sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Marcel Desailly (born Odenke Abbey; 7 September 1968) is a French former professional footballer, widely considered to be among the greatest centre-backs and defensive midfielders to ever play football. During a successful career at club level, lasting from 1986 to 2006, Desailly won several titles, including UEFA Champions League medals with both Marseille and AC Milan, and also played for Nantes and Chelsea, among other teams. At international level, he collected 116 caps between 1993 and 2004, scoring 3 goals, and was a member of the France international squads that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

Marcel Desailly

Desailly in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Marcel Desailly[1]
Birth name	Odenke Abbey
Date of birth	(1968-09-07) 7 September 1968 (age 54)[2]
Place of birth	Accra, Ghana
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s)	Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1986–1992	Nantes	162	(5)
1992–1993	Marseille	47	(1)
1993–1998	AC Milan	137	(5)
1998–2004	Chelsea	158	(6)
2004–2005	Al-Gharafa	28	(6)
2005–2006	Qatar SC	7	(0)
Total		539	(23)
National team
1993–2004	France	116	(3)
Honours Men's football Representing  France FIFA World Cup Winner 1998 UEFA European Championship Winner 2000 FIFA Confederations Cup Winner 2001 Winner 2003
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Marcel Desailly was born as Odenke Abbey on 7 September 1968 in Accra, Ghana, the son of Ghanaian parents. He had his name changed when his mother married the head of the French Consulate in Accra, who adopted all of her children (the former professional footballer Seth Adonkor, seven years his elder, was a half-brother of his). The family relocated to France when Desailly was four years old. Following Adonkor's lead, he 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 preferred to be deployed as a sweeper or centre-back, roles which he played during his time in France,[4] he found much success playing as a defensive midfielder for Milan, alongside Demetrio Albertini, due to the presence of several other established centre-backs at the club, such as Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Filippo Galli.

Desailly then moved to the English club Chelsea in 1998 for £4.6 million,[5] where he captained the side and played sweeper and 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 in their FA Cup triumph over Aston Villa in 2000.[6]

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.

In 2014, Desailly had met the Football Association of Malaysia and said he was ready and willing to coach the Malaysia national team.[7] He also pointed that it was up to the football association whether to hire him or not.[8]

International career

Desailly has often said that he feels totally French and while having ties with Ghana, never even considered playing for a country other than France. ^{[citation needed]} During an interview in Ghana, he stated that he did not have much choice about which country to play for as he was already established in the French national youth football team.[9] 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 FIFA World Cup, albeit being sent off in the final match. Like other team members, he was appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1998.[1]

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 2004 UEFA European Football Championship. However, that record was broken during the 2006 FIFA World Cup by Lilian Thuram.

Style of play

Nicknamed "The Rock", due to his consistency, strength, and hard-tackling playing style, Desailly is considered one of the most accomplished players of his generation, and one of the finest French defenders ever, who stood out for his charismatic leadership and ability to organise his team's back-line and break down opposition plays throughout his career. A quick, hard-working, tenacious, and powerful player, who excelled in the air and at anticipating his opponents, he combined his aggression, stamina, and ability to read the game, as well as his physical, mental, and defensive skills, with a notable confidence and good technique on the ball, which also allowed him to play in midfield throughout his career; indeed, after moving to Milan, although he initially started out playing as a centre-back or sweeper, and occasionally even as a full-back, he was later deployed as a defensive midfielder, a position in which he also excelled, successfully filling the void left by the departure of Frank Rijkaard due his ball-winning abilities and capacity to start attacking plays after winning back possession. In addition to his defensive skills, he was also capable of contributing to his team's offensive plays with goals by making attacking runs into the box.[4][10][11][12][13] In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 as one of the world's greatest living players.[14]

Legacy

Marcel Desailly is currently^[when?] residing in Ghana.[15] 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 the Ghana national team.[16] 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 Sports Complex, in memory of his late mother, geared to young players and children in particular. Many African National teams use the centre to camp and prepare for international tournaments.[17]

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.[18]

In 2010 Desailly joined the ITV Sport team for their World Cup coverage from South Africa.[19][20]

Charity work

Desailly is a supporter of the 1GOAL Education for All campaign.[21] He is also the UNICEF national Goodwill Ambassador for Ghana.[22] He is the Lifetime Goodwill Ambassador for his personal Charity OrphanAid Africa, that helps abandoned children in Ghana. He is a member of the Laureus Sports for Good Foundation.

Licensed merchandise

A mobile video game entitled Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer, developed by Gameloft was released for mobile phones in 2003.[23] Desailly is an ICON in FIFA 21 Ultimate Team and FIFA 22 Ultimate Team with ratings of 87 (base), 88 (mid), 91 (prime), and 92 (Prime Icon Moments)in both games.[24]

Personal life

Desailly is a member of the Ga ethnic group. He is married to Virginie and has four children. His nephew James Édouard Adams is a semi-professional footballer.[25]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[26][27][28][29][30]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Nantes	1986–87	Division 1	13	0	1	0	–		2	0	–		16	0
	1987–88	Division 1	11	0	1	0	–		–		–		12	0
	1988–89	Division 1	36	1	4	0	–		–		–		40	1
	1989–90	Division 1	36	1	3	0	–		–		–		39	1
	1990–91	Division 1	34	1	4	0	–		–		–		38	1
	1991–92	Division 1	32	2	1	0	–		–		–		33	2
	Total		162	5	14	0	—		2	0	—		178	5
Marseille	1992–93	Division 1	31	1	3	0	–		10	1	–		44	2
	1993–94	Division 1	16	0	0	0	–		–		–		16	0
	Total		47	1	3	0	—		10	1	—		60	2
AC Milan	1993–94	Serie A	21	1	1	0	0	0	6	2	3	0	31	3
	1994–95	Serie A	22	1	1	0	0	0	10	0	3	0	36	1
	1995–96	Serie A	32	2	1	0	–		7	0	–		40	2
	1996–97	Serie A	29	1	3	0	1	0	5	0	–		38	1
	1997–98	Serie A	33	0	8	0	–		–		–		41	0
	Total		137	5	14	0	1	0	28	2	6	0	186	7
Chelsea	1998–99	Premier League	31	0	6	0	0	0	7	1	1	0	45	1
	1999–2000	Premier League	23	1	4	0	0	0	16	0	–		43	1
	2000–01	Premier League	34	2	2	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	39	2
	2001–02	Premier League	24	1	8	0	3	0	2	0	–		37	1
	2002–03	Premier League	31	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	–		33	2
	2003–04	Premier League	15	0	1	0	1	0	8	0	–		25	0
	Total		158	6	22	0	5	0	35	1	2	0	222	7
Al-Gharafa	2004–05	Stars League	28	6					–		–		28	6
Qatar SC	2005–06	Stars League	7	0					–		–		7	0
Career total			539	23	53	0	6	0	75	4	8	0	681	27

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[31]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
France	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

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Desailly goal.[32]

List of international goals scored by Marcel Desailly

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 September 1995	Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps, Auxerre, France	Azerbaijan	1–0	10–0	Euro 1996 qualifier
2	25 January 1998	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France	Norway	3–3	3–3	Friendly
3	7 June 2001	Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea	Brazil	2–1	2–1	2001 FIFA Confederations Cup

Honours

Marseille[33]

• UEFA Champions League: 1992–93

AC Milan[33][34]

• Serie A: 1993–94, 1995–96
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1994
• UEFA Champions League: 1993–94
• European Super Cup: 1994

Chelsea[35]

• FA Cup: 1999–2000
• FA Charity Shield: 2000
• UEFA Super Cup: 1998

Al-Gharafa[36]

• Qatar Stars League: 2004–05

France[35]

• FIFA World Cup: 1998
• UEFA European Championship: 2000
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2001, 2003

Individual

• Overseas Team of the Decade – Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992/93 – 2001/02)[37]
• Overall Team of the Decade – Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992/93 – 2001/02)[37]
• UEFA Euro 1996 Team of the Tournament[38]
• FIFA XI: 1996[39]
• 1998 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team[10]
• UEFA Euro 2000 Team of the Tournament[40]
• FIFA 100: 2004[14]
• Trophée d'honneur UNFP: 2005[41]
• AC Milan Hall of Fame[34]
• Golden Foot Legends Award: 2017[42]

Orders

• Knight of the Legion of Honour: 1998[1]

See also

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps

References

External links

• Marcel Desailly – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Marcel Desailly – UEFA competition record at the Wayback Machine (archived 26 November 2012)
• Marcel Desailly at Soccerbase
• Chelsea legend profile
• Chelsea profile (archived) at the Wayback Machine (archived 9 April 2003)

На других языках

---

[de] Marcel Desailly

Marcel Odenkey Addy-Desailly (* 7. September 1968 in Accra, Ghana; ursprünglich Odonkey Abbey) ist ein ehemaliger französischer Fußballspieler.

---

- [en] Marcel Desailly

---

[es] Marcel Desailly

Marcel Odenkey Addy-Desailly (Acra, Ghana; 7 de septiembre de 1968) es un exfutbolista francés nacido en Ghana que jugaba de defensa central y pivote. Fue un jugador icónico con la selección francesa de fútbol con la cual ganó la Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 1998, y la Eurocopa 2000.

---

[fr] Marcel Desailly

Marcel Desailly, né Odenkey Addy Abbey, le 7 septembre 1968 à Accra (Ghana), est un footballeur international français évoluant au poste de défenseur central de 1986 à 2006. Il possède l'un des palmarès les plus étoffés de l'histoire du football français.

---

[it] Marcel Desailly

Marcel Desailly, all'anagrafe Odonkey Abbey (Accra, 7 settembre 1968), è un dirigente sportivo ed ex calciatore francese, di ruolo difensore o centrocampista.

---

[ru] Десайи, Марсель

Марсе́ль Десайи́ (фр. Marcel Desailly, французское произношение: ​[maʁsɛl dəsɑji]; 7 сентября 1968, Аккра) — французский футболист, защитник и полузащитник оборонительного плана. Выступал за клубы «Олимпик Марсель», «Милан» и «Челси», более 10 лет играл за сборную Франции. В составе сборной он выиграл чемпионат мира 1998 года и чемпионат Европы 2000 года. Посол доброй воли ЮНИСЕФ от Ганы.

---

---