Raymond Keruzoré is a former Breton and Frenchfootball player and manager, regarded as one of the greatest players to have played for Stade Rennais, as well as one of the greatest ever Breton players.
Biography
Raymond Keruzoré's professional football career began aged 20 on 26 June 1969, when he played his debut match in Division 1 for Rennes against Metz. In 1971, he won the Coupe de France with Rennes, beating Lyon 1–0. The following season, he played 2 matches in the European Cup-Winners Cup, eventually losing to Rangers. He signed for Marseille in 1973, but only played one season, returning to Rennes the following year. For Marseille, he played 4 matches in the UEFA Cup, demolishing Union Luxembourg 13–1 on aggregate in the first round. In the second round the team played against Cologne, winning the first leg 2–0, but conceding six goals in the return match. In 1975, he joined manager Michel Le Milinaire, a fellow Breton, at Stade Lavallois for one of the club's most successful periods, when it won promotion to the French first division. The club then turned fully professional and against expectations retained its top-flight status until long after his departure in 1979. While playing for Laval, he won the first of two caps for the national teamin a world cup qualification match in 1976. 'Kéru' was in contention for the French squad for the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, but did not make the final squad. This, and his lack of international caps, are largely because he played the same midfield playmaker position as Michel Platini. From 1979 to 1981 he played for Brest, another Brittany-based club to which he would later return as manager. During this time, the team won Division 2 and was promoted to Division 1. From 1981 to 1986, he was player-manager of Guingamp, his third Breton club. During this time, the team enjoyed one of their most successful ever periods in Division 2 and in the French Cup. In season 82–83 Guingamp knocked Laval out of the cup, before losing to Tours in the quarter-finals. The team was eventually a victim of its own success and the best players left for bigger clubs. He spent one season as manager of Brest and during this time former manager of Lyon to be, Paul Le Guen, played under him. But a strained relationship with then-president François Yvinec meant he left after only one season, returning to Rennes as manager, his first professional club. Brest were relegated the following season. As manager of Rennes from 1987 to 1992, 'Kéru' enjoyed mixed fortunes. The club finished 20th in 1992 and survived relegation only due to administrative problems of the top division clubs, Brest and Nice. Raymond Keruzoré's career in football ended in 1997, after two seasons in Division 2 as manager of Stade Quimperois, the club where he began playing as a youth. The club was declared insolvent and he retired from management. He lives near Rennes in Brittany.
