Gaël Givet

Gaël Givet

Givet playing for Marseille in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Gaël Givet-Viaros
Date of birth	9 October 1981 (1981-10-09)
Place of birth	Arles, France
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Blackburn Rovers
Number	5
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2000	Monaco B	44	(1)
2000–2007	Monaco	178	(8)
2007–2008	Marseille	29	(0)
2009	→ Blackburn Rovers (loan)	14	(0)
2009–	Blackburn Rovers	80	(3)
National team‡
2004–2006	France	13	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:00, 3 February 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:00, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

Gaël Givet-Viaros (born 9 October 1981) is a French footballer who plays for Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. Givet is a left-footed centre back who can also play left-back.

Club career

Monaco

Born in Arles, France, Givet started his professional career at AS Monaco as a left back before moving to centre half. He made his debut in a 2–2 draw against Guingamp in December 2000. He played for Monaco between 2000 and 2007, making 178 league appearances and scoring a respectable 8 goals. The highlights of his time at the club were winning the French League Cup in 2003 and reaching the UEFA Champions League Final in 2004, where he missed out on a winner's medal with a 3–0 defeat against Jose Mourinho's FC Porto. He played a pivotal role in their success, making 13 Champions League appearances during the campaign. He made a name for himself in the 2003/04 season where he blossomed in the Monaco defense with the likes of Manchester United's Patrice Evra, Olympique de Marseille's Julien Rodriguez and Arsenal's Sébastien Squillaci.

Marseille

After a successful career at Monaco, Givet moved to Marseille. During the 2007–08 season he featured 29 times in the French league and made 9 appearances in the UEFA Champions League. However at the beginning of the next season he found his opportunities very limited in the first team.

Blackburn Rovers

On 10 January 2009, L'Equipe reported that Givet would be flying to England to finalize a six-month loan deal with English club Blackburn Rovers on 12 January. On 14 January, Sky Sports announced that Blackburn had completed the signing of Givet on a six-month loan deal with a view to a permanent move at the end of the season. This was confirmed by Marseille on 15 January. He appeared in his first match for Blackburn against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light coming on from off the bench in the FA Cup fourth round on 24 January 2009 appearing as a substitute. The match finished 0–0, which resulted in a return fixture at Ewood Park on 4 February. Givet made his home debut in that match, which resulted in a 2–1 win for Blackburn. On Saturday 21 February 2009, he started and played the full 90 minutes against Manchester United at Old Trafford in a 2-1 defeat.

On 15 May 2009, an agreement in principle was made with Marseille to make his loan switch to Blackburn permanent. On 26 June 2009, Blackburn completed the signing of Givet on a four-year contract for £3.5m. Givet scored his first goal in over three years against Sunderland on 22 August 2009 in a 2–1 away defeat. He scored his second goal for Rovers at home against Bolton Wanderers at Ewood Park on 21 February 2010 in a 3–0 victory. Following the 2009–10 season, Givet was awarded the 'Player's Player of the Year' award by the club.

On 14 August 2010, he started and completed the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 win over Everton on the opening day of the new Premier League season. On 22 September 2010, he scored a volley from the edge of the area on 34 minutes against Aston Villa at Villa Park in the League Cup third round 3–1 defeat. On 13 November 2010, Givet scored a goal against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and played the full 90 minutes at left-back in a 4–2 defeat. On 8 January 2011, he suffered a knee injury whilst playing in the FA Cup third round fixture against Queens Park Rangers in a 1–0 win for Rovers when he accidentally collided with Jamie Mackie and both players had to be stretchered off the field on around about the half-hour stage. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Givet made 32 appearances and scored two goals in all competitions.

On 24 August 2011, Givet made his first appearance of the 2011–12 season, playing the full 90 minutes against Sheffield Wednesday at Ewood Park in the Carling Cup 2nd round. On Saturday 27 August 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes alongside Christopher Samba in a 1-0 defeat against Everton at Ewood Park. On Sunday 11 September 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes against Fulham in a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage. On Saturday 17 September 2011, Givet started the league game with Arsenal and completed the full 90 minutes at Ewood Park in a 4-3 victory in the left-back berth. On Tuesday 20 September 2011, he captained Rovers in their Carling Cup third round tie against Leyton Orient at Ewood Park which ended in a 3-2 win for Rovers and also played the full 90 minutes alongside Grant Hanley. On Saturday 24 September 2011, Givet started and played the full 90 minutes against Newcastle United at St. James' Park in a 3-1 defeat. On Saturday 1 October 2011, he started and played the full 90 minutes at left-back in a 4-0 loss against Manchester City at Ewood Park. He was forced to leave the game versus Sunderland on 11 December due to heart palpitations.

International career

Givet represents France at international level. In 2006, he was a member of the French squad that reached the Final of the FIFA World Cup held in Germany, though he saw limited action. He has earned 13 caps for his country, last appearing back in 2006.

Club career statistics

Statistics accurate as of 23:00, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Monaco	2000–01	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2001–02	22	2	0	0	0	0	22	2
	2002–03	21	1	0	0	0	0	21	1
	2003–04	33	2	0	0	13	0	46	2
	2004–05	31	0	0	0	9	1	40	1
	2005–06	31	2	0	0	6	0	37	0
	2006–07	32	1	0	0	0	0	32	1
Total		171	8	0	0	28	1	199	9
Marseille	2007–08	29	0	0	0	9	0	38	0
Total		29	0	0	0	9	0	38	0
Blackburn Rovers	2008–09	14	0	4	0	0	0	18	0
	2009–10	34	2	4	0	0	0	38	2
	2010–11	29	1	3	1	0	0	32	2
	2011–12	17	0	5	1	0	0	22	1
Total		94	3	16	2	0	0	110	5
Career Total		293	11	16	2	37	1	347	14

Personal life

He is married to Anne-Sophie and has a son named Gabriel (born 8 May 2006), and a daughter Anna (born 12 May 2009).

Honours

Club

AS Monaco

• Coupe de la Ligue: 2003

External links

• Gaël Givet career stats at Soccerbase
• Gaël Givet-Viaros French league stats at LFP.fr (French)
• Gaël Givet at National-Football-Teams.com
• Yahoo eurosport profile