Laurent Batlles
Laurent Batlles is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and current manager of Ligue 2 side Troyes AC.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.
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 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 a total of 510 French first division games and 41 goals. He continued working with his last club, as a technical supervisor.
In June 2019, Batlles was announced as the new coach of Troyes AC, joining on a two-year deal.Honours
Marseille
