Patrice Evra
{{Football player infobox |
playername = Patrice Evra |
| image = File:PatriceEvra.jpg
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Manchester United | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 November 2006 | |||
Patrice Evra (born May 15, 1981 in Dakar, Senegal) is a French-Senegalese international footballer, who plays for English Premiership side Manchester United. He plays in the left back position although he can also play on the left wing.
Son of a diplomat, he soon arrived in Europe through Brussels where his father was sent when he was very young. He was raised in Les Ulis[citation needed], Essonne, France where he lived with his family from 1984 to 1998 before seizing his first opportunity leading him to Marsala, Sicily, Italy. He evolved notably with Thierry Henry in those early years. They consider themselves as childhood friends. Patrice had a total of 23 siblings[1].
Career
Early years
Quite normally for a teenager of Les Ulis, he started his career with the Paris St-Germain youth team, before moving in 1998 to Italian Serie C1 team Marsala, where he quickly became a fan favourite despite his young age and was nicknamed The Black Gazelle[1]. He then moved to Monza of Serie B for the following season. in 2000, Evra transferred to OGC Nice and then to AS Monaco in 2002. Evra has represented France at international level on five occasions.
At AS Monaco, Evra was also part of the team that won the French League Cup and reached the UEFA Champions League Final in 2004.
Manchester United
Evra signed a 3.5 year contract for United on 10 January 2006, for around £5.5 million, from AS Monaco. Signing at Manchester just days after the capture of Nemanja Vidić, Evra's arrival signalled Sir Alex Ferguson's intention to shore up a United defence that had suffered since the sidelining of Gabriel Heinze. Upon signing for United, Evra revealed that he had snubbed both Arsenal and Liverpool for the chance to walk out at the Theatre of Dreams.
"Liverpool and Arsenal are great clubs but United is a completely different story. Inter were also trying to get me in the transfer window but there was only one club for me".
He made his debut for Manchester United on 14th January in a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City in the English Premier League. He played his home debut against Liverpool on 22nd January in a 1-0 win. 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 2006, he scored his first goal for the club in a Premiership match against Everton at Old Trafford. After a spell out of the squad with injury, Evra made his comeback on 10th April 2007 in the Champions League match against Roma at Old Trafford, contributing to the Red Devils' 7-1 thrashing of the visitors. It goes without saying that Evra was instrumental in helping United win the league title in 2006/07.
Thus, because of his solid performances in the 2006/2007 season, he earned a place in the PFA Team of the Year.
Trivia
- In February 2007, Evra won every tackle he attempted, 4, according to Inside United.
- Evra wears the number three shirt at Manchester United. It was vacated by Phil Neville in the previous summer.
- His wife's name is Patricia. They have one son, Gareth, born in September, 2005.
- Notable Evra quotes include him asking Gary Neville for the location of the nearest church on his first day at Manchester United - "So I can thank God for letting me join the biggest club in the world."
- Patrice was selected in the 2007 PFA team of the year
- Patrice's father is an international diplomat and was the reason that Patrice had to move to France at an early age.
- Patrice has many nicknames including Supatrice, Paddy and Senegalese Superman
Honours
- 2003 - Coupe de la Ligue with Monaco
- 2004 - UEFA Champions League with Monaco - Runner Up
- 2006 - Carling Cup with Manchester United
- 2007 - FA Premier League with Manchester United
References
- ^ a b "From Dakar to Old Trafford, via Paris, Milan (just), Sicily and Stamford Bridge". The Guardian. 2006-01-22. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
External links
- Official profile at manutd.com