France 3 Nouvelle Aquitaine and HERE, has just informed us of the disappearance at the age of 88, last night, of Pierrot Labatillustrious trainer at the Girondins de Bordeaux, and who dedicated his life to the Scapular Club.
We think of his family and friends, and thank him wholeheartedly for what he brought to FCGB.
“Arriving at the Girondins in 1952 from Brocas-les-Forges, his native Landes village where he kicked his first balls, Pierre Labat played as a full-back. He rubbed shoulders with the professional group of the time. Barred from Bordeaux, he left to join AS Gironde, a neighboring amateur club where René Gallice played. The latter promised to find him a trial at Olympique de Marseille, but two months later, Pierre Labat seriously injured his knee ligaments. Poorly recovered, he had to put an end to his career and his hopes of pursuing a professional career.
He then began his retraining as an employee in a subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. Then he tried to turn around the family business but failed.
After two decades away from the Girondins, Didier Couécou, Bordeaux sports director, and Jacques Debeillex, director of the football school, brought him back to the club in 1979 as an educator of the juniors or pupils. In 1986, he joined the training center as assistant to Philippe Goubet. There he had a decisive encounter in the evolution of his football teaching with the arrival of Yugoslav coach Ante Mladinic. He left the training center in 1993 to devote himself to recruiting young people and supervising possible recruits.
Destined to remain in the shadows, he was nevertheless called upon by Rolland Courbis in particular to follow individually players who had become professionals like Lizarazu, Dugarry or Zidane.
It was Elie Baup who permanently integrated him as assistant coach at the start of 1998. He remained on the staff of the first team until 2005 before resuming his occasional mission with young people and professional players. Players like Gourcuff or Bernardoni have, for example, praised the merits of this now technical advisor in the media.
