Sylvain Wiltord

Sylvain Wiltord

Personal information
Full name	Sylvain Claude Wiltord
Date of birth	10 May 1974 (1974-05-10)
Place of birth	Neuilly-sur-Marne, France
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker Winger
Club information
Current club	Nantes
Number	11
Youth career
	Rennes
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1996	Rennes	126	(31)
1996–1997	Deportivo de La Coruña	0	(0)
1996–1997	→ Rennes (loan)	28	(8)
1997–2000	Bordeaux	99	(46)
2000–2004	Arsenal	104	(32)
2004–2007	Lyon	82	(20)
2007–2009	Rennes	31	(6)
2009	Marseille	13	(1)
2010	Metz	15	(3)
2011–	Nantes	6	(2)
National team‡
1996	France U23	4	(0)
1999–2006	France	92	(26)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 January 2010. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 April 2010

Sylvain Claude Wiltord (born 10 May 1974 in Neuilly-sur-Marne) is a French footballer who currently plays for FC Nantes. With the French national team, Wiltord has won Euro 2000 and reached the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He can play as a striker or on the wing.

Club career

Early career, Rennes and Bordeaux

Wiltord's career began at Stade Rennais FC, where he emerged in 1993/94 with eight goals in 26 games. He joined RC Deportivo La Coruña briefly in 1996, where he continued to plunder goals on loan for one season before moving to FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

He was ever-present in his first term at Bordeaux and scored 22 goals the next season, 1998/99, as Bordeaux won the French Ligue 1 championship.

Arsenal

Wiltord was signed by English club Arsenal for, what was then, a club record fee of £13 million in August 2000, weeks after scoring the stoppage-time equalizer in the Euro 2000 Final. He played 175 times occasionally pairing Thierry Henry up front or otherwise starting either from the bench or on the wing. The record fee was not surpassed for the next eight-and-a-half years until Arsenal paid £15 million for Russian striker Andrei Arshavin in January 2009.

The highlight of his Arsenal career was scoring the winning goal at Old Trafford, a 1–0 win which clinched the Premier League in 2002 title as Arsenal achieved "The Double". He scored a total of 49 goals for the club, and was part of Arsenal's 2003–04 'Invincibles' season, though he did not feature much towards the end of the campaign and near the end of his Arsenal career.

In June 2008 he was voted 33rd in a list of 50 of the greatest Arsenal players of all time.

Lyon

When his contract with Arsenal expired in the summer of 2004, Wiltord took the opportunity to return to France with Olympique Lyonnais. Moving to Lyon, Wiltord found further success, winning three Ligue 1 titles and reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in successive seasons.

Rennes

Wiltord signed for Rennes in August 2007 on a two-year contract and with an opportunity to join the coaching staff when he finished his professional career.

Marseille

He joined Olympique de Marseille on 15 January 2009 for the rest of the Ligue 1 season. On 17 May 2009 he scored Marseille's only goal in a 3–1 loss to Lyon at home. He was released at the end of the 2008–09 season, and was considering a possible move to either America, UAE or perhaps retirement.

Metz

On 30 January 2010, Wiltord signed with FC Metz until the end of the season.

Nantes

On 18 July 2011, Wiltord came back from retirement and signed a contract at FC Nantes until the end of 2011–12.

International career

Wiltord made his debut for France in a 2–0 victory over England on 10 February 1999 at Wembley Stadium. For France, Wiltord has been capped 92 times, scoring 26 goals. His most memorable goal for Les Bleus was scored in dramatic fashion in the Euro 2000 final against Italy to tie the match 1–1 and bring the game to extra-time. France then won the final thanks to a golden goal by David Trézéguet.

He remained in the national squad for the 2002 World Cup where France endured a shocking first round exit, without a single win or scoring a single goal, in the worst ever performance by a defending champion at the World Cup.

Wiltord also took part at Euro 2004 in Portugal, having played seven games in the qualifying campaign with a fantastic return of six goals. However, a poor performance from Les Bleus saw a shocking quarter-final exit at the hands of eventual winners Greece.

Most recently, he was part of Raymond Domenech's France squad that played in the 2006 World Cup final against arch-rivals Italy. Wiltord scored France's first penalty in the ensuing penalty shootout following the 1–1 draw, but France would lose the shootout 5–3.

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
1992/93	Stade Rennais	Division 2	2	0
1993/94			26	8
1994/95		Division 1	26	5
1995/96			37	15
1996/97			35	3
1997/98	Girondins Bordeaux	Division 1	34	11
1998/99			33	22
1999/00			32	13					12	4
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2000/01	Arsenal	Premier League	27	8	6	6	1	0	13	1	47	15
2001/02			33	10	7	2	3	4	11	1	54	17
2002/03			34	10	7	2	0	0	12	1	53	13
2003/04			12	3	0	0	3	1	4	0	19	4
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
2004/05	Olympique Lyonnais	Ligue 1	25	3	0	0	0	0	8	6	31	9
2005/06			35	12	0	0	0	0	10	2	45	14
2006/07			22	5	0	0	0	0	6	0	28	5
2007/08	Stade Rennais	Ligue 1	25	6	0	0	0	0	4	0	29	6
2008/09			6	0	0	0	1	1	2	0	9	1
2008/09	Olympique Marseille	Ligue 1	13	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	14	1
2009/10	Metz	Ligue 2	15	3
Country	France		366	107
	England		104	32
Total			470	139

France national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1999	8	2
2000	14	6
2001	13	4
2002	11	3
2003	13	5
2004	8	3
2005	9	1
2006	16	2
Total	92	26

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	31 March 1999	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Armenia	1 – 0	2 – 0	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
2.	5 June 1999	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Russia	2 – 1	2 – 3	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
3.	29 March 2000	Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Scotland	0 – 1	0 – 2	Friendly match
4.	6 June 2000	Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco	Morocco	1 – 5	1 – 5	2000 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament
5.	11 June 2000	Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges, Belgium	Denmark	3 – 0	3 – 0	UEFA Euro 2000
6.	2 July 2000	Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Italy	1 – 1	2 – 1	UEFA Euro 2000
7.	4 October 2000	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Cameroon	1 – 0	1 – 1	Friendly match
8.	15 November 2000	BJK İnönü Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Turkey	0 – 2	0 – 4	Friendly match
9.	24 March 2001	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Japan	3 – 0	5 – 0	Friendly match
10.	25 April 2001	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Portugal	1 – 0	4 – 0	Friendly match
11.	30 May 2001	Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu, South Korea	South Korea	5 – 0	5 – 0	2001 FIFA Confederations Cup
12.	3 June 2001	Munsu Cup Stadium, Ulsan, South Korea	Mexico	1 – 0	4 – 0	2001 FIFA Confederations Cup
13.	7 September 2002	GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus	Cyprus	1 – 2	1 – 2	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
14.	12 October 2002	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Slovenia	4 – 0	5 – 0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
15.	16 October 2002	Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta	Malta	0 – 3	0 – 4	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
16.	29 March 2003	Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens, France	Malta	1 – 0	6 – 0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
17.	26 June 2003	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Turkey	3 – 1	3 – 2	2003 FIFA Confederations Cup
18.	20 August 2003	Stade de Genève, Genève, Switzerland	Switzerland	0 – 1	0 – 2	Friendly match
19.	6 September 2003	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Cyprus	2 – 0	5 – 0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
20.	6 September 2003	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Cyprus	3 – 0	5 – 0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
21.	28 May 2004	Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France	Andorra	1 – 0	4 – 0	Friendly match
22.	28 May 2004	Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France	Andorra	2 – 0	4 – 0	Friendly match
23.	13 October 2004	GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus	Cyprus	0 – 1	0 – 2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
24.	12 October 2005	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Cyprus	2 – 0	4 – 0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
25.	1 March 2006	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Slovakia	1 – 1	1 – 2	Friendly match
26.	25 April 2006	Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens, France	Denmark	2 – 0	2 – 0	Friendly match

Personal life

His parents moved from Guadeloupe to metropolitan France before his birth.

Honours

With Girondins de Bordeaux

• French Ligue 1: 1998-99

With Arsenal

Winner

• FA Premier League: 2001/02, 2003/04
• FA Cup: 2002, 2003
• FA Community Shield: 2002

Runner-up

• FA Premier League: 2000/01, 2002/03
• FA Cup: 2001
• FA Community Shield: 2003

With Olympique Lyonnais

• French Ligue 1: 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07

With France

Winner

• UEFA Euro 2000
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2001, 2003

Runner-up

• FIFA World Cup: 2006

Individual

• French Ligue 1 Top Scorer: 1998–99 (22 goals with Bordeaux)
• French Footballer of the Year: 1999
• FIFA Confederations Cup Top Scorer: 2001

External links

• Sylvain Wiltord's profile, stats & pics
• Photos & stats at sporting-heroes.net
• Statistics at soccerbase.com
• profile at lequipe.fr
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