Patrice Evra

Patrice Evra

Personal information
Full name	Patrice Latyr Evra
Date of birth	15 May 1981 (1981-05-15) (age 29)
Place of birth	Dakar, Senegal
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Playing position	Left back
Club information
Current club	Manchester United
Number	3
Youth career
1992–1993	CO Les Ulis
1993–1997	CSF Brétigny
1997–1998	Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–1999	Marsala	24	(3)
1999–2000	Monza	3	(0)
2000–2002	Nice	40	(1)
2002–2006	AS Monaco	120	(1)
2006–	Manchester United	137	(1)
National team‡
2004–	France	32	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:06, 28 August 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:00, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Patrice Latyr Evra (French pronunciation: [patʁis evʁa]; born 15 May 1981) is a Senegalese-born French footballer, who plays for English Premier League side Manchester United, and is the currently suspended for 5 matches by the French national team. He is a left wingback who can also operate on the left wing.

The son of a diplomat, Evra was born in Dakar, Senegal, and arrived in Europe through Brussels from Senegal when he was 12 months old. He was raised in Les Ulis, Essonne, France, where he lived with his family from 1984 to 1998 before seizing his first footballing opportunity leading him to Marsala, Sicily, Italy.

Club Career

Early career

During his teenage years, Evra began his career as a winger for Paris Saint-Germain's youth system. Though he never received a professional contract, he was spotted by a scout for small Italian-side Marsala, eventually receiving a contract with the club. In 27 appearances with the side while playing as an attacking winger, Evra scored six goals. The next season, he found himself with Monza in Serie B, but only made three appearances.

Nice

Evra returned to France for Nice in Ligue 2. In his first several matches, he played as a centre forward. Due to injuries within the club, he was made to play as a left back during a game versus Stade Lavallois. In several matches after, manager Sandro Salvioni utilized Evra in defence. During the remainder of the season, Salvioni continued to alternate him between the two positions. Evra shone in defence, consequently being named Ligue 2's best left back.

AS Monaco

AS Monaco, impressed by Evra's defensive efforts, signed him from Nice for an undisclosed fee by manager Didier Deschamps. He quickly became part of the regular defence with Sébastien Squillaci, Gaël Givet, and Julien Rodriguez. In his first season with the club, Monaco reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final but were defeated 3–0 by Porto, a game in which Evra played the full 90 minutes.^[2] His performances led to his call-up for international duty for the French national team.

In 2005, Evra was named captain on several occasions. Monaco would struggle through the season, being knocked out of the qualifying rounds of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League and lying in the bottom half of Ligue 1 table for most of the season.

Manchester United

Evra comes off the pitch after a match versus Arsenal

Evra signed for Manchester United on 10 January 2006, joining for a transfer fee of around £5.5 million from AS Monaco, putting pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year contract.^[3] Evra's arrival signalled Alex Ferguson's intention to shore up a United defence that had suffered since the sidelining of Gabriel Heinze. During his first meeting with the club after signing, he asked captain Gary Neville where the nearest church was.^[4]

He made his debut for Manchester United four days after signing in a 3–1 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League. He did not have the best of debuts as he was substituted at half time. He played his home debut in a 1–0 win against Liverpool the following Wednesday. Evra initially had some problems adapting to the English game, but by midway through the 2006–07 season his form had greatly improved and he established himself as a regular first-teamer. On 29 November, he scored his first goal for the club in a Premiership match against Everton at Old Trafford. After a spell out of the squad, Evra made his comeback on 10 April 2007 in the Champions League match against Roma at Old Trafford, contributing to the Red Devils' 7–1 thrashing of the visitors with the final goal, his first in the Champions League. Due to his efforts, Evra earned a place in the PFA Team of the Year.

During United's 07–08 season, Evra became a key member of United's defence. Though making 47 appearances in all competitions, the highest in his career, he did not manage to score a goal. United clinched their second consecutive Premier League title on the final day, edging Chelsea by two points. He made 10 appearances in United's run in the UEFA Champions League, including an appearance in the Final as United defeated Chelsea 6–5 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time. On 12 June, Evra signed a four-year contract extension with United, a deal that will keep him at Old Trafford until 2012.^[5]

Evra was ever-present in Manchester United's first 14 league games in 2008–09. However, on 5 December 2008, he was handed a four-match ban – due to start on 22 December 2008 – and a £15,000 fine after he was found guilty of improper conduct by the Football Association. The charge related to an incident that occurred during the warm-down after the match between Chelsea and Manchester United on 26 April 2008, wherein a clash ensued between United's players and Chelsea's groundsmen.^[6][7]

During the 2009–10 season Evra has been an ever present, captaining the team in the absence of Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs. On February 28, 2010, Patrice Evra led his side to a title for the first time, when they beat Aston Villa 2–1 in the Carling Cup final.

International career

At Euro 2008, Evra was left out of the starting line up in the first fixture against Romania to accommodate the Barcelona left back Éric Abidal. He was then called in for the next game against the Netherlands after a poor 0–0 draw against the Romanians. France lost 4–1 in a thrilling encounter. The final group game was a must-win against Italy. France lost 2–0 and were eliminated in the group stage. After the game, cameras caught Evra and team mate Patrick Vieira in an altercation in the tunnel.

On 26 May 2010, Evra captained the national team for the first time in a friendly match against Costa Rica; France won the match 2–1. For the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Evra was handed the captaincy ahead of team captain Thierry Henry, who was relegated to the bench for the tournament. Following the dismissal of Nicolas Anelka from the squad after his altercation with French coach Raymond Domenech, Evra led a highly-publicised player protest against the decision, in which the players refused to train on one day. The action was denounced by the French President and Sports Minister, who told the players they had tarnished France's reputation. Evra was benched for the final game against South Africa; France lost 2–1 and were knocked out of the competition.^[8] In the resulting disciplinary hearing, Evra was one of four players to be handed an international ban by the French Football Federation; Evra's ban amounted to five matches.^[9]

Career statistics

Statistics accurate as of match played 28 August 2010^[11][12]

Honours

Club

AS Monaco

• Coupe de la Ligue (1): 2003

Manchester United

• Premier League (3): 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
• Football League Cup (3): 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
• FA Community Shield (2): 2007, 2008
• UEFA Champions League (1): 2008
• FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

Individual

• PFA Premier League Team of the Year (3): 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10
• FIFPro World XI (1): 2008–09
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2009

Personal life

Evra is married to Sandra with whom he has a son, Lenny.^[13][14] He has a total of 25 siblings, although two are now deceased.^[4]

References

External links

• Profile at ManUtd.com
• Profile at StretfordEnd.co.uk
• Patrice Evra career stats at Soccerbase
• Patrice Evra French league stats at LFP.fr (French)

France squads France squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Mandanda • 2 Boumsong • 3 Abidal • 4 Vieira (c) • 5 Gallas • 6 Makélélé • 7 Malouda • 8 Anelka • 9 Benzema • 10 Govou • 11 Nasri • 12 Henry • 13 Evra • 14 Clerc • 15 Thuram • 16 Frey • 17 Squillaci • 18 Gomis • 19 Sagnol • 20 Toulalan • 21 Diarra • 22 Ribéry • 23 Coupet • Coach: Domenech France squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Lloris • 2 Sagna • 3 Abidal • 4 Réveillère • 5 Gallas • 6 Planus • 7 Ribéry • 8 Gourcuff • 9 Cissé • 10 Govou • 11 Gignac • 12 Henry • 13 Evra (c) • 14 Toulalan • 15 Malouda • 16 Mandanda • 17 Squillaci • 18 Diarra • 19 Diaby • 20 Valbuena • 21 Anelka • 22 Clichy • 23 Carrasso • Coach: Domenech