Marcel Desailly

Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly
MarcelDesailly.JPG
Personal information
Full name Marcel Desailly
Date of birth 7 September 1968 (1968-09-07) (age 43)
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Defender, midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1992 Nantes 164 (5)
1992–1993 Marseille 57 (2)
1993–1998 Milan 164 (7)
1998–2004 Chelsea 156 (7)
2004–2005 Al-Gharafa 28 (15)
2005–2006 Qatar SC 7 (0)
Total 611 (35)
National team
1993–2004 France 116 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Marcel Desailly (French pronunciation: [maʁsɛl dəsaji]; born Odenke Abbey 7 September 1968 in Accra, Ghana) is a retired Ghanaian born French footballer and star of the France national football team squad, with whom he won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. He also enjoyed a distinguished career at club level with several major European clubs.

Contents

Club career

Born as Odenke Abbey to Ghanaian parents, Marcel had his name changed when his mother married the head of the French Consulate in Accra who adopted all the children (the former professional footballer Seth Adonkor, seven years his elder, was a half-brother of his). He arrived in France as a four-year-old and, following Adonkor's lead, began his career at FC Nantes. There, as part of the famed FC Nantes youth programme, he played alongside a young Didier Deschamps, who became his closest friend. Desailly turned professional in 1986, two years after his half-brother had died in a car accident. In 1992, he moved to Olympique de Marseille, where he reunited with Deschamps, and won the UEFA Champions League the following year. In 1994, while playing for AC Milan, he again won the Cup (scoring in the final himself), being the first player to win the Cup in consecutive seasons with different clubs. During his time in Milan he won two Italian league titles, in 1994 and 1996. Although he prefers to be a defender,[1] he also played midfield for some time while being at A.C. Milan.

Desailly then moved to the English club Chelsea in 1998 for £4.6m,[2] where he captained the side and played centre-back until the end of the 2003–04 season. It was at Chelsea that Desailly formed a formidable partnership with Frank Leboeuf.

He picked up one major trophy in his six seasons with Chelsea, being on the winning side their FA Cup triumph over Aston Villa in 2000.[3]

Desailly was snapped up by Qatari outfit Al-Gharafa in 2004. He was appointed as the club captain and under the French coach Bruno Metsu they won the Qatar League in 2005. He then joined Qatar S.C., leading them to second place in the league before retiring from professional football.

Legacy

Marcel Desailly is currently resident in Ghana. Desailly is considered one of the most accomplished players of the game and one of the best players of the past two decades, having won virtually every major team award. He is currently a Laureus Academy member and OrphanAid Africa Lifetime ambassador to Ghana and France (since 2005) .He was mentioned as a possible candidate for the coaching position of Ghana's national team.[4] He has since then pulled out of the race to coach the Ghana National Team, although the option is likely to keep coming up. He has opened (June 2011) a sports facility in Ghana called Lizzy's Sport Complex, in memory of his late mother, geared to young players and children in particular. The facilities are world class with many African National teams using the centre to camp and prepare for international tournaments.

International career

Desailly made the controversial decision to play for France, instead of his home country of Ghana.[citation needed] He has often said that he feels totally French and while having ties with his native country, never even considered playing for another country than France. This stance was restated in his autobiography, published in 2002. He made his international debut in 1993, but was not established as a first choice defender until 1996. He was an important part of the French team which won the 1998 World Cup, albeit being sent off in the final. Like other team members, he was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 1998.[5][6] Two years later success continued, as France won Euro 2000. After the tournament, Desailly was made captain of the national team, following the retirement of Didier Deschamps. In 2001, he led France to victory in the Confederations Cup.

In April 2003, Desailly surpassed the record for the number of appearances for the French team, a number which eventually reached 116 when he announced his retirement from international football following Euro 2004. However, that record was broken during the 2006 World Cup by Lilian Thuram.

Playing honours

Club

France Marseille

Italy A.C. Milan

England Chelsea

Qatar Al Gharafa

  • Qatari League: 2004–05

International

France France

Individual

  • Overall Team of the Decade – Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992/3 – 2001/2)

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
1986/87 Nantes Division 1 13 0 - 2 0 15 0
1987/88 11 0 - - 11 0
1988/89 36 1 - - 36 1
1989/90 36 1 - - 36 1
1990/91 34 1 - - 34 1
1991/92 32 2 - - 32 2
1992/93 Marseille Division 1 31 1 - 10 1 41 2
1993/94 16 0 - - 16 0
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
1993/94 AC Milan Serie A 21 1 7 0 - 6 2 34 3
1994/95 22 1 7 0 - 10 0 39 1
1995/96 32 2 14 1 - 7 0 53 3
1996/97 29 1 7 0 - 5 0 41 1
1997/98 32 0 14 1 - - 46 1
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1998/99 Chelsea Premier League 30 0 7 1 37 1
1999/00 22 1 16 0 38 1
2000/01 34 2 1 0 35 2
2001/02 24 1 8 0 2 0 2 0 36 1
2002/03 31 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 33 2
2003/04 15 0 1 0 1 0 8 0 25 0
Qatar League Emir of Qatar Cup League Cup Asia Total
2004/05 Al-Gharafa Stars League 28 15 28 15
2005/06 Qatar Stars League 7 0 7 0
Country France 209 6 - 12 1 221 7
Italy 136 5 49 2 - 28 2 213 9
England 156 6 10 0 3 0 35 1 204 7
Qatar 35 15 35 15
Total 536 32 59 3 3 0 75 4 673 39

[7] [8]

France national team
Year Apps Goals
1993 4 0
1994 7 0
1995 7 1
1996 12 0
1997 7 0
1998 13 1
1999 11 0
2000 16 0
2001 12 1
2002 13 0
2003 9 0
2004 5 0
Total 116 3

Post-playing career

Desailly's autobiography, Capitaine, was published in France by Stock in 2002.

Media work

Following retirement, Desailly became a pundit for BBC Sport predominantly giving his opinion from the touchline at both half time and full time as opposed to residing in the studio with Alan Hansen, Alan Shearer and Martin O'Neill.

He worked for BBC Sport in the United Kingdom during the 2006 World Cup, as one of their Match of the Day analysts.

He also worked for BBC Sport at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and Euro 2008 and is a regular commentator for French television channel Canal Plus.

He also became a spokesperson for sports betting website Betclic.[9]

In 2010 Desailly joined the ITV Sport team for their World Cup coverage from South Africa.[10][11]

Licensed Merchandise

A mobile video game entitled Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer, developed by Gameloft was released for mobile phones in 2003.[12]

Personal

Desailly is a member of the Ga ethnic group. He is married to Virginie and has a daughter, Victoria, and three sons.

References

  1. ^ "The five players Fabio Capello made superstars". Daily Telegraph (UK). 16 December 2007. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/12/16/sfnpla116.xml. Retrieved 16 December 2007. [dead link]
  2. ^ Desailly plans to join Lazio next summer The Independent, 21 December 1999
  3. ^ "Chelsea claim FA Cup glory". BBC News. 20 May 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/fa_cup/756784.stm. 
  4. ^ "Desailly confirms intention to coach Ghana". BBC Sport Online. 2 December 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/7124052.stm. Retrieved 2 2007. 
  5. ^ "France honors World Cup winners – Government gives Legion of Honor to players, coaches". CNN/SI. 1 September 1998. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/news/1998/09/01/france_legionhonor. Retrieved 20 July 2006. 
  6. ^ "Décret du 24 juillet 1998 portant nomination à titre exceptionnel". JORF 1998 (170): 11376. 25 July 1998. PREX9801916D. http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=PREX9801916D. Retrieved 10 March 2009. 
  7. ^ http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=14556
  8. ^ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/desailly-intl.html
  9. ^ Rhodes, M (26 February 2010). "NBA champion Tony Parker Signs with Poker Site BetClic". Onlinepoker.net. http://www.onlinepoker.net/poker-news/poker-pros-news/nba-champion-tony-parker-signs-poker-site-betclic/4827. Retrieved 13 June 2010. 
  10. ^ World Cup 2010 ITV Press Centre, 2 June 2010
  11. ^ ITV signs up Patrick Vieira and Francois Pienaar for World Cup football coverage Telegraph, 28 May 2010
  12. ^ "Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer" Wireless IGN.com, 26 April 2004; Retrieved 7 October 2008

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Dennis Wise
Chelsea F.C. captain
20002004
Succeeded by
John Terry
Preceded by
Didier Deschamps
France national football team captain
2000–2004
Succeeded by
Patrick Vieira

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  • Marcel Desailly — (nacido el 7 de septiembre de 1968 en Accra, Ghana) es un jugador de fútbol ghanés, actualmente ciudadano de Francia y ex estrella de su equipo nacional, con quien ganó la Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 1998 y la Euro 2000. Desailly se fue a Francia… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Marcel Desailly — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Desailly. Marcel Desailly …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer — Developer(s) Gameloft Publisher(s) Gameloft Platform(s) N Gage …   Wikipedia

  • DESAILLY (M.) — DESAILLY MARCEL (1968 ) Originaire du Ghana, Marcel Desailly fait ses débuts de footballeur à Nantes, qu’il quitte en 1992 pour l’Olympique de Marseille, club avec lequel il remporte la Coupe d’Europe en 1993. Voulant donner une nouvelle… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Desailly — may refer to: Marcel Desailly, French footballer Jean Desailly, French actor This page or section lists people with the surname Desailly. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific perso …   Wikipedia

  • Marcel — bzw. Marcell ist ein männlicher Vorname und Familienname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft und Bedeutung 2 Bekannte Namensträger 2.1 Vorname 2.2 Familienname …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Desailly — ist der Name folgender Personen: Jean Desailly (1920–2008), französischer Schauspieler Marcel Desailly (* 1968), französischer Fußballspieler Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wo …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Marcel — hace referencia a: Gabriel Marcel, filósofo católico, dramaturgo y crítico francés; Marcel Delannoy, compositor francés; Marcel Desailly, futbolista de origen ghanés; Marcel, futbolista de origen brasileño; Marcel Duchamp, artista dadaísta… …   Wikipedia Español

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