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David Ginola

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David Ginola
Personal information
Full name David Désiré Marc Ginola[1]
Date of birth (1967-01-25) 25 January 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth Gassin, France
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Winger / Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1988 Toulon 82 (4)
1988–1990 RC Paris 61 (8)
1990–1992 Brest 50 (14)
1992–1995 Paris Saint-Germain 115 (33)
1995–1997 Newcastle United 58 (6)
1997–2000 Tottenham Hotspur 100 (13)
2000–2002 Aston Villa 32 (3)
2002 Everton 5 (0)
Total 503 (81)
International career
1990–1995 France 17 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

David Désiré Marc Ginola (French pronunciation: [david ʒinola]; born 25 January 1967) is a French former international football player who has also worked as an actor and model.

Ginola was born in Gassin, Var. He played football for ten seasons in his native France before making the move from Paris Saint-Germain to Newcastle United in the English Premier League in July 1995. He continued playing in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton before retiring in 2002. Since his retirement from the game he has become involved in several new pursuits, including acting. Ginola is a regular contributor to BBC, BT and CNN. He hosts 'Match of ze Day' ('MozD'), a program which broadcasts live Premier League matches on Canal+.

On 16 January 2015, Ginola announced his intention to run for the FIFA presidency.[2][3][4][5] However, 14 days later, on 30 January 2015, Ginola withdrew his bid for the FIFA presidency, after failing to receive the required backing of five football associations.[6][7]

Club career

Ginola played at club level for Toulon (1985–88), RC Paris (1988–90), Brest (1990–92), Paris Saint-Germain (1992–95), Newcastle United (1995–97), Tottenham Hotspur (1997–2000), Aston Villa (2000–2002) and Everton (2002).

France

Ginola made his first senior appearance for Sporting Toulon as an eighteen-year-old in a 1985 2–0 victory away at Metz.[8] He played fourteen times in his first season, and by 1986 he was a regular in the Toulon line-up.

In 1988 he moved to RC Paris, where he remained until signing for Brest in 1990. There, he began to impress observers with his flamboyant style of play. In 1991, he played a crucial role in a landmark victory (3–2) against the side who would go on to sign him, Paris Saint-Germain F.C..

Ginola joined the French capital club in January 1992, at a time when it was pushing for major honors with the financial backing of TV channel Canal+. He took little time to adapt to his new surroundings and soon conquered the Parc des Princes crowd with his elegant first touch and his pace.

At the same time, he was going through tough times with the national football team coached by Gérard Houllier, but the Parisian public never seemed to begrudge him for that. In fact, he would go on to become one of the most popular footballers among the notoriously uncompromising Parisian supporters. He became such a fan favorite that, even when he admitted that he supported Paris Saint-Germain's fierce rivals Olympique Marseille as a boy and that he would have joined them rather than PSG had an agreement been struck with Bernard Tapie, his popularity did not suffer any consequence.[9]

In his first full season with PSG (1992–93), Ginola won the Coupe de France and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. At the end of 1993, he was also won the French Footballer of the Year award from the France Football magazine. 1993–94 would turn out to be the best season of his career, though it was also blighted by a personal all-time low for Ginola, occurring in November 1993. He was blamed for a defeat suffered by the French national football team against their Bulgarian opponents, which eliminated Les Bleus from the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

While suffering heartache with his country, Ginola was shining with his club. A star-studded PSG side featuring the likes of Paul Le Guen, Bernard Lama and Antoine Kombouaré and coached by Portuguese tactician Artur Jorge won the second league title of its history, losing only three times along the way. Ginola played an important role in this title-winning campaign, providing 13 goals in 38 games, which made him the top club goalscorer for the season.

The following season, under new manager Luis Fernandez, proved to be less successful in the league, with FC Nantes being crowned champions. Ginola scored 11 times in 28 league appearances. Paris Saint-Germain did shine in the cup competitions though, winning another Coupe de France as well as the first edition of the new Coupe de la Ligue. In the UEFA Champions League, the Parisian club caused a major shock after knocking out 1994's finalists FC Barcelona in the quarter finals, with Ginola playing particularly well. The club was eliminated at the next hurdle by defending champions A.C. Milan.

In the summer of 1995, Ginola decided to leave France. Known to be a Spanish football enthusiast, he was expected to be snapped up by Barcelona. Furthermore, between 1992 and 1995, his stellar displays in European competitions against the Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona had attracted media attention in Spain, with local media dubbing him "El Magnifico". However, he ended up with English club Newcastle United F.C., then managed by Kevin Keegan.

Newcastle United

In 1995, Ginola joined Newcastle United for £2.5 million. He was signed at a time when manager Kevin Keegan was attempting to turn the club into one of the major forces in English football, and the board was prepared to offer strong financial backing to sign a number of European superstars. Ginola made his debut against Coventry City on 19 August 1995 in a 3–0 win. He scored his first league goal on 27 August against Sheffield Wednesday in a 2–0 away win, and went on to score five league goals in his first season. In the 1995–96, Newcastle finished second, four points behind Manchester United. This was their strongest league performance in decades, and Ginola was an integral part of the team. The team chemistry was perfect with Ginola fitting in nicely with his new teammates. However, it was a major disappointment that Newcastle had finished second in the Premier League as they had led by up to 10 points as late as January.

In 1996, Bobby Robson, manager of Barcelona made a personal move for him. Ginola received a phone call from Robson, who told him he wanted him at Barcelona. However, Newcastle refused to let him go.[10] Ginola later stated his regret that he had never played for one of the "big clubs".[citation needed] To add to their line-up, Newcastle paid £15m, breaking the transfer record, to sign Alan Shearer. Despite this, Newcastle finished second again, being narrowly overtaken by Manchester United. Halfway through the season, Kevin Keegan suddenly resigned as manager to be succeeded by Kenny Dalglish.

Keegan departed in January 1997 and Ginola did not get on with his replacement Kenny Dalglish, who never fancied the Frenchman.[11] It soon became obvious he was heading for a move out of Tyneside, in spite of his popularity among Geordie supporters.

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur signed Ginola in July 1997 for £2.5m, where he was joined by Newcastle team-mate Les Ferdinand. In 1999, he was named PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year,[12] while playing for Tottenham Hotspur. During the 1998–99 season, Ginola scored one of his most notable goals, when Spurs played Barnsley in the FA Cup sixth Round. Ginola weaved in and out of a number of Barnsley players and finished in the left side of the net, the only goal of the game. He was the first player in Premiership history to win the award while at a club who finished the season outside of the top four. He also won his only English domestic trophy with Spurs, the 1999 League Cup with a 1–0 victory over Leicester City at Wembley Stadium. Ginola is fondly remembered by Spurs fans for his extravagant forward play and personality off the pitch. He played an integral role in their 1999 League Cup win and scoring a long range goal in a 3–1 win against Manchester United in a previous round. The respect and fondness Tottenham fans have for Ginola was shown when he was given one of the biggest cheers on their 125th anniversary when legends were paraded on the pitch. Ginola was inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame on 11 December 2008.[13][14]

Aston Villa

In July 2000, Ginola joined Aston Villa for a transfer fee of £3 million. He expressed his disappointment that Tottenham had sold him, saying the news that they had accepted the offer was a "bombshell".[15] Villa manager John Gregory challenged Ginola to prove he could still perform in the Premiership, rather than move to a less demanding league abroad, as Ginola was now in his 33rd year and seemed unlikely to continue at professional level for much longer.[16]

In January 2002, he was banned for two matches and fined £22,000 for stamping on an opponent and disputing his dismissal with the fourth official.[17]

Everton

In 2002, Ginola signed for Everton[18] playing five games for the club before retiring in May 2002, just after David Moyes took over as manager. Ginola was deemed surplus to requirements by Moyes, and made only one substitute appearance from March onwards. His contract was not renewed and Ginola, without a club, retired.[19] He announced his intention to move into either acting[20] or football coaching.

International career

Although Ginola was a very prominent French player, he did not see much action with the French national team, having been capped only 17 times in his career.[8]

In 1987, Ginola played for the France under-21 team at the Toulon Tournament. He was named the tournament's best player after France beat England 4–3 in the final.[21]

Ginola is infamous in France for his mistake in a 1994 FIFA World Cup World Cup qualifying match against Bulgaria. France needed only a draw in their final group qualifying match on 17 November 1993 to qualify for the finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and Ginola had come on as a late substitute for Jean-Pierre Papin. With the score level at 1–1 in the last minute of the match, Ginola mishit a cross across the Bulgarian penalty box. The ball was collected by Emil Kremenliev, who launched a lightning Bulgarian counterattack which resulted in Emil Kostadinov scoring the winning goal. Bulgaria thus won the match 2–1 and qualified for the 1994 World Cup finals at the expense of France.[22]

In a television interview aired on 18 November 1993, Gérard Houllier, the manager of the France team during its entire 1994 World Cup qualifying campaign, blamed France's 2–1 defeat by Bulgaria entirely on Ginola and described him as someone who had "sent an Exocet missile through the heart of French football" and as the "assassin of the team".[23] After being barracked by French fans and branded as the "assassin of French football" by the French press, Ginola moved to England, signing for Newcastle United.[24] Houllier's successor Aimé Jacquet regularly selected Ginola for international matches, but often used him only as a substitute. Ginola played his last match for the national team in 1995. In April 2012, a French court dismissed Ginola's lawsuit against Gérard Houllier for alleged defamation. Houllier had contributed to a new book (published on 20 October 2011) on football coaching, Secrets de coachs (Coaches' Secrets). In that book, Houllier was alleged to have made disparaging remarks on Ginola and to have referred to Ginola in offensive terms in blaming him for misplacing the cross that allowed Bulgaria to launch the decisive counterattack during the final minute of the France-Bulgaria match on 17 November 1993.[25][26]

Playing style

Ginola was renowned for his "magical" touch on the ball and his ability to get past players from any type of position and then manage to score a goal. His ability to do that was shown in games for Tottenham and Newcastle, with his most memorable goal in Newcastle's 5–0 win over Premier League giants Manchester United on 20 October 1996, becoming a flamboyant part of the memorable "Entertainers" Newcastle side of his era, which also featured other highly acclaimed players including Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand, Faustino Asprilla, Peter Beardsley and Keith Gillespie.

In 1999, Dutch legend Johan Cruijff remarked that it was his belief that Ginola was currently the best player in the world.[27]

Acting

Ginola took his first steps towards a career in acting by attending classes at RADA.

Ginola made his debut as 'Didier the Butcher', the leading part in the Anglo-French short film Rosbeef. Rosbeef, a tale of love, lust and a kilo of sausages, premiered during the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. The same year Rosbeef won a prize, the 'Prix Coup de Coeur Canal+' at the Festival International de Cinéma et Gastronomie in Dijon. Next he played the title role, Mr Firecul the devil in the British short film Mr Firecul.

For his first feature film, The Last Drop, Ginola was cast as 'Corporal Dieter Max', a renegade German sniper alongside the likes of Agathe de la Boulaye, Michael Madsen, Nick Moran, Karel Roden and Billy Zane. This World War II heist movie premiered in Cannes in 2005 and was released as Operation Matchbox.

In 2000, Ginola made a cameo appearance in the first episode of the ITV drama series At Home with the Braithwaites. In 2003, Ginola played himself, announcing the results for the first Euro Lottery. In 2004, he played the leading role in The Centre, a BBC television documentary and in 2006 he appeared in the second series of Channel 4's Coach Trip during episode 22, in which he acted as a tour guide of Sainte-Maxime. Later that year Ginola appeared, again as himself, in the ITV series City Lights. In 2008, Ginola appeared in an episode of Chop Shop on Discovery Turbo where he had a one-off car designed for his son's birthday and in the same year he appeared as Alexandre, a fashion photographer, in the special edition of the CBS series The Young and the Restless, shot in Paris to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show's broadcast in France where it is known as Les Feux de l'amour.

Personal life

Ginola is married to fashion model Carla.The couple have a son and a daughter, Andrea and Carla, and live near Saint-Tropez.

Wine making

In 2008, Ginola received a silver medal at the International Wine Challenge for a rosé wine produced at his vineyard in Provence.[28]

Endorsements

Before moving to England, Ginola had already transcended the world of football by featuring in advertising campaigns for Morgan, the fashion label and appearing on the catwalk for Cerruti.

In England his aura, good looks and French flair on and off the pitch saw him front commercials for a.o. Braun shavers, Carte Noire coffee, Kingston Technologies memory sticks, Ladbrokes sports betting, L'Oréal hair products and Renault cars.

Ginola has featured in EA Sports' FIFA video game series; he was on the cover for the International edition of FIFA 97.[29]

Ginola was an ambassador for the Paris 2012 Olympic bid and was also an ambassador for the French Golf Federation in their successful bid to stage the Ryder Cup 2018 in France. Ginola campaigned worldwide for the English FA bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

More importantly he is a campaigner for the Red Cross Anti-Landmine campaign and Unesco and was respectively patron and president of the UK based Vision and Sparks charities.

Honours

Ginola was voted 'Player of the Year' in both his native France (1994) and England (1999), the only French player to have been bestowed both these honours.

Club

Paris Saint-Germain
Tottenham Hotspur

International

France U-21

Individual

Statistics

C1t6875rformance 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
1985–86 Toulon Division 1 14 0 14 0
1986–87 35 0 35 0
1987–88 33 4 33 4
1988–89 Racing Club Paris Division 1 29 7 29 7
1989–90 32 1 32 1
1990–91 Brest Division 1 33 6 33 6
1991–92 Division 2 17 8 17 8
Paris Saint-Germain Division 1 15 3 15 3
1992–93 34 6 9 2 43 8
1993–94 38 13 8 2 46 15
1994–95 28 11 10 1 38 12
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1995–96 Newcastle United Premier League 34 5 2 0 4 0 – 40 5
1996–97 24 1 2 0 2 0 7 1 35 2
1997–98 Tottenham Hotspur Premier League 34 6 3 1 3 2 – 40 9
1998–99 30 3 6 3 5 1 – 41 7
1999–2000 36 4 2 1 2 1 3 0 43 6
2000–01 Aston Villa Premier League 27 3 1 0 0 0 – 28 3
2001–02 5 0 0 0 2 0 6 2 13 2
Everton Premier League 5 0 2 0 0 0 – 7 0
Total France 308 59 27 5 335 64
England 195 22 18 5 18 4 16 3 247 34
Career total 503 81 18 5 18 4 43 8 582 98

References

  1. ^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2002). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2002/2003. Queen Anne Press. p. 160. ISBN 9781852916480.
  2. ^ BBC Sport – David Ginola plans to run for Fifa presidency against Sepp Blatter. Bbc.com (16 January 2015). Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
  3. ^ David Ginola starts campaign to replace Sepp Blatter as Fifa president | Football. The Guardian (15 January 2015). Retrieved on 9 November 2015.
  4. ^ David Ginola in bid to oust Sepp Blatter as FIFA president! | Daily Mail Online. Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved on 9 November 2015.
  5. ^ Ginola set to announce candidacy for FIFA President | : The World Game. Theworldgame.sbs.com.au (16 January 2015). Retrieved on 9 November 2015.
  6. ^ BBC Sport – David Ginola: Ex-Spurs midfielder out of Fifa presidential race. Bbc.com (30 January 2015). Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
  7. ^ David Ginola out and Luis Figo in race to replace Sepp Blatter at Fifa | Football. The Guardian (30 January 2015). Retrieved on 9 November 2015.
  8. ^ a b http://web.archive.org/web/20080617232722/http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com:80/football/david-ginola.html. Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2008. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Football | Ginola revait de l’OM plutot que du PSG. Le10sport.com (30 October 2012). Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
  10. ^ David Ginola on Gazza pranking him and why he's still worth it.... YouTube (20 May 2010). Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
  11. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  12. ^ Brodkin, Jon (7 May 1999). "Ginola emulates Bergkamp with second player award | Football | guardian.co.uk". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  13. ^ Lacey, David (21 March 1999). "Spurs owe glory to the late Dane | Football". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  14. ^ "Article: Football: Tottenham on top; Gallic wizard Ginola the inspiration behind Graham's hardened Wembley troops.(Sports) – The Racing Post (London, England) | HighBeam Research – FREE trial". Highbeam.com. 20 March 1999. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  15. ^ Thomas, Russell (31 July 2000). "Ginola picks up Gregory gauntlet | Football". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  16. ^ CBC Sports (1 August 2000). "Aging Ginola joins Aston Villa". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  17. ^ "Ginola gets two-match ban". Telegraph. London. 24 January 2002. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  18. ^ "Article: [1] FOOTBALL: ONE DOWN, JUAN TO GO; Ginola joins Everton and Taylor battles to keep Angel.(Sport) – The Mirror (London, England) | HighBeam Research – FREE trial". Highbeam.com. 9 February 2002. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  19. ^ "Ginola leaves Goodison". BBC News. 15 May 2002. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  20. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20121026111245/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-97359087.html. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2008. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Stafford, Ian (9 December 1995). "Ginola fashions his dream of football". The Independent. London. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  22. ^ "France vs. Bulgaria 1 – 2". Soccerway. 16 November 1993. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  23. ^ "Ginola haunted by Houllier claims". BBC Sport. 22 August 2000.
  24. ^ "BBC SPORT | TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR | Uncertain welcome awaits Ginola". BBC News. 19 July 2000. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  25. ^ "David Ginola to sue Gérard Houllier over book remarks". BBC Sport. 15 November 2011.
  26. ^ "David Ginola loses lawsuit against former France coach Gérard Houllier". The Guardian. 4 April 2012.
  27. ^ Pierce, Bill (4 March 1999). "Football: Graham's challenge lifts Ginola". The Independent. London.
  28. ^ "Chambers Reference Online". Chambersreference.com. 26 May 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  29. ^ "International FIFA 13 Covers". http://www.fifauteam.com. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  30. ^ FIFA XI´s Matches – Full Info. Rsssf.com. Retrieved on 9 November 2015.
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