Marcel Desailly

Marcel Desailly

Personal information
Full name	Marcel Desailly
Date of birth	7 September 1968 (1968-09-07) (age 42)
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	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 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.

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, turning professional in 1986, two years after his half-brother had died in a car accident. In 1992, he moved to Olympique de Marseille, 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.

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

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

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 UNICEF ambassador to Ghana and is being mentioned as a possible candidate for the coaching position of Ghana's national team^[3].

International career

Desailly made the controversial decision to play for France, instead of his home country of Ghana. 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.^[4][5] 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

Marseille

• UEFA Champions League: 1993

A.C. Milan

• Serie A: 1993-94, 1995-96
• UEFA Champions League: 1994
• UEFA Super Cup: 1994

Chelsea

• FA Cup: 2000
• FA Charity Shield: 2000
• UEFA Super Cup: 1998

Al Gharafa

• Qatari League: 2004-05

International

France

• 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

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 developed a small but devout fanbase, entertained by his inability to contribute without shouting at the top of his voice, at great length, often about trivial issues.

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^[6].

In 2010 Desailly joined the ITV Sport team for their World Cup coverage from South Africa.^[7][8]

Licensed Merchandise

A mobile video game entitled Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer, developed by Gameloft was released for mobile phones in 2003.^[9]

Personal

Desailly is a member of the Ga ethnic group. He is married to Virginie and has a daughter, Victoria, and three sons, one of them plays for Bombay City Wizards.

References

External links

• (English) (French) Official website
• Marcel Desailly career stats at Soccerbase

France Squad France squad – UEFA Euro 1996 semi-finalists 1 Lama • 2 Angloma • 3 Di Meco • 4 Leboeuf • 5 Blanc • 6 Guérin • 7 Deschamps (c) • 8 Desailly • 9 Djorkaeff • 10 Zidane • 11 Loko • 12 Lizarazu • 13 Dugarry • 14 Lamouchi • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Madar • 18 Pedros • 19 Karembeu • 20 Roche • 21 Martins • 22 Martini • Coach: Jacquet France squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup Winners (1st Title) 1 Lama • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Blanc • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Deschamps (c) • 8 Desailly • 9 Guivarc'h • 10 Zidane • 11 Pirès • 12 Henry • 13 Diomède • 14 Boghossian • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Charbonnier • Coach: Jacquet France squad – UEFA Euro 2000 Winners (2nd title) 1 Lama • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Blanc • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Deschamps (c) • 8 Desailly • 9 Anelka • 10 Zidane • 11 Pirès • 12 Henry • 13 Wiltord • 14 Micoud • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Ramé • Coach: Lemerre 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: Lemerre France 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: Lemerre France squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup Winners (2nd Title) 1 Landreau • 2 Mexès • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Boumsong • 5 Gallas • 6 Dacourt • 7 Pirès • 8 Desailly (c) • 9 Cissé • 10 Giuly • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Rothen • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Kapo • 18 Pedretti • 19 Sagnol • 20 Marlet • 21 Dabo • 22 Govou • 23 Coupet • Coach: Santini 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: Santini