David Ginola

David Ginola

Personal information
Full name	David Désiré Marc Ginola
Date of birth	(1967-01-25) 25 January 1967
Place of birth	Gassin, France
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Winger, Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1985–1988	Toulon	82	(4)
1988–1990	RC Paris	61	(8)
1990–1992	Brest	50	(14)
1992–1995	Paris Saint-Germain	115	(33)
1995–1997	Newcastle United	58	(6)
1997–2000	Tottenham Hotspur	100	(13)
2000–2002	Aston Villa	32	(3)
2002	Everton	5	(0)
Total		503	(81)
National team‡
1990–1995	France	17	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:27, 6 June 2007 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:27, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

David Désiré Marc Ginola (/ˈdʒɪnəlɑː/; born 25 January 1967) is a French former international football player who has also worked as an actor and model. In his mid-teens he had to make a choice between downhill skiing and football.

David Ginola was born in Gassin, Var. David Ginola played football for ten seasons in his native France before making the move from Paris Saint-Germain to Newcastle United in the English Premier League in July 1995. He continued playing in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton before retiring in 2002. Since his retirement from the game he has become involved in several new pursuits, including acting. David Ginola is a regular contributor to BBC, CNN, Sky and Al Jazeera sports channels. He is the lead consultant on ORANGE France’s coverage of the French Ligue 1 and 2.

Club career

David Ginola played at club level for Toulon (1985–88), RC Paris (1988–90), Brest (1990–92), Paris Saint-Germain (1992–95), Newcastle United (1995–97), Tottenham Hotspur (1997–2000), Aston Villa (2000–2002) and Everton (2002).

France

David Ginola made his first senior appearance for Sporting Toulon as an eighteen year-old in a 1985 2–0 victory away at Metz. He played fourteen times in his first season, and by 1986 he was a regular in the Toulon line-up.

In 1988 he moved to RC Paris, where he remained until signing for Brest in 1990. There, he began to impress observers with his flamboyant style of play. In 1991, he played a crucial role in a landmark victory (3–2) against the side who would go on to sign him, Paris Saint-Germain F.C..

Ginola joined the French capital club in January 1992, at a time when it was pushing for major honors with the financial backing of TV channel Canal+. He took little time to adapt to his new surroundings and soon conquered the Parc des Princes crowd with his elegant first touch and his pace.

At the same time, he was going through tough times with the national football team coached by Gérard Houllier, but the Parisian public never seemed to begrudge him for that. In fact, he would go on to become one of the most popular footballers among the notoriously uncompromising Parisian supporters. He became such a fan favorite that, even when he admitted that he supported Paris Saint-Germain's fierce rivals Olympique Marseille as a boy and that he would have joined them rather than PSG had an agreement been struck with Bernard Tapie, his popularity did not suffer any consequence.

In his first full season with PSG (1992–93), Ginola won the Coupe de France and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. At the end of 1993, he was also won the French Footballer of the Year award from the France Football magazine. 1993–94 would turn out to be the best season of his career, though it was also blighted by a personal all-time low for Ginola, occurring in November 1993. He was blamed for a defeat suffered by the French national football team against their Bulgarian opponents, which eliminated Les Bleus from the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

While suffering heartache with his country, Ginola was shining with his club. A star-studded PSG side featuring the likes of Paul Le Guen, Bernard Lama and Antoine Kombouaré and coached by Portuguese tactician Artur Jorge won the second league title of its history, losing only three times along the way. Ginola played an important role in this title-winning campaign, providing 13 goals in 38 games, which made him the top club goalscorer for the season.

The following season, under new manager Luis Fernandez, proved to be less successful in the league, with FC Nantes being crowned champions. Ginola scored 11 times in 28 league appearances. Paris Saint-Germain did shine in the cup competitions though, winning another Coupe de France as well as the first edition of the new Coupe de la Ligue. In the UEFA Champions League, the Parisian club caused a major shock after knocking out 1994's finalists FC Barcelona in the quarter finals, with Ginola playing particularly well. The club was eliminated at the next hurdle by defending champions A.C. Milan.

In the summer of 1995, David Ginola decided to leave France. Known to be a Spanish football enthusiast, he was expected to be snapped up by Barcelona. Furthermore, between 1992 and 1995, his stellar displays in European competitions against the Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona had attracted media attention in Spain, with local media dubbing him "El Magnifico". However, he ended up with English club Newcastle United F.C., then managed by Kevin Keegan.

Newcastle United

In 1995, Ginola joined Newcastle United for £2.5 million. He was signed at a time when manager Kevin Keegan was attempting to turn the club into one of the major forces in English football, and the board was prepared to offer strong financial backing to sign a number of European superstars. Ginola made his debut against Coventry City on 19 August 1995 in a 3–0 win. He scored his first league goal on 27 August against Sheffield Wednesday in a 2–0 away win, and went on to score five league goals in his first season. In the 1995–96, Newcastle finished second, four points behind Manchester United. This was their strongest league performance in decades, and Ginola was an integral part of the team. The team chemistry was perfect with Ginola fitting in nicely with his new teammates. However, it was a major disappointment that Newcastle had finished second in the Premier League as they had led by up to 10 points as late as January.

In 1996, Barcelona made a move for him, but Newcastle rejected their offer. Ginola later stated his regret that he had never played for one of the "big clubs".^{[citation needed]} To add to their line-up, Newcastle paid £15m, breaking the transfer record, to sign Alan Shearer. Despite this, Newcastle finished second again, being narrowly overtaken by Manchester United. Halfway through the season, Kevin Keegan suddenly resigned as manager to be succeeded by Kenny Dalglish.

Keegan departed in January 1997 and Ginola did not get on with his replacement Kenny Dalglish, who never fancied the Frenchman. It soon became obvious he was heading for a move out of Tyneside, in spite of his popularity among Geordie supporters, some of whom had nicknamed him "David Copperfield" because of his ability to conjure up magic.

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur signed Ginola in July 1997 for £2.5m, where he was joined by Newcastle team-mate Les Ferdinand. In 1999, he was named PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year, while playing for Tottenham Hotspur. During the 1998/99 season, Ginola scored one of his most notable goals, when Spurs played Barnsley in the FA Cup 6th Round. Ginola weaved in and out of a number of Barnsley players and finished in the left side of the net, the only goal of the game. He was the first player in Premiership history to win the award while at a club who finished the season outside of the top 4. He also won his only English domestic trophy with Spurs, the 1999 League Cup with a 1–0 victory over Leicester City at Wembley Stadium. Ginola is fondly remembered by Spurs fans for his extravagant forward play and personality off the pitch. He played an integral role in their 1999 League Cup win and scoring a long range goal in a 3–1 win against Manchester United in a previous round. The respect and fondness Tottenham fans have for Ginola was shown when he was given one of the biggest cheers on their 125th anniversary when legends were paraded on the pitch. Ginola was inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame on 11 December 2008.

Aston Villa

In July 2000 Ginola joined Aston Villa for a transfer fee of £3 million. He expressed his disappointment that Tottenham had sold him, saying the news that they had accepted the offer was a "bombshell". Villa manager John Gregory challenged Ginola to prove he could still perform in the Premiership, rather than move to a less demanding league abroad, as Ginola was now in his 33rd year and seemed unlikely to continue at professional level for much longer.

In January 2002 he was banned for two matches and fined £22,000 for stamping on an opponent and disputing his dismissal with the fourth official.

Everton

In 2002 Ginola signed for Everton playing five games for the club before retiring in May 2002, just after David Moyes took over as manager. Ginola was deemed surplus to requirements by Moyes, and made only one substitute appearance from March onwards. His contract was not renewed and Ginola, without a club, retired. He announced his intention to move into either acting or football coaching.

International career

Although Ginola was a very prominent French player, he did not see much action with the French national team, having been capped only 17 times in his career.

Ginola is famous in France for a mistake in a World Cup qualifying game against Bulgaria. France needed only a draw from their final qualifying group game on 17 November 1993 to qualify for the finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup. With the match level at 1–1 in the last minute, Ginola overhit a cross and Bulgaria subsequently counter-attacked and scored through Emil Kostadinov, winning the game 2–1 and enabling Bulgaria to qualify for the finals at the expense of France.

The French manager Gérard Houllier blamed the entire defeat on Ginola, and he was subsequently called the assassin of French football by the media. After being barracked by French fans, Ginola moved to England, signing for Newcastle United. Houllier's successor Aimé Jacquet regularly selected Ginola for international matches, but often used him only as a substitute. Ginola played his last match for the national team in 1995.

Playing style

Ginola was renowned for his "magical" touch on the ball and his ability to get past players from any type of position and then manage to score a goal. His ability to do that was shown in games for Tottenham and Newcastle, with his most memorable goal in Newcastle's stunning 5–0 win over Premier League giants Manchester United on 20 October 1996, becoming a flamboyant part of the memorable "Entertainers" Newcastle side of his era, which also featured other highly acclaimed players including Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand, Faustino Asprilla, Peter Beardsley and Keith Gillespie.

In 1999, Dutch legend Johan Cruijff remarked that it was his belief that Ginola was currently the best player in the world.

Acting

David Ginola took his first steps towards a career in acting by attending classes at RADA.

David made his debut as ‘Didier the Butcher’, the leading part in the Anglo-French short film ROSBEEF. ROSBEEF, a tale of love, lust and a kilo of sausages, premiered during the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. The same year ROSBEEF won a prize, the ‘Prix Coup de Coeur Canal+’ at the Festival International de Cinéma et Gastronomie in Dijon. Next he played the title role, Mr Firecul the devil in the British short film MR FIRECUL. For his first feature film, THE LAST DROP, David Ginola was cast as ‘Corporal Dieter Max’, a renegade German sniper alongside the likes of Agathe de la Boulaye, Michael Madsen, Nick Moran, Karel Roden and Billy Zane. This World War II heist movie premiered in Cannes in 2005 and was released as OPERATION MATCHBOX.

In 2000, David Ginola made a cameo appearance in the first episode of the ITV drama series At Home with the Braithwaites. In 2003 David Ginola played himself, announcing the results for the first Euro Lottery. In 2004 David Ginola played the leading role in THE CENTRE, a BBC television documentary. In 2006 David Ginola appeared in the second series of Channel 4's Coach Trip during episode 22, in which he acted as a tour guide of Sainte-Maxime. Later that year David Ginola appeared, again as himself, in the ITV series CITY LIGHTS. In 2008 David Ginola appeared in an episode of Chop Shop on Discovery Turbo where he had a one-off car designed for his son's birthday. In 2008 David Ginola appeared as Alexandre, a fashion photographer, in the special edition of the CBS series THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, shot in Paris to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show’s broadcast in France where it is known as LES FEUX DE L’AMOUR.

Personal life

David Ginola is married to fashion model Coraline. The couple have a son and a daughter, and live near Saint-Tropez.

In 2008, Ginola was sued for child maintenance by Joelle Pinquier. She alleged that Ginola fathered her daughter Joy after a short affair. Although he refused to take a paternity test, Ginola agreed to pay £400/month child maintenance until Joy was 18. Ginola's lawyer successfully showed that not only had he kept up the payment, he was in fact six months in advance of the agreed schedule.

Wine making

In 2008 Ginola received a silver medal at the International Wine Challenge for a rosé wine produced at his vineyard in Provence.

Endorsements

Before moving to England, David Ginola had already transcended the world of football by featuring in advertising campaigns for Morgan, the fashion label and appearing on the catwalk for Cerruti.

In England his aura, good looks and French flair on and off the pitch saw him front commercials for a.o. Braun shavers, Carte Noire coffee, Kingston Technologies memory sticks, Ladbrokes sports betting, L'Oréal hair products and Renault cars.

David Ginola was an ambassador for the Paris 2012 Olympic bid and was also an ambassador for the French Golf Federation in their successful bid to stage the Ryder Cup 2018 in France. David Ginola campaigned worldwide for the English FA bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

More importantly he is a campaigner for the Red Cross Anti-Landmine campaign and Unesco and was respectively patron and president of the UK based Vision and Sparks charities.

Honours

David Ginola was voted 'Player of the Year' in both his native France (1994) and England (1999), the only French player to have been bestowed both these honours.

Club

Paris Saint-Germain

• Coupe de France (2): 1992–93, 1994–95
• Championat de France (Ligue 1) (1): 1993–94
• Coupe de la Ligue (1): 1995

Tottenham Hotspur

• Football League Cup (1): 1999

International

France U-21

• Toulon Tournament: 1987

Individual

• Toulon Tournament Best Player (1): 1987
• French Player of the Year (1): 1993
• UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year (1): 1993–94
• Premier League Player of the Month (2): August 1995, December 1998
• PFA Team of the Year (2): 1995–96, 1998–99
• BBC Sport Goal of the Month (1): October 1996
• Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Player of the Year (1): 1998
• PFA Players' Player of the Year (1): 1998–99
• FWA Footballer of the Year (1): 1998–99

Statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
1985–86	Toulon	Division 1	14	0							14	0
1986–87			35	0							35	0
1987–88			33	4							33	4
1988–89	Racing Club Paris	Division 1	29	7							29	7
1989–90			32	1							32	1
1990–91	Brest	Division 1	33	6							33	6
1991–92		Division 2	17	8							17	8
	Paris Saint-Germain	Division 1	15	3							15	3
1992–93			34	6					9	2	43	8
1993–94			38	13					8	2	46	15
1994–95			28	11					10	1	38	12
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1995–96	Newcastle United	Premier League	34	5	2	0	4	0	–		40	5
1996–97			24	1	2	0	2	0	7	1	35	2
1997–98	Tottenham Hotspur	Premier League	34	6	3	1	3	2	–		40	9
1998–99			30	3	6	3	5	1	–		41	7
1999–2000			36	4	2	1	2	1	3	0	43	6
2000–01	Aston Villa	Premier League	27	3	1	0	0	0	–		28	3
2001–02			5	0	0	0	2	0	6	2	13	2
	Everton	Premier League	5	0	2	0	0	0	–		7	0
Total	France		308	59					27	5	335	64
	England		195	22	18	5	18	4	16	3	247	34
Career total			503	81	18	5	18	4	43	8	582	98

External links

• Sunday Times article-8 November 2009
• David Ginola, "Le Magnifique" – Spanish-
• Transfermarkt Profile