Emmanuel Petit Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Emmanuel Petit

Petit in 2005

Personal information

Full name

Emmanuel Laurent Petit

Date of birth

22 September 1970 (age 54)

Place of birth

Dieppe, France

Height

1.85 m

Playing position

Defensive midfielder

Youth career

1977–1985

Arques-la-Bataille

1985–1989

Monaco

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

1988–1997

Monaco

222

(4)

1997–2000

Arsenal

(9)

2000–2001

Barcelona

(1)

2001–2004

Chelsea

(2)

Total

385

(16)

National team

1990–2003

France

(6)

Honours


Men's football
Representing France
FIFA World Cup
Winner	1998 France
UEFA European Championship
Winner	2000 Belgium–Netherlands

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

Emmanuel Laurent Petit (born 22 September 1970) is a famous French former professional footballer. He played as a defensive midfielder for big clubs like Arsenal, Barcelona, Monaco, and Chelsea. He also played for the French national team in two FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships. He scored a memorable goal in France's 3–0 win in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final. He was also part of the French team that won UEFA Euro 2000.

Early Life and Start in Football
Playing for Clubs
Playing for France
How He Played
Personal Life
Career Statistics
- Club
- International
Honours and Awards
See also

Early Life and Start in Football

Emmanuel Petit was born in Dieppe, France. He grew up in a town called Arques-la-Bataille. He started his football journey at a small club there.

Playing for Clubs

Petit (center) playing in 2000

Petit began his professional career at Monaco when he was 18. This was under the famous manager Arsène Wenger. He quickly became a regular player. He often played as a left-sided or central midfielder. In 1991, he helped Monaco win the Coupe de France. He also played in the 1992 European Cup Winners' Cup final. In his last season at Monaco, 1996–97, he was the team's captain. They won the Ligue 1 title that year.

In June 1997, Petit joined Arsenal in England. He was reunited with Arsène Wenger there. Wenger changed Petit's position to a defensive midfielder. He played alongside another French star, Patrick Vieira. This French duo became a very strong midfield team. They helped Arsenal win "the double" in Petit's first season. This meant they won both the Premier League title and the FA Cup. Petit played 118 games for Arsenal and scored 11 goals. One of his best goals was a powerful shot against Derby County.

In 2000, Petit moved to Barcelona in Spain. He joined his Arsenal teammate Marc Overmars. At Barcelona, he played more in defense. He also had some injuries. He found it hard to settle in and play regularly. In his book, he shared that his coach at Barcelona did not even know his main playing position. He scored one goal for Barcelona in a 5–1 win against Rayo Vallecano.

After one season, Petit returned to England. He joined Chelsea in 2001. He played regularly for Chelsea at first. He played in the 2002 FA Cup Final, where Chelsea lost to his old club, Arsenal. In his second season at Chelsea, he played very well. He formed a strong midfield partnership with Frank Lampard. Chelsea played well and earned a spot in the UEFA Champions League. Petit scored two goals that season. One was against Everton and another against Arsenal. Later, he had several knee injuries. He spent much of his final season injured. He left Chelsea in 2004.

Petit retired from football on 20 January 2005. This was after he could not fully recover from his knee surgery.

Playing for France

Petit played 63 games for the French national team. He scored six goals for his country. He helped France win the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000.

In the 1998 World Cup, he scored two goals. The first was a powerful shot against Denmark. This goal won the match. The second goal was in the final against Brazil. He scored in the last minute of the game. This goal was very special. It was the 1,000th goal in the history of French football. It was also the last World Cup final goal of the 20th century. France won that final 3–0. Petit had also helped set up France's first goal with a corner kick. Petit was also part of the French team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. However, France did not do well in that tournament.

Petit stopped playing for the national team in September 2003.

How He Played

Emmanuel Petit usually played as a defensive midfielder. He was known for his great energy and hard work. He was strong and good at tackling. He was also good in the air and knew where to be on the field. He had an elegant style of play. He could pass the ball well and shoot powerfully with his left foot from far away. This meant he could stop attacks, control the game, create chances for his teammates, and even score goals.

Personal Life

Emmanuel Petit married French actress Agathe de La Fontaine in 2000. They had a child named Zoe. They later divorced in 2002. He now has another child, Violet, with Maria Servello. Petit often appears on French TV as a football expert.

Petit had a brother named Olivier. Olivier was an amateur footballer. In 1988, Olivier sadly passed away at the age of 17. This event deeply affected Emmanuel. He almost quit football because of it. He wore the number 17 shirt throughout his club career. This was to honor his brother, who was 17 when he died.

Petit also appeared as himself in a Christmas episode of a British police TV show called The Bill in 1998. Since 2011, he has been an ambassador for the Homeless World Cup. This is a football tournament for homeless people.

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Monaco	1988–89	Division 1	9	0	9	1	–		0	0	–		18	1
	1989–90	Division 1	28	0	1	0	–		7	0	–		36	0
	1990–91	Division 1	27	1	6	0	–		5	0	–		38	1
	1991–92	Division 1	28	0	4	0	–		7	0	–		39	0
	1992–93	Division 1	25	1	2	0	–		–		–		27	1
	1993–94	Division 1	28	0	2	0	–		10	0	–		40	0
	1994–95	Division 1	25	1	1	0	1	0	–		–		27	1
	1995–96	Division 1	23	1	3	0	0	0	1	0	–		27	1
	1996–97	Division 1	29	0	1	0	3	0	7	0	–		40	0
	Total		222	4	29	1	4	0	37	0	–		292	5
Arsenal	1997–98	Premier League	32	2	7	0	3	0	2	0	–		44	2
	1998–99	Premier League	26	4	3	2	0	0	3	0	1	0	33	6
	1999–2000	Premier League	27	3	3	0	0	0	10	0	1	0	41	3
	Total		85	9	13	2	3	0	15	0	2	0	118	11
Barcelona	2000–01	La Liga	23	1	5	0	–		10	0	–		38	1
Chelsea	2001–02	Premier League	27	1	6	0	2	0	3	0	–		38	1
	2002–03	Premier League	24	1	5	0	1	1	1	0	–		31	2
	2003–04	Premier League	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	–		7	0
	Total		55	2	12	0	3	1	6	0	–		76	3
Career total			385	16	59	3	10	1	68	0	2	0	524	20

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
France	1990	1	0
	1991	0	0
	1992	5	0
	1993	7	0
	1994	1	0
	1995	0	0
	1996	1	0
	1997	2	0
	1998	10	2
	1999	5	1
	2000	14	1
	2001	7	1
	2002	9	1
	2003	1	0
Total		63	6

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Petit goal.

List of international goals scored by Emmanuel Petit
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	24 June 1998	Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France	Denmark	2–1	2–1	1998 FIFA World Cup
2	12 July 1998	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Brazil	3–0	3–0	1998 FIFA World Cup
3	5 June 1999	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Russia	1–1	2–3	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
4	2 September 2000	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	England	1–0	1–1	Friendly
5	6 October 2001	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Algeria	2–0	4–1	Friendly
6	13 February 2002	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Romania	2–0	2–1	Friendly