Rolland Courbis honoured at La Madeleine service in Paris | OneFootball

A memorial service for Rolland Courbis, who died on Monday aged 72, was held on Wednesday at the Church of La Madeleine in Paris.

According to L'Équipe, leading figures gathered to pay respects, among them Zinédine Zidane, Michel Denisot and Vincent Labrune, president of the Ligue de football professionnel.

Labrune said he was deeply saddened. He recalled that Robert Louis-Dreyfus introduced him to Courbis more than 25 years ago, describing an extraordinary character known for expertise, knowledge, eloquence, humour and friendship.

Also present were Jean-Luc Reichmann, Bernard Laporte, the 1996 Olympic judo champion Djamel Bouras, and Waldemar Kita. Emmanuel Petit and Luis Fernandez, colleagues of Courbis at RMC, attended alongside the presidents of Lille and Marseille, Olivier Létang and Pablo Longoria. Former players Steve Mandanda, Willy Sagnol and Laurent Koscielny were among the mourners, as were Gérard Darmon, who worked with Courbis on the film 3 Zéros, and Jérôme Rothen.

Robert Pirès knew Courbis from his arrival at Marseille and enjoyed a fine season under him. Zidane owes his famous nickname Zizou to his former coach at Bordeaux.

Philippe Diallo represented the FFF. Courbis later managed RC Lens between 2000 and 2001, the club of Gervais Martel, having previously coached Daniel Bravo at Marseille. Jean-Michel Larqué worked alongside him in the media for many years.

Source: L'Équipe