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Florent Malouda

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Florent Malouda
Personal information
Full name Florent Johan Malouda[1]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Left winger
Team information
Current team
 Chelsea
Number 15
Youth career
ASC Remiré
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996-2000 Châteauroux 59 (5)
2000–2003 Guingamp 92 (15)
2003–2007 Lyon 138 (25)
2007– Chelsea 115 (29)
International career‡
2004– France 65 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:47, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:00, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

Florent Johan Malouda (French pronunciation: [flɔʁɑ̃ maluda]; born 13 June 1980) is a French footballer who plays as a left winger for Chelsea of the Premier League and the French national team.

Club career

Châteauroux

A street footballer in his teen years, Malouda gradually developed into an interesting, new football talent, able to penetrate defenses with his technical skills and imaginative play.

Malouda soon attracted the interest of scouts from French club Châteauroux and he soon moved to Paris to join the club. Despite the difficulties of living far away from his family home in French Guiana, Malouda was able to continue his studies and play professional football. Malouda played 57 games for Châteauroux, making his senior debut at the age of 16 in the French Ligue 2. He also got sent off in his second game for the club.

Guingamp

Malouda was then signed by top division side Guingamp following Châteauroux's inability to secure a Ligue 1 berth. It was in Guingamp where his talent was showcased in French top-flight football. Under the tutelage of coach Guy Lacombe, Malouda demonstrated his tremendous ability and formed a superb assister and finisher combination with then team-mate Didier Drogba.

Lyon

Malouda's performances at Guingamp began catching the attention of French club Olympique Lyonnais who, after claiming their second consecutive title during the 2002–03 season, decided to sign Malouda. In an outstanding Lyon team containing Juninho, Michael Essien, Grégory Coupet, and Mahamadou Diarra, Malouda established himself on the left side of Lyon's attack, forming great link-ups with all of Lyon's strikers. His performances for Lyon finally earned him a much deserved call up to the French national team.

The highlights of Malouda's career at Lyon were a man of the match display against Michael Daly and Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League and his 10 goals which led Lyon to their sixth consecutive Ligue 1 title, both during the 2006–07 season. He also won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year that season, succeeding teammate Juninho, Lille OSC's Abdul Kader Keïta, Toulouse FC's Johan Elmander and RC Lens' Seydou Keïta to the accolade.[3]

Malouda made public his wish to leave Lyon at the end of the 2006–07 season, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid showing interest in the winger.[4] On 29 June 2007, Malouda told Lyon based newspaper Le Progres that he has his heart set on a move to Chelsea, confirming that Chelsea had lodged a €17 million bid for him.[5][6] Malouda later repeated this comment in an interview with the Daily Star.[7] On 5 July 2007, Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon told Sky Sports News that Chelsea had been in discussions with Lyon regarding Malouda's transfer and were hoping to tie up the deal before Chelsea's pre-season tour in the USA.[8]

Chelsea

Malouda (right) with Chelsea teammate Alex.

On 8 July 2007, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas announced that Lyon had accepted an undisclosed bid, rumoured to be around $20 MIL/£13 MIL, from Chelsea for Malouda.[9] Chelsea later officially revealed that Malouda would be traveling to London on 9 July for a medical and to discuss personal terms. Malouda had looked set to join Liverpool until the Premiership rivals Chelsea intervened, and the opportunity to play for Liverpool faded. At 7pm on the same day, Malouda officially signed a three-year contract with the club.[10] He was handed the number 15 shirt. Chelsea manager José Mourinho described Malouda as a mature and proven player who was up to the challenge of adapting to the fast pace of English football, and hinted that Malouda would be fielded in tandem with Dutch winger Arjen Robben.

In his first game for Chelsea, a pre-season friendly against Mexican side Club América, Malouda scored the equaliser and set up John Terry for the winning goal as Chelsea went on to win 2–1.

Malouda made his competitive debut for Chelsea against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Community Shield on 5 August 2007 in a 1–1 draw, despite Chelsea going on to lose on penalties, he scored in what was an impressive display.

Malouda started against Birmingham City on 12 August on the left wing, a position previously adopted by Arjen Robben and Joe Cole. Malouda scored Chelsea's second goal in a 3–2 victory, before being replaced by Steve Sidwell in the 83rd minute.

On 19 August, Malouda won a penalty awarded by referee Rob Styles in a Premier League game against Liverpool. Replays of the incident indicated Malouda had backed into the Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher, after trying to leave the ball for the unmarked Didier Drogba. The penalty kick was given and Frank Lampard scored.[11] Referee Rob Styles was dropped from the next weekend Premier League games as a result of this incident and some other contentious decisions during the game.[12] He scored against Schalke 04 in his first Champions League game for Chelsea, squeezing the ball through keeper Manuel Neuer's legs after turning his marker Rafinha. On 23 January, Malouda set up Joe Cole with a long pass to score against Everton in the Carling Cup, Chelsea won 3–1 on aggregate. On 5 May 2008, Malouda scored his second Premier League goal in the penultimate game of the season against Newcastle United, converting Frank Lampard's through ball.[13] Malouda ended his first season in English football with two goals and one assist in the league, a relatively poor return due to being second choice on the left wing to Salomon Kalou for the majority of the season and the shock arrival of Avram Grant as Chelsea manager.

Malouda playing for Chelsea in 2009.

Malouda scored his first two goals in the Luis Felipe Scolari era against French team Girondins de Bordeaux in the Champions League group stages on 16 September 2008, and in the Carling Cup third round tie against Portsmouth. Both games went on to be 4–0 victories for Chelsea. His first league goal of the season was against Middlesbrough in a 5–0 win. The Frenchman scored the crucial second goal in a 2–0 win against Newcastle United, scoring from Frank Lampard's pass in what was almost a carbon copy of he goal he scored at St James' Park the previous season.[13] Malouda then played one of his best games for Chelsea in a 3–1 win over Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League, supplying crosses for Branislav Ivanović and Didier Drogba to score. He then scored the leveling goal against Arsenal in what would be a 2–1 victory for Chelsea in their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium. On 2 May, he netted in Chelsea's 3–1 win over Fulham at Stamford Bridge. On 6th may in a Champions league semi final against FC Barcelona Malouda was disallowed a potential penalty by the controversial referee, who dissalowed numerous other Chelsea appeals for a penalty. He scored the fourth goal in a famous 4–1 victory over Arsenal which was they biggest defeat in the league at home for 38 years. In the game which marked his 50th Premier League match for the Blues. The next match in the Premier League was against Blackburn Rovers. He scored the first goal in the game from a fine header. In the 2009 FA Cup Final against Everton, he played a pivotal role in Chelsea's 2–1 win setting up Didier Drogba's equaliser but was then later denied a superb goal when his 36 yard strike hit the underside of the crossbar which in replays showed it crossed the line. Malouda's impressive form in the last half of the season prompted interest from big teams such as FC Barcelona and AC Milan.

Malouda celebrating a Chelsea goal

Although on June 23, 2009, Malouda proved his loyalty by signing a new four-year deal with Chelsea which will keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2013.[14] Since the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti in the 2009/2010 season Malouda has found himself playing in a more central role on the left of Ancelotti's preferred diamond formation in midfield. On 12 September 2009 against Stoke City he grabbed the winner on the 94th minute to get Chelsea all three points.[15] On October 4, 2009, Malouda scored the final goal in a 2–0 win over Liverpool. Malouda continued his fine form scoring the second goal in a 4–0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the Carling Cup. On 3 November 2009, Malouda made his 100th appearance for Chelsea in a Champions League match against Atletico Madrid. On November 21, 2009, Malouda scored the first goal in a 4–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, which was in the 4th minute and from 25 yards out. On December 25, 2009 Malouda was sent off for the first time this season for tackling Stephen Carr in a league game against Birmingham City at St Andrews. And on January 16, Malouda scored a superb solo goal against Sunderland in a 7–2 win.

Malouda playing for Chelsea against Spartak Moscow

In a Premier League match against West Ham United, Florent Malouda was voted Man of the Match, delivering 16 crosses, two of which were turned into goals (thus counted as assists) and scoring one. Malouda scored a brace against Portsmouth on 24 March, a match won by Chelsea 5–0. On March 27, Malouda scored two more goals against Aston Villa in the match which Chelsea won with a 7–1 score.[16]

In Chelsea's most important fixture of the 2009–10 Premier League campaign against title rivals Manchester United, Malouda played a pivotal role in setting up the first goal of the match. By evading Antonio Valencia and Darren Fletcher on his way into the penalty area, Malouda was able to deliver a low cross to Joe Cole who redirected the ball with his back heel past Edwin van Der Sar. Chelsea would go on to win the game 2–1.[17] He was designated for the first time as Premier League's Player of the Month in March 2010. He scored the second goal for Chelsea in a 3–0 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup Semi-Final for the second successive year on the 10th April 2010.

Malouda was one of the stand-out players in the league during the 2009–10 campaign. He was controversially not included in the team of the season – despite compiling an impressive 12 goals and 8 assists. Overall he scored 15 goals and provided 15 assists during the 2009–10 season. He finished joint 12th top scorer in the Premier League that season, with Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov.

Malouda began the 2010/2011 season for Chelsea by scoring the first goal of their Premier League campaign against West Bromwich Albion, and later getting another in a record 6–0 opening day win. He scored his third goal of the season in another 6–0 demolition of Wigan Athletic. Malouda scored his fourth goal of the season against Stoke in a 2–0 win. He continued this prolific form against Blackpool, scoring 2 more goals to take his goal tally to 6 only 5 games into the season. On 24 January 2011, Malouda scored in the 41st minute against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium in a 4-0 victory for Chelsea in a game in which he completed the full 90 minutes. In all competitions for Chelsea Football Club, he has scored 37 goals in 176 matches in total since making his debut back in 2007.

International career

Malouda made his debut for France on 17 November 2004 in a match against Poland. He then became a squad regular, scoring his first goal for his country on May 31, 2005 against Hungary.

After playing almost throughout France's qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Malouda earned a call up to the final squad. Malouda continued to play regularly in the tournament, where the French eventually lost on penalties to Italy in the final. He won a penalty for France in that game, which was converted by Zinédine Zidane. To date, Malouda has scored five goals in 63 appearances for the France national football team.

On June 22, 2010, during the 2010 World Cup, Malouda scored a goal during the match against host nation South Africa, which ended in a 2–1 defeat in favour of Bafana Bafana.[18] It was the only goal scored by France during their campaign in the group stage before they were eliminated in last place, having drawn 0–0 with Uruguay, and losing 2–0 to Mexico. Malouda also played in the final game scoring to pull one back to make it 1–2 but they still lost to South Africa On September 3, 2010, Malouda was handed the captain's armband in France's first Euro 2012 qualifier against Belarus, while a five-game suspension was being served by the previous captain, Patrice Evra. France went on to lose the match 1–0.

Career statistics

All-time club performance
Club Season Domestic league Domestic cups[19] Continental games[20] Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Chelsea 2010–11 30 9 2 0 7 1 39 10
2009–10 33 12 9 3 8 0 50 15
2008–09 31 6 6 2 10 1 47 9
2007–08 21 2 5 0 11 1 37 3
Total 115 29 22 5 34 3 176 37
Lyon 2006–07 35 10 3 1 7 2 47 13
2005–06 31 6 1 0 9 0 40 6
2004–05 37 5 0 0 10 3 47 8
2003–04 35 4 1 0 10 0 45 4
Total 138 25 5 1 36 5 179 30
Guingamp 2002–03 37 10 2 2 39 12
2001–02 32 4 2 1 34 5
2000–01 23 1 1 0 24 1
Total 92 15 5 3 92 18
Châteauroux 1999–2000 28 2 3 2 28 2
1998–99 28 3 1 0 28 3
1997–98 1 0 1 0
1996–97 2 0 2 0
Total 59 5 4 2 63 7
Career totals 341 69 36 11 67 8 438 84
Last updated 16:47, 6 April 2011

Honours

Club

Lyon

Chelsea

Country

France

Individual

Personal

Malouda's younger brother Lesly is also professional footballer, he is former Ligue 1 player and current member of the Ligue 2 team from Dijon FCO.[21] He is married to Florencia, a Brazilian national.[22] They have three daughters, Kelys, Satya and Flora and a son, Aaron.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Statistics" (PDF). Premier League. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
  2. ^ "Chelsea FC profile". Chelsea FC. 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  3. ^ French Ligue 1 Player of the Year
  4. ^ Prem pair make Malouda contact
  5. ^ Malouda set on Blues switch
  6. ^ Malouda keen on Chelsea move
  7. ^ Malouda 'certain' of Blues move
  8. ^ Chelsea confident on Malouda
  9. ^ Malouda poised for Chelsea
  10. ^ Malouda flies to US today after deal completed
  11. ^ Chowdhury, Saj (19 August 2007). "Liverpool 1–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2007–08-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. ^ "Referee Styles dropped over error". BBC Sport. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 2007–08-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  13. ^ a b Ornstein, David (2008-05-05). "Newcastle 0–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2008-05-05. Cite error: The named reference "Newcastle 0-2 Chelsea" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Malouda signs new deal at Chelsea". BBC Sport. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 2009–06-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. ^ http://www.premierleague.com/page/Headlines/0,,12306~1795081,00.html
  16. ^ Hart, Danny (March 27, 2010). "Chelsea 7–1 Aston Villa: Frank Lampard bags four as Blues ease to victory". Goal.com. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  17. ^ "Drogba Puts Blues in Poll Position". ESPN Soccernet. 2010-04-03. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  18. ^ Bevan, Chris (2010-06-22). "France 1–2 South Africa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
  19. ^ Counts for appearances and goals during the Coupe de la Ligue and Coupe de France
  20. ^ Counts for apareances and goals at the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup.
  21. ^ Playerhistoy Profile
  22. ^ Malouda: "France-Brésil, un match particulier"
  23. ^ The War of the WAGSKIS: The real battle for Moscow
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