William Prunier

William Prunier

Personal information
Full name	William Prunier
Position(s)	Defender
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 November 2007

William Prunier (born 14 August 1967 in Montreuil, France) is a French footballer, who has spent most of his illustrous career, playing in the centre back position.

Prunier was disputably the greatest product of the famous AJ Auxerre youth team which also included Eric Cantona, Basile Boli, Pascal Vahirua and Daniel Dutuel, all under the tutelage of Guy Roux. After spending several illustrious years at Auxerre, he later moved on to Olympique Marseille and FC Girondins de Bordeaux. He also earned his first cap for France in August 1992, a 2-0 loss to Brazil. During his time at Bordeaux, Prunier made a lasting impression on both the French public and media. Numerous man-of-the-match performances saw Prunier receive the Bordeaux captaincy in earlier 1995. Prunier maintained an exceptional level of play until the end of the season, at which time he began to receive the credit he deserved. He came fourth in the French footballer of the year awards for 1995 and was a nominee for the Ballon d'Or, narrowly loosing out to George Weah.

The brilliance of Prunier attracted the attention of numerous European giants, most notably Juventus, Levante and Manchester City. In the end it was Manchester United who grasped his signature. Having bought out his contract with Bordeaux, he joined the Old Trafford club on a trial basis where he was reunited with Cantona. At the time, the manager Alex Ferguson had been looking for a continental-style defender with good passing skills. However, his arrival coincided with an injury crisis that saw the three first-choice centre-backs Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister and David May all unavailable. Prunier was hastily drafted into the first team even though Ferguson had originally intended to use him in reserve team matches only during his trial.

Prunier made his Manchester United debut against Queens Park Rangers on 30 December 1995 partnering Gary Neville in defence. He widely impressed in the match helping set up a goal for Andy Cole and hitting a powerful shot against the bar. His second game against Tottenham Hotspur on 1 January 1996, however, was a disaster for him and the club. With Peter Schmeichel injured in the warm-up and Denis Irwin also unavailable, he was part of a makeshift defence which conceded 4 goals in a humiliating loss. Prunier quickly showed his leadership qualities and through sheer determination managed to prevent a far worse result. Ferguson, impressed by his exceptional performances, offered him an extended trial, but Prunier declined and decided he would look elsewhere. Ferguson later acknowledged that letting Prunier escape was one of the few managerial decisions he regrets, the other being the sale of Jaap Stam years later.

After leaving Manchester United, Prunier moved on to FC København in Denmark. Prunier made and excellent start for København, scoring a hatrick in his third game. Sadly he dislocated his pelvis a week later, keeping him out of the team for a substantial period. Prunier was sold for an estimated £9,000,000 to Napoli. Prunier impressed throughout Italy and was largely responsible for incredible 1998 season that saw Napoli rise to prominence in Italian football. Sadly Prunier suffered a reoccurring thyroid problem which severely impaired his capacity to train, he was sold to K.V. Kortrijk for a club record of £11,300,000 in 1998. Despite injury and illness, Prunier’s epic presence helped K.V. gain promotion to the Belgian First Division. At the end of the 1999 season Prunier made the choice to return to France in order to compete for a place in the national side. Prunier signed for Toulouse FC where he was an enormous success. He won the Ligue 2 title in 2003. After a brief spell in the United Arab Emirates, he retired from football in 2004 and coached at AS Cannes. On 4 February 2007, he appeared on Sky Sports giving an intro and his point of view on the 4-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in 1996.

Prunier reconsidered his retirement in 2008, joining Argentine giants River Plate on a three year contract. He has expressed his desire to play for and captain France in the 2010 world cup.

Playing Style

Prunier became renowned as a fast, strong defender who invariably won in one-on-one situations. Prunier is an exceptional tackler and also a strong aerial presence. Perhaps his greatest attribute is his reading of the game, which has often been compared to that of Paolo Maldini – a great complement to the Italian. Prunier is also famed for his dribbling and his tendency to score later goals.