows of their rivals from Tunis, Etoile du Sahel briefly emerged to steal the limelight as they scaled the summit of African football with Marchand’s assistance. His presence didn’t fetch the national title, but it did lead to Etoile du Sahel claiming their first -- and only -- Confederation of African Football Champions League triumph. Besting opponents from Libya, Morocco, Algeria, and Sudan, the Tunisian giants met Egypt’s Al Ahly in the final, whom they beat 3-1 over two legs to win the championship.

Just weeks later, Marchand coached Etoile du Sahel to a second continental title, defeating compatriots CF Sfaxien in the CAF Super Cup. Marchand left Etoile du Sahel in 2008 for a spell in Qatar with Al-Khor but returned to Tunisia to take over the men’s senior national team job in 2010. He lasted six months in the role before joining Morocco’s Raja Casablanca. Therein began a period for the Frenchman when he swiftly traded jobs in Qatar and Morocco, but he returned to the club that had helped him venture into African football, Club Africain again in 2017, whom he coached twice across two spells in his final years before leaving football behind. Bertrand Marchand passed away on August 26, 2023, back in his hometown Dinan, leaving behind an imperishable legacy in African football.