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Pascal Chimbonda

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Pascal Chimbonda
Personal information
Full name Pascal Chimbonda
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Sunderland
Number 21
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:19, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

Pascal Chimbonda (born 21 February, 1979 in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe) is a French defender who plays for Sunderland. Chimbonda is able to play at centre-back or left-back, but more commonly right-back. Chimbonda became well known to English football supporters due to his impressive displays on the pitch for Wigan Athletic, which led to Tottenham Hotspur chasing his signature in the summer of 2006, finally landing him on transfer deadline day.

Club career

Early career

Pascal Chimbonda began his career at Le Havre AC in 1999, making his debut against RC Strasbourg on 29 April 2000. He spent four years with the club, until Le Havre were relegated to Ligue 2, when he transferred to Bastia. During his stay at Bastia, Chimbonda received racist taunts from his own fans after a heavy loss against AS Saint-Étienne;[1][2] this may have contributed to his leaving the club. However, his former teammates at Bastia firmly deny Chimbonda's accusations of racism.[3].

After Bastia were relegated to July 2005, he left the club, turning down an offer from Olympique de Marseille, and moved to Wigan for £500,000 on a three-year contract. He cited that he was "ready for a new challenge and coming to Wigan is the perfect opportunity to test myself against the best players in the world," as the reason for selecting Wigan.[4]

Wigan

In the PFA Team of the Year for the 2005-06 season, his first in the Premiership, Chimbonda was voted best right back in the Premiership, ahead of Gary Neville, Steve Finnan and Paulo Ferreira.[5]

He was linked with a move to a range of clubs including Manchester United, and Arsenal, as well as an attempted transfer by West Ham United based on a clause in his contract that allows him to switch clubs for an offer of £1m (which was subsequently renegotiated and removed).[6] On 7 May 2006, the final day of the 2005-06 season, he handed in a transfer request after losing an exciting match against Arsenal,[7] only six months after renegotiating his contract for a further four years. This riled the Wigan management, who set a high price - higher than many prospective buyers were willing to pay - and informed Chimbonda that "he can play in the reserves until his contract is over," if he is not bought.[8]

Tottenham Hotspur replied with a £2m transfer offer and then a £3m offer; however, both were rejected, as Wigan had stated that any offers below £6m would not be accepted, despite previously stating that, according to his agent Willie McKay, "they wouldn't step in the player's way if a top club came in for him".[6][9] Further, according to McKay, £3m "was a terrific offer", and Chimbonda was still hopeful of a move to Tottenham. [10] Chimbonda has stated that "moving to Tottenham will help me take the next step forward", and has called Wigan a "stepping stone". West Ham also made a bid, reportedly £4m, for the player, though this was also turned down because it fell short of the asking price.[11].

He made his last appearance for Wigan on 8 August 2006 in a win against Reading as a substitute. He replaced Emile Heskey in the 79th minute, Heskey having scored the winning goal earlier.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 31 August 2006, Wigan Athletic accepted a bid from Tottenham Hotspur for £4.5 million, the transfer was completed just before midnight. He made his Tottenham debut vs Manchester United on 9 September 2006.

Chimbonda played in a 2–1 victory over Chelsea in which it later transpired he had played on with knee ligament damage resulting from a strong challenge by Frank Lampard in the opening minutes of the game. Tottenham manager Martin Jol singled out Chimbonda after the match as the best example of the players' spirit and character that day.[12] However, on 14 January 2007 Chimbonda was involved in a controversial incident in his team's match against Newcastle United when he slapped Nicky Butt in the face with his glove; an incident that provoked a skirmish between the members of the two teams.

He scored the equaliser, and his first goal for Tottenham on 20 January 2007 in the 1–1 draw with Fulham. On March 12 2008 Pascal Chimbonda missed an important penalty, after a thrilling series of penalties at the end of the match with PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Cup. PSV went to the next round (quarter finals) and Tottenham Hotspur were knocked out.

Sunderland A.F.C.

It was announced on July 26, 2008 that Chimbonda had signed for Sunderland A.F.C. joining up with former team mates Teemu Tainio and Steed Malbranque. Chimbonda stated on arrival that he wanted to help Sunderland mount a title challenge in the next 5 years. [13]

International career

Despite early concerns that he would not make France's 2006 World Cup squad,[14] he was selected on the quality of his performances, despite having no previous international experience.[15] During a World Cup warmup friendly match, a 2-0 win against Denmark on 31 May 2006, he appeared amongst the substitutes, appearing briefly on the pitch in the final minutes of the game, replacing Willy Sagnol in the 87th minute for his debut.[16] Chimbonda did not make a single appearance during the 2006 World Cup, and as of 5 June 2007, his cap against Denmark is his only appearance for the national side, competitive or friendly.

Honours

Tottenham Hotspur

Trivia

Pascal Chimbonda took on several nicknames among his fans during his years at Tottenham, due in large part to his unique name, though also because he is regarded as a defender with excellent natural ability and talent, and a fan favourite. Among others, Chimbonda has been nicknamed, most commonly, as "Chimbo." However, Pascal has also often been referred to as "tha Raskal," as well as, in the longer form, Pascal tha Raskal Chimmybonda.

References

  1. ^ Fans' Racist Taunts Rattle European Soccer (washingtonpost.com)
  2. ^ Football Against Racism in Europe • News
  3. ^ SC Bastia
  4. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Wigan Athletic | Wigan snap up defender Chimbonda
  5. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | Gerrard named player of the year
  6. ^ a b BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Wigan Athletic | Chimbonda 'panic' led to request
  7. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Wigan Athletic | Chimbonda demands to leave Wigan
  8. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Wigan Athletic | Jewell fury at Chimbonda request
  9. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Wigan Athletic | Chimbonda expects to join Spurs
  10. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Wigan Athletic | Chimbonda still has Spurs hopes
  11. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | West Ham Utd | West Ham's Chimbonda bid rejected
  12. ^ "Match Report: Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea". ESPN. 2006-11-05. Retrieved 2008-03-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Chimbonda signs up for Sunderland". BBC Sport. 26 July 2008.
  14. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | World Cup 2006 | Chimbonda resigned to France fate
  15. ^ uefa.com - FIFA World Cup - News & Features
  16. ^ ESPNsoccernet - Global - France v Denmark Report
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