Joris Chotard

Joris Chotard learned senior football early at Montpellier. He joined the club's academy in 2016 and started its Ligue 1 opener against Rennes on 10 August 2019, before signing his first professional deal that September. The speed of that rise matters to his game: he was learning when to hold a midfield position and when to step forward while already facing top-flight opponents.

Montpellier's youth coaches described a midfielder who read play early and could use short or long passes with either foot. Those qualities gave him more than one job. He could link defence to attack from a deeper position, but he also had the energy to travel into the next line and recover when possession changed. His value was in connecting those phases, rather than living only in one half of the pitch.

A more defined holding role arrived under Olivier Dall'Oglio in 2021. Chotard explained that the 'sentinel' had to protect the space left when a partner moved forward, keep the team balanced and help others adjust their positions. He also worked on losing the ball less often. That is a useful way to read his midfield work: the tackle may finish a move, but his positioning can prevent the dangerous pass before it starts.

The 2024 Paris Olympics gave that discipline a different stage. Chotard appeared in all six of France's men's football matches, starting the final against Spain before being replaced in the second half. France lost after extra time and took silver.

Chotard moved to Brest in August 2025. He supplied a striking early image of his new chapter a month later, scoring from outside the area in a 4-1 league win over Nice. That goal showed he could arrive at the edge of the attack, but it should not obscure the quieter work that had made him a central option.

The thread through those stages is timing. Chotard has played both as a midfielder allowed to advance and as the player asked to stay behind the move. His own account of the deeper role and his coaches' description of his anticipation and passing range suggest that his main craft is deciding where the next gap will open and offering a safe route through midfield.

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Joris Chotard currently plays for Stade Brestois 29 as a defensive midfielder.