Sébastien Bichard

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Sébastien Bichard

| full_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|5|29|df=y}}

| birth_place = Le Blanc, France

| height = 1.75 m

| position = Midfielder

| currentclub = Rennes

| youthclubs1 = Châteauroux

| clubs1= Payerne

| clubs2 = Bulle

| clubs3 = Nyon

| clubs4 = Meyrin

| manageryears1 = 2014–2016

| managerclubs1 = Nyon

| manageryears2 = 2019

| managerclubs2 = Sion (joint caretaker)

| manageryears3 = 2019

| managerclubs3 = Sion (joint caretaker)

| manageryears4 = 2020

| managerclubs4 = Kosovo (caretaker)

| manageryears5 = 2024

| managerclubs5 = Clermont

}}

Sébastien Bichard (born 29 May 1983) is a French football manager and former player. He is an assistant manager at Ligue 1 club Rennes. He also holds Swiss nationality.{{cite news |last1=Vaney |first1=Florian |title=Du Team Vaud à la Ligue 1, itinéraire d’un acharné|trans-title=From Team Vaud to Ligue 1, the itinerary of a relentless man |url=https://www.24heures.ch/sebastien-bichard-du-team-vaud-a-la-ligue-1-itineraire-dun-acharne-423978309204 |access-date=9 August 2024 |work=24 heures |date=5 March 2024 |language=French}}

Playing career

Born in Le Blanc in the department of Indre, Bichard was raised in Saint-Benoît-du-Sault and attended the French Football Federation's centre in Tours before joining the academy of LB Châteauroux.{{cite news |last1=Galipaud |first1=Baptiste |title=Sébastien Bichard, entraîneur adjoint au FC Sion (D1 suisse) et originaire de l'Indre : "la Berri reste mon club de coeur"|trans-title=Sébastien Bichard, assistant manager of FC Sion (Swiss first division) and originally from Indre: "Berri remains the team in my heart" |url=https://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/indre/commune/saint-benoit-du-sault/sebastien-bichard-entraineur-adjoint-au-fc-sion-d1-suisse-et-originaire-de-l-indre-la-berri-reste-mon-club-de-coeur |access-date=4 August 2024 |work=La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest |date=1 July 2020 |language=fr}}

Aged 19, Bichard moved to Switzerland to join Stade Payerne in the fifth division. He remained in the Alpine country for the rest of his playing career with FC Bulle, FC Stade Nyonnais and FC Meyrin; he played in the second-tier Swiss Challenge League with Nyon.

Managerial career

=Sion=

Bichard began his managerial career in 2011 with the under-14 team of Vaud Nyon, and was Stade Nyonnais's head coach from 2014 to 2016. For the next two years, he was under-18 manager at FC Lausanne-Sport. He was then under-21 manager of FC Sion's under-21 team, winning the reserve league. He had two spells in joint caretaker management of Sion's first team in 2019, alongside Christian Zermatten.{{cite news |last1=Guillemin |first1=Tim |title=Sébastien Bichard et Christian Zermatten, un duo qui se connaît bien|trans-title=Sébastien Bichard and Christian Zermatten, a duo who know each other well|url=https://www.lematin.ch/story/sebastien-bichard-et-christian-zermatten-un-duo-qui-se-connait-bien-675666739434 |access-date=4 August 2024 |work=Le Matin (Switzerland) |date=7 May 2019 |language=fr}}{{cite news |title="L'état d'esprit d'une équipe, cela se construit"|trans-title="The state of team spirit, that is made"|url=https://www.lematin.ch/story/letat-desprit-dune-equipe-cela-se-construit-700352186322 |access-date=4 August 2024 |work=Le Matin (Switzerland) |date=28 November 2019 |language=fr}}{{cite news |title=Bettoni est le 60e coach de Sion sous l'ère Constantin: voici la liste|trans-title=Bettoni is the 60th coach of Sion in the Constantin era: here is the list|url=https://www.watson.ch/fr/sport/football/741901598-fc-sion-tous-les-entraineurs-de-christian-constantin |access-date=4 August 2024 |work=Watson |date=7 March 2023 |language=fr}}

=Kosovo=

In November 2020, Bichard was included as an assistant to Swiss manager Bernard Challandes for the Kosovo national football team. As the manager was ill with COVID-19, Bichard led the team in UEFA Nations League games against Slovenia and Moldova, winning the latter 1–0 and keeping the team in Group C.{{cite news |last1=Bourcier |first1=Sébastien |title=Football : Sébastien Bichard, de Saint-Benoît-du-Sault au Kosovo|trans-title=Sébastien Bichard, from Saint-Benoît-du-Sault to Kosovo|url=https://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/indre/commune/saint-benoit-du-sault/l-histoire-de-bichard-le-kosovar |access-date=4 August 2024 |work=La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest |date=9 May 2021 |language=fr}}{{cite news |last1=Vaney |first1=Florian |title=Le Kosovo devra se sauver loin de Challandes, mais avec Bichard |trans-title=Kosovo will have to save themselves far from Challandes, but with Bichard|url=https://www.lematin.ch/story/le-kosovo-devra-se-sauver-loin-de-challandes-mais-avec-bichard-425034753772 |access-date=4 August 2024 |work=Le Matin (Switzerland) |date=18 November 2020 |language=fr}}

While still assistant manager for Kosovo, Bichard took up the same position at Sion in December 2022 under Fabio Celestini.{{cite news |last1=Da Custodia |first1=Hugo |title=Avant Sion-Lugano : Sébastien Bichard n’en est pas à sa première mission commando|trans-title=Before Sion-Lugano: Sébastien Bichard is not in his first commando mission|url=https://www.rhonefm.ch/sports/avant-sion-lugano--sebastien-bichard-nen-est-pas-a-sa-premiere-mission-commando-63624 |access-date=4 August 2024 |publisher=Rhône FM |date=1 March 2023 |language=fr}}

=Clermont=

In the summer of 2023, Bichard was close to being hired by French Championnat National side FC Versailles 78, before being named assistant to Habib Beye at Red Star F.C. in the same league. The following March he left for another number-two job at Clermont Foot, who were battling relegation from Ligue 1.{{cite news |last1=Pruneta |first1=Laurent |title=National : Sébastien Bichard, l’adjoint de Beye, quitte le Red Star pour Clermont en Ligue 1|trans-title=National: Sébastien Biachard, Beye's assistant, leaves Red Star for Clermont in Ligue 1|url=https://www.leparisien.fr/sports/football/national-sebastien-bichard-ladjoint-de-beye-quitte-le-red-star-pour-clermont-04-03-2024-BEXQUVNVTNBE5LWU2TSKGLRASQ.php |access-date=4 August 2024 |work=Le Parisien |date=4 March 2024 |language=fr}}

Clermont were relegated to Ligue 2, Pascal Gastien left, and Bichard led the team for the 2024–25 season.{{cite news |title=Clermont Foot : un staff recomposé autour de l'entraîneur Sébastien Bichard|trans-title=Clermont Foot: a recomposed staff around manager Sébastien Bichard|url=https://www.lamontagne.fr/clermont-ferrand-63000/sports/clermont-foot-un-staff-recompose-autour-de-sebastien-bichard_14526810/ |access-date=4 August 2024 |work=La Montagne |date=29 June 2024 |language=French}} On his debut on 16 August, he drew 2–2 at home to Pau FC.{{cite news |title=Clermont Foot – Sébastien Bichard en colère après Pau (2-2) : " Ce qu’il s’est passé sur cette action me dérange… "|trans-title=Clermont Foot – Sébastien Bichard angry after Pau (2-2): "What happened in that moment drives me crazy"|url=https://maligue2.fr/2024/08/17/clermont-foot-sebastien-bichard-en-colere-apres-pau-2-2-ce-quil-sest-passe-sur-cette-action-me-derange/ |access-date=17 August 2024 |publisher=Ma Ligue 2 |date=16 August 2024 |language=French}} He left by mutual agreement on 28 October with the team in 14th, having won twice and lost five times in ten games.{{cite news |title=Ligue 2 : Sébastien Bichard n'est plus l'entraîneur du Clermont Foot|trans-title=Ligue 2: Sébastien Bichard is no longer manager of Clermont Foot|url=https://www.lamontagne.fr/clermont-ferrand-63000/sports/ligue-2-sebastien-bichard-n-est-plus-l-entraineur-du-clermont-foot_14586957/ |access-date=28 October 2024 |work=La Montagne |date=28 October 2024 |language=French}}

On 1 February 2025, Bichard was named as one of assistant managers at Stade Rennais FC in Ligue 1, again working for Beye.{{cite news |title=Stade Rennais. Habib Beye présente les deux adjoints qui l’accompagnent au SRFC|trans-title=Stade Rennais. Habib Beye presents the two assistants who accompany him at SRFC |url=https://saint-malo.maville.com/actu/actudet_-stade-rennais.-habib-beye-presente-les-deux-adjoints-qui-l-accompagnent-au-srfc-_fil-6660899_actu.Htm |access-date=10 February 2025 |work=Ouest-France |date=1 February 2025 |language=French}}