|
|
|
Franck Ribery
About Franck
Ribery
Franck “Bilal” Ribery is a French midfielder. He was
born on April 1st, 1983 in Boulogne-sur-Mer. He started his professional
career in 2004 with the French club FC Metz. Runner-up of the 2006 FIFA
World Cup with national team, he is known for his acceleration and became
in only 1 year the successor of Zidane. After 2 amazing seasons playing
for Marseilles, he was transferred to Bayern
Munich in 2007 for a €26 million fee.
Ribery's
Background
Franck Bilal Ribery was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer,
France on April 1st, 1983. He started playing football when he was 6 years
old in the local club FC Conti. At 12 years old, he joined Lille OSC
training centre and was evicted from it 4 years later for not paying
attention during classes. In 2001, he joined US Boulogne and moved to
Olympique Ales the next season, both clubs playing in national league
(amateur league). He played his first professional match in 2003 with
Stade Brestois, a Ligue 2 club. A few months later, he was spotted by
coach Jean Fernandez and was transferred to FC Metz, his first Ligue 1
team, without any fees. Six months later, he suddenly moved to Turkey and
signed a 3 years contract with Galatasaray
S.K. in January 2005. However, in June 2005, he moved back to
France and signed a new contract with Marseilles, one of the best team in
Le Championnat. On June 7th 2007, he signed a 4 years contract with Bayern
Munich for a €26 Million fee.
Club Football
FC Metz (2004-2005)
When Ribery was spotted by coach Jean Fernandez, he signed his first
professional contract with Ligue 1 club
FC Metz. In August 2004, one month only after his professional debut,
he was named Player of the Month. Playing on the right wing, his
accelerations made him famous and people were comparing him to another
French midfielder, Robert Pires, who was playing for Arsenal at that time.
In January 2005, he signed a four year contract with the Turkish club
Galatasaray S.K. In 6 months only with Metz, he scored 2 goals in 21
appearances.
Galatasaray S.K. (2005)
Ribery spent only 5 months in Turkey and got his nickname “Ferrarribery”
because of his amazing accelerations. He helped his team wining the 2005
Turkish Cup by scoring the wining goal in the semi-finals and scoring a
goal and assisting another one in the final. However, he decided to leave
because the club was not paying him. He started in 17 games and scored 2
goals in all competitions. He moved back to France in July 2005 and signed
a new contract with Olympique de Marseilles, one of the best teams in
France.
Olympique de Marseilles (2005-2007)
The 2 years he spent with the French club were very successful for Ribery.
He imposed himself as a playmaker in the first few games, and let his team
to win the 2005 Intertoto Cup. In 2006, he was named French Young Player
of the Year and scored one of the fastest goal of the season against
Nantes, 13 seconds after the beginning of the game! Runner-up of the 2006
Coupe de France and the 2007 Coupe de France, he also finished at the 2nd
place with his team in
Le Championnat behind Lyon. During those 2 years, he started in 68
games and scored 14 goals, in all competitions. On June 7th, 2007, he
signed a four year contract with Bayern Munich for a €26Million fee,
establishing a new club record fee for
Marseilles.
Bayern Munich (2007-present)
On July 6th, 2007, Bayern Munich
was playing a friendly game against FT Gern : Ribery made his first
appearance with his new team and scored 2 goals (the game ended 18-0 for
Bayern Munich!!!).On July 21st, 2007, he played his first official game in
Germany against Werder Bremen in the first round of the German League Cup
and scored 2 goals. In the semi-finals, he netted a penalty and led his
team to the final. However, after a minor injury, he was enable to play
the final, which was won by Bayern Munich 1-0 over Schalke 04. Thanks to
him and the perfect cooperation with his new team-mates Luca Toni and
Miroslav Klose, Bayern Munich is actually leading the German Championship.
International
Football
France
Ribery started his international career with the Under-21
French National Team in 2004. Two
years later, on May 27th, 2006, he earned his first cap with the senior
team in a friendly game against Mexico.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he started in almost all
the matches. He scored his first international goal against Spain and led
France to the quarter-finals. He finished runner-up, losing against Italy
in final. Since Zidane retired, he has been the new playmaker of France.
He scored 2 goals in 24 selections.
Personal Info
When he was 2 years old, Ribery and his parents got into a serious car
accident and young Franck was thrown through the windshield of a car in
Boulogne-sur-Mer, where he was born. This left significant scars on his
face - that’s why one of his nicknames is “Scarface”. Unfortunately, some
have called Ribery one of the least handsome players in football due to
his facial features and teeth.
Wife / Girlfriend
Ribery is married to Wahiba and has converted to Islam before his
wedding. Wahiba is from Algerian descent (originally from Nedroma, Tlemcen).
Ribéry has adopted the Arabic name Bilal. They have been married for 8
years and have 2 daughters, Hizya, who was born on July 18, 2005, and
Shahinez, who was born on January 9th, 2008.
|
|