Born in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Furlan started his career at Bordeaux, where he signed his first professional contract in 1975, winning the Coupe Gambardella one year later.

This was a success; four consecutive seasons, he guided Libourne to the round of 32 in the Coupe de France, eliminating Ligue 1 teams such as Olympique Lyonnais and FC Metz and making it to the quarter-finals.

During his time at Libourne-Saint Seurin, Furlan was widely credited with having overseen the progress of youngsters such as Matthieu Chalmé and Mathieu Valbuena.

His first season was very successful as Troyes was promoted to Ligue 1 and he was personally awarded Manager of the Year, being considered to be a shrewd tactician with collective spirit made up of well-oiled offensive tactics.

Despite a low budget in the teams he managed, Furlan developed the talent of very good players such as Damien Perquis, Bafétimbi Gomis, Blaise Matuidi, Djibril Sidibé, Mounir Obbadi and Fabrice N'Sakala.