Laurent Batlles

Laurent Batlles

Batlles as a Saint-Étienne player (2011)
Personal information
Date of birth	(1975-09-23) 23 September 1975
Place of birth	Nantes, France
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Toulouse
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1999	Toulouse	159	(10)
1999–2001	Bordeaux	70	(3)
2002	Rennes	28	(2)
2003	Bastia	38	(4)
2004–2006	Marseille	49	(11)
2005–2006	→ Toulouse (loan)	31	(3)
2006–2008	Toulouse	53	(5)
2008–2010	Grenoble	70	(2)
2010–2012	Saint-Étienne	68	(8)
Total		566	(48)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Laurent Batlles (born 23 September 1975) is a French retired footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career

Battles was born in Nantes. In 1993, he emerged from the Toulouse FC academy into the senior squad, playing his first game in Ligue 1 on 2 April 1994 in a 0–1 away loss against Olympique Lyonnais.

In 1999, after scoring ten league goals in six seasons, two spent in Ligue 2, Batlles joined FC Girondins de Bordeaux, where he played exactly half of 1999–2000, adding eight appearances in the club's run in the UEFA Champions League, netting once. The following campaign he scored three in 32 matches, featuring in 19 league contests – with six goals – in the 2001–02 UEFA Cup before completing that campaign with Stade Rennais FC.

In January 2003, Batlles moved to Corsica and SC Bastia. He played in the remaining 19 games for his new team, a figure he repeated in the first half of 2003–04 (without finding the net) before joining Olympique de Marseille, in another January transfer window move.

In one-and-a-half seasons with l'OM, Batlles scored three goals in 15 appearances and played in eight of the side's matches in the UEFA Cup, which included the final, lost 0–2 to Valencia CF. The following campaign he netted eight in 30 games and, after starting 2005–06 at the club, he rejoined Toulouse initially on loan, only missing three games as the team barely avoided relegation.

Battles joined permanently in the 2006–07 season, after a successful loan spell, although he had a contract with Marseille until June 2008. Again, he was an undisputed starter, as Toulouse finished third in the league and reached the third qualifying round of the Champions League, eventually bowing out to Liverpool.

In 2008–09, 33-year-old Batlles joined newly promoted club Grenoble Foot 38, being an automatic first-choice as it eventually retained its top flight status. In June 2010, after the team's relegation, he was released, quickly signing for AS Saint-Étienne – the first team placed above the relegation zone – at nearly 35 years of age.

Batlles retired from football in May 2012, with French first division totals of 510 games and 41 goals. He continued working with his last club, as a technical supervisor.

External links

• Laurent Batlles at L'Équipe Football (in French)
• Laurent Batlles – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
• Template:FootballDatabase.eu