Olivier Dacourt - Fans memories of a Leeds United playmaker

Olivier Dacourt was a combative presence in the Whites engine room, a tenacious ball winner of the highest order.

His signing was a statement of intent when he arrived for a then club record fee of £7.2 million from Lens in in 2000. It signalled to the Premiership that big money was waiting to be spent at Elland Road.

He would go on to become a vital cog in the side which stunned Europe and reached the Champions League semi-final in 2000-01.

One performance in Rome's Stadio Olimpico when he outclassed the feted Lazio duo of Pavel Nedved and Juan Sebastian Veron in a marvellous 1-0 win in a second group stage encounter in December 2000 particularly stands out from that golden campaign - proving he was very much the real deal and a player who could grace any side in Europe.

Your YEP has asked the Elland Road faithful to share memories of a player, capped 21 times by France, and whose displays in a Leeds shirt more than justified the expensive outlay to purchase him.

Responses included:

Norman Bell - "An absolute master of his craft. A joy to watch."

Gary Gamston - "I backed him to score at 100-1. Leeds 1 Arsenal 0. Was 33-1 next home game."

Peter Straw - "Great player very much underrated."

Neal Adams - "One of my favourites"

Lea Edge - "Top draw."

Martin Hopewell - "Just like Phillips, dependable and made the rest of the team work as a formation."

Thomas Clinch - "One of my favourites!"

Paul Blakemore - "Outstanding midfielder. Played as a defensive midfielder and then an attacking midfielder after Batty came back from injury. What a combination Ollie and Batts were."

Dave Stanger - "Fantastic footballer. Great player for Leeds."

Steve Doherty - "Loved Olly. My favourite player at the time and definitely underrated."

Craig Laffey - "Top player. One of my favourite players of that era."

Ben Humphrey - "The French Magician."

Mic Harris - "Aged 11, sketched a portrait of the legend in the yellow strongbow kit at school. My work made it on the wall display at Cloudside Junior School in Derbyshire. Unfortunately, a burst pipe and a flood destroyed the picture. But it was still the best thing I have ever drawn to this day some 18 years on!"

Mark Williams - "Great player. Great midfielder and an intelligent one."

Steve Atkinson - "Great is a word used far too often in my opin ion but this man deserves to be called great. What an absolutely brilliant player. Slide rule passes and fantastic in a tackle. Definitely one of the best players we've ever had."

Craig Teasdale - "Top midfielder. If you can get in the French squad at that time you arn't bad."

Graham Caney - "Class act. Top player. Underrated by a long way. One of our best ever players."

Ingimundur H Hannesson - "My absolute favourite player of that era."

Jon Ashworth - "Great passer, tackler too. Unlucky that France had half a dozen decent midfielders in his era."

Shaun Rice - "Engine of a great team."

Stephen Piper - "Silk and steel combined!"

Graham Crosbie - "Great midfielder with tricky feet and a great bite in midfield for breaking up attacks."

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Laura Collins