- Marcel Desailly
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Marcel Desailly 
Personal information Full name Marcel Desailly Date of birth 7 September 1968 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
- UEFA Champions League: 1993
A.C. Milan- Serie A: 1993–94, 1995–96
- UEFA Champions League: 1994
- UEFA Super Cup: 1994
- FA Cup: 2000
- FA Charity Shield: 2000
- UEFA Super Cup: 1998
Al Gharafa- Qatari League: 2004–05
International
- World Cup: 1998
- UEFA European Football Championship: 2000
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 2001, 2003
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 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
- ^ "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]
- ^ Desailly plans to join Lazio next summer The Independent, 21 December 1999
- ^ "Chelsea claim FA Cup glory". BBC News. 20 May 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/fa_cup/756784.stm.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=14556
- ^ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/desailly-intl.html
- ^ 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.
- ^ World Cup 2010 ITV Press Centre, 2 June 2010
- ^ ITV signs up Patrick Vieira and Francois Pienaar for World Cup football coverage Telegraph, 28 May 2010
- ^ "Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer" Wireless IGN.com, 26 April 2004; Retrieved 7 October 2008
External links
- (English) (French) Official website
- Marcel Desailly career stats at Soccerbase
Sporting positions Preceded by
Dennis WiseChelsea F.C. captain
2000–2004Succeeded by
John TerryPreceded by
Didier DeschampsFrance national football team captain
2000–2004Succeeded by
Patrick VieiraUEFA Euro 2000 Team of the Tournament Goalkeepers Defenders Laurent Blanc · Lilian Thuram · Marcel Desailly · Fabio Cannavaro · Paolo Maldini · Alessandro Nesta · Frank de BoerMidfielders Forwards France squads France squad – UEFA Euro 1996 semi-finalists 
France squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup Winners (1st Title) France squad – UEFA Euro 2000 Winners (2nd Title) France squad – 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup Winners (1st Title) 1 Ramé • 2 Sagnol • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Gillet • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Pirès • 8 Desailly (c) • 9 Anelka • 10 Carrière • 11 Wiltord • 12 Coupet • 13 Silvestre • 14 Née • 15 Bréchet • 16 Dacourt • 17 Marlet • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Camara • 21 Dugarry • 22 Robert • 23 Landreau • Coach: LemerreFrance squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Ramé • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Christanval • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Makélélé • 8 Desailly (c) • 9 Cissé • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Boghossian • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Micoud • 23 Coupet • Coach: LemerreFrance squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup Winners (2nd Title) France squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Landreau • 2 Boumsong • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Gallas • 6 Makélélé • 7 Pirès • 8 Desailly (c) • 9 Saha • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Rothen • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Dacourt • 18 Pedretti • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Marlet • 22 Govou • 23 Coupet • Coach: SantiniCategories:- 1968 births
- Living people
- A.C. Milan players
- Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
- Chelsea F.C. players
- FC Nantes players
- FIFA Century Club
- FIFA 100
- Association football midfielders
- Association football central defenders
- France international footballers
- Adoptees adopted by relations
- Ghanaian emigrants to France
- French expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Expatriate footballers in Italy
- French footballers
- French people of Ghanaian descent
- Ghanaian footballers
- Olympique de Marseille players
- People from Accra
- Ligue 1 players
- Premier League players
- Serie A footballers
- UEFA Euro 1996 players
- 1998 FIFA World Cup players
- Al-Gharafa Doha players
- UEFA Euro 2000 players
- 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- 2002 FIFA World Cup players
- 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players
- UEFA Euro 2004 players
- FIFA World Cup-winning players
- FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players
- UEFA European Football Championship-winning players
- Qatar SC footballers
- Qatar Stars League players
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