Laurent Courtois


Laurent Courtois is a French former professional footballer.

Club career

Laurent Courtois began his career in the youth ranks of top French club Olympique Lyonnais. In the 1998–99 season he moved to AC Ajaccio in Ligue 2, where he gained his first experience. After a fine season with Ajaccio he transferred to Toulouse,
where he helped the club gain promotion to Ligue 1. After a successful second season with Toulouse he was transferred to West Ham United in England. After 18 unsuccessful months with only seven Premier League appearances, Courtois left England and returned home.
He signed with FC Istres to restart his career. In two years at the club, he appeared in 74 league matches and scored 9 goals. In 2005, he joined Spanish La Liga side Levante. He remained at the club for three years. In 2008, he returned to France joining Grenoble. He helped the club gain promotion to Ligue 1 during the 2008–09 season.
During the second half of the 2011 Major League Soccer season, Courtois signed with Chivas USA. He was released on 30 June 2013, just a day after scoring a goal against the New England Revolution in a 1–1 draw.
After a brief trial, Courtois signed with Chivas USA's city rivals Los Angeles Galaxy on 19 July 2013.
Courtois made his debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy on 20 July 2013 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
After signing for the Galaxy's reserve squad as a player/coach, he announced his retirement on 15 August 2014 in order to obtain his coaching credentials from the FFF.