Lilian Thuram facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Lilian Thuram

Thuram in 2013
Personal information
Date of birth	(1972-01-01) 1 January 1972 (age 53)
Place of birth	Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, France
Height	1.82 m
Playing position	Defender
Youth career
1981–1982	Portugais de Fontainebleau [fr]
1983–1984	Fontainebleau
1985–1987	Melun
1987–1988	Melun-Fontainebleau
1989–1990	Fontainebleau
1990–1991	Monaco
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1996	Monaco	155	(8)
1996–2001	Parma	163	(1)
2001–2006	Juventus	144	(1)
2006–2008	Barcelona	41	(0)
Total		503	(10)
National team
1994–2008	France	142	(2)
Honours Men's football Representing  France FIFA World Cup Winner 1998 Runner-up 2006 UEFA European Championship Winner 2000 FIFA Confederations Cup Winner 2003
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (born 1 January 1972) is a French author and former professional footballer. He played as a defender. Many people think he was one of the best defenders of his time. He was fast, strong, and could play in different defensive roles. He was good at both attacking and defending.

Thuram started his professional football journey with Monaco in France. He then played in Italy for Parma and Juventus. He finished his career with Barcelona in Spain. With the French national team, Thuram was a key player. He helped them win the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. He also helped them reach the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Thuram played 142 games for France between 1994 and 2008. This made him the player with the most appearances for France for a long time. Later, Hugo Lloris broke his record in 2022.

Off the field, Thuram is known for being thoughtful and caring. In 2010, he became an ambassador for UNICEF. He is also famous for his efforts to fight against racism. He started the Fondation Lilian Thuram, which teaches people about racism.

Early Life and Football Start

Lilian Thuram was born in Guadeloupe, which is a French island in the Caribbean. In 1981, when he was nine years old, his family moved to mainland France.

Club Career Highlights

Thuram's football career began with Monaco in France's top league, Ligue 1, in 1991. Later, he moved to Italy to play for Parma from 1996 to 2001. After that, he joined Juventus in 2001. Finally, he moved to Barcelona in Spain in 2006.

Playing for Monaco

Thuram started his professional career with Monaco in 1991. He played only one game in his first season. The next season, he became a regular player, appearing in 19 matches.

By the end of 1992, he was a regular starter. He played 155 league games for Monaco. In 1996, he moved to Parma. While at Monaco, he also played his first game for the French national team in 1994. He won the French Cup with Monaco in 1991. He also reached the final of the 1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup. He scored 11 goals during his time at Monaco.

Thuram scored his only UEFA Champions League goal for Monaco. It was in a 4–1 win against Spartak Moscow in the 1993–94 season.

Time at Parma

In July 1996, Thuram made a big move to Italy. He joined the Serie A club Parma. In his first season, he played over 40 games and scored one goal. Parma finished second in the league that year. He was a key defender for Parma during his time there. He played 163 league games and scored one goal. Overall, he played over 200 games for the club. This is where he really became famous and continued to play for France.

After a great season in 2000–01, Thuram moved to Juventus. His teammate, Gianluigi Buffon, also moved with him. The transfer cost a lot of money, about €41 million.

At Parma, Thuram won the UEFA Cup and the Italian Cup in the 1998–99 season. He also won the Italian Supercup right after.

Years with Juventus

In the summer of 2001, Thuram joined Juventus with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Thuram played alongside many great defenders at Juventus. In his first season, playing as a right-back, he won the 2001–02 Serie A title. Juventus also reached the final of the Italian Cup. The next season, Juventus won the Italian Supercup and defended their Serie A title. They also reached the UEFA Champions League final, but lost to Milan in a penalty shootout.

Juventus won the Italian Supercup again the following season. They reached another Italian Cup final. In the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons, Thuram formed a very strong defense with Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon. They won the league title two more times. However, these titles were later taken away because of a big football scandal in Italy called calciopoli. After five years and over 200 games with Juventus, Thuram moved to Barcelona in Spain.

Moving to Barcelona

Thuram with Barcelona in 2008

On 24 July 2006, Thuram signed with Barcelona for €5 million. This happened after Juventus was moved down to a lower league because of the calciopoli scandal.

In Thuram's last season (2007–08), he was not a regular starter. He was usually the third or fourth choice defender.

On 26 June 2008, it was reported that he would join Paris Saint-Germain. But the deal was canceled. Doctors found a heart problem that had caused his brother's death. On 2 August, he announced he was retiring from professional football because of his health condition.

International Career for France

Thuram (left) alongside Zinedine Zidane, playing for France in the 2006 FIFA World Cup final.

After winning the World Cup in 1998, Thuram was a key player for France. They won UEFA Euro 2000, and were ranked number one by FIFA. He also played in the 2002, 2006 World Cups, and several European Championships. He also won the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. In a Euro 2004 game, Thuram played his 100th game for France. He was only the third French player to reach this milestone.

1998 World Cup Victory

Thuram was part of the French team for the 1998 World Cup. He played a very important role throughout the tournament. In the semi-final against Croatia, he made a mistake that led to Croatia's first goal. But then, he scored two goals himself! These were his only goals for France. His two goals gave France a 2–1 win, sending them to the final. In the final, France beat Brazil 3–0 to win their first ever World Cup. Thuram was given the Bronze Ball as the third best player in the tournament. He, Bixente Lizarazu, Laurent Blanc, and Marcel Desailly formed a very strong defense. They only allowed two goals in seven matches.

2006 World Cup Final

After a short break from international football, France's coach convinced Thuram to return to the team on 17 August 2005. Other famous players like Zinedine Zidane also came back. This was because France was struggling to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Thuram's partnership with William Gallas in defense was very important. It helped France reach the final. Thuram played his 116th game for France in a group match against South Korea on 18 June 2006. He broke the record for most appearances for France in the next game, a 2–0 win against Togo. He played his 117th game then. He was named the best player in France's semi-final win against Portugal. This was the same award he received eight years earlier in the 1998 World Cup semi-finals.

Euro 2008 and Retirement

On 9 June 2008, Thuram played against Romania. He became the first player to play in 15 UEFA European Championship finals matches. He played one more game in the tournament, making his total 16 appearances. Thuram was the captain of France in this tournament. Along with Claude Makélélé, he announced his retirement from international football on 17 June 2008. This was after France lost 2–0 to Italy. He ended his career with the national team as France's most capped player, with 142 games. His record was broken by Hugo Lloris in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

How Lilian Thuram Played

Thuram's signed Barça shirt, on display at the World Museum in Liverpool, 2008

Thuram was a very strong, consistent, and athletic footballer. Experts thought he was one of the best defenders in the world. He was known for his strength, speed, and energy. He was also very smart about the game and good at tackling. This made him very hard to beat when playing against one opponent. As a full-back (a defender who plays on the side), he was also good at running forward to help with attacks. He was a big, powerful player who could play in different positions. He often switched between playing in the center of defense or on the right side. Sometimes, he even played in midfield. Even though he played tough, he was also known for being a fair player.

Personal Life and Family

Lilian Thuram has two sons with his first wife, Sandra: Marcus (born in 1997) and Khéphren (born in 2001). Both of his sons have also become international footballers for France in the 2020s. He named his sons after famous figures: Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican activist, and Khephren, an Egyptian pharaoh. Thuram's cousin, Yohann Thuram-Ulien, is also a football player for Amiens.

From 2007 to 2013, Thuram was in a relationship with Karine Le Marchand, a French TV host. In August 2022, he married journalist Kareen Guiock, whom he met in 2015. They got married at the Palace of Fontainebleau.

Media Appearances

Thuram was sponsored by the sports company Nike. He appeared in their commercials. In a big Nike ad campaign before the 2002 World Cup, he was in a commercial called "Secret Tournament." He appeared with other famous football players like Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho.

Fighting for What's Right

Thuram on a 2013 march through Paris by supporters of same-sex marriage in France.

Beyond football, Thuram has always cared about important social issues. He often speaks out against racism. For example, during the French riots in November 2005, Thuram spoke against the words used by Nicolas Sarkozy, who was a government minister at the time. Thuram disagreed with calling young people "scum." He said that Sarkozy had never lived in a "banlieue" (a low-income area outside French cities).

On 6 September 2006, Thuram invited 80 people to a football match between France and Italy. These people had been forced out of their homes by the government. He also supported campaigns for the Catalan language in France.

In November 2011, Thuram helped create an exhibition called "Human Zoos: The Invention of the Savage." This exhibition showed how people from other countries were put on display in zoos and shows. It covered a long history, from 1550 to 1958, to teach about how people were treated unfairly.

In January 2013, Thuram joined a march in Paris. This march supported the French government's plan to make same-sex marriage legal. He said he supported it because everyone should have equal rights. He compared denying rights to homosexual people to denying rights to women or black people in the past. He also supported the right for same-sex couples to adopt children.

Career Statistics

Club

International

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

List of international goals scored by Lilian Thuram

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 July 1998	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Croatia	1–1	2–1	1998 FIFA World Cup
2				2–1

Honours and Awards

Parma

• Coppa Italia: 1998–99
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1999
• UEFA Cup: 1998–99

Juventus

• Serie A: 2001–02, 2002–03
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2002

Barcelona

• Supercopa de España: 2006

France

• FIFA World Cup: 1998, runner-up: 2006
• UEFA European Championship: 2000
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2003

Individual Awards

• Onze de Onze: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006
• French Player of the Year: 1997
• Guerin d'Oro: 1997
• FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball: 1998
• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1998, 2006
• ESM Team of the Year: 1998–99, 2002–03
• UEFA European Championship Teams of the Tournament: 2000
• FIFA 100: 2004
• FIFPro World XI: 2006
• Trophée d'honneur UNFP: 2009
• Équipe type spéciale 20 ans des trophées UNFP: 2011

Orders

• Knight of the Legion of Honour: 1998
• Officer of the Legion of Honour: 2013

See also

In Spanish: Lilian Thuram para niños

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps