Pascal Chimbonda (born 21 February 1979 in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, France) is a French defender who plays for Wigan Athletic, a Premiership side, and for the French national team. He wears the number 2 shirt for Wigan Athletic. Chimbonda is able to play at centre-back or right-back.
| Pascal Chimbonda | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 1.80 m / 5 ft 11 in | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back, right back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Wigan Athletic | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 29, 2006 | |||
Club career
Chimbonda began his career at Le Havre AC in 1999, making his debut against RC Strasbourg on 29 April 2000. He spent four years with the club, until Le Havre were relegated to Ligue 2, when he transferred to Bastia. During his stay at Bastia, Chimbonda received racist taunts from his own fans after a heavy loss against AS Saint-Étienne;[1][2] this may have contributed to his leaving the club. However, his former teammates at Bastia firmly deny Chimbonda's accusations of racism.[3].
After Bastia were relegated to July 2005, he left the club, turning down an offer from Olympique de Marseille, and moved to Wigan for £500,000 on a three-year contract. He cited that he was "ready for a new challenge and coming to Wigan is the perfect opportunity to test myself against the best players in the world," as the reason for selecting Wigan.[4] In the Premiership Team of the Year for the 2005-6 season, his first in the Premiership, Chimbonda was voted best right back in the Premiership, ahead of Gary Neville, Steve Finnan, Paulo Ferreira, Emmanuel Eboué and Lauren.[5]
He has been linked to a move to a range of clubs including Manchester United, and Arsenal FC, as well as an attempted transfer by West Ham United based on a clause in his contract that allows him to switch clubs for an offer of £1m (which was subsequently renegotiated and removed).[6] On 7 May 2006, the final day of the 2005-06 season, he handed in a transfer request after losing an exciting match against Arsenal,[7] only six months after renegotiating his contract for a further four years. This riled the Wigan management, who set a high price - higher than many prospective buyers were willing to pay - and informed Chimbonda that "he can play in the reserves until his contract is over," if he is not bought.[8]
Tottenham Hotspur applied with a £2m transfer offer and then a £3m offer; however, both were rejected, as Wigan had stated that any offers below £6m would not be accepted, despite previously stating that, according to his agent Willie McKay, "they wouldn't step in the player's way if a top club came in for him".[6][9] Further, according to MacKay, £3m "is a terrific offer", and Chimbonda is still hopeful of a move to Tottenham. [10] Chimbonda has stated that "moving to Tottenham will help me take the next step forward", and has called Wigan a "stepping stone". West Ham also made a bid, reportedly £4m, for the player, though this was also turned down because it fell short of the asking price.[11] On 10 August 2006, it was reported that Middlesbrough F.C. had emerged as contenders to sign Chimbonda.[12]
International career
Despite early concerns that he would not make France's 2006 World Cup squad,[13] he was selected on the quality of his performances, despite having no previous international experience.[14] During a World Cup warmup friendly match, a 2-0 win against Denmark on 31 May 2006, he appeared amongst the substitutes, appearing briefly on the pitch in the final minutes of the game, replacing Willy Sagnol in the 87th minute for his debut.[15] Chimbonda did not make a single appearance during the 2006 World Cup, and as of 9 July 2006, his cap against Denmark is his only appearance for the national side, competitive or friendly.
References
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59919-2004Dec12.html
- ^ Template:Fr http://fr.farenet.org/news_article.asp?intNewsID=379
- ^ Template:Fr http://www.sc-bastia.com/index.aspx?news=463
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/4664695.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4935884.stm
- ^ a b http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/4753647.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/4982978.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/4984346.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/4768795.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/5071136.stm
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/5151754.stm
- ^ http://home.skysports.com/transferarticle.aspx?hlid=408559
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4938902.stm
- ^ http://www.uefa.com/competitions/WorldCup/news/Kind=1/newsId=421462.html
- ^ http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=195451&cc=5739
External links