Lilian Thuram facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Lilian Thuram

Thuram in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien
Date of birth	(1972-01-01) 1 January 1972 (age 53)
Place of birth	Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, France
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Centre back, right-back
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)
International career
1994–2008	France	142	(2)
Medal record Men's football Representing  France FIFA World Cup Winner 1998 Runner-up 2006 UEFA European Championship Winner 2000 FIFA Confederations Cup Winner 2003
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (born on January 1, 1972) is a French author, helper of good causes, and a former professional football player. 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 positions, like centre-back or right-back. He was good at both attacking and defending.

Lilian Thuram started his professional football journey in France with Monaco. He played in top leagues in France, Italy, and Spain for over 15 years. He had important times playing for Parma and Juventus in Italy, and he finished his career with Barcelona in Spain.

With the French national team, Thuram was a key player when they won the 1998 FIFA World Cup. His team also won UEFA Euro 2000. He helped them reach the finals of the 2006 World Cup as well. Thuram was the player with the most "caps" (games played) for the French national team, with 142 appearances between 1994 and 2008. This record was later broken by Hugo Lloris in 2022.

Off the field, Thuram is known for being thoughtful and dedicated. In 2010, he became an ambassador for UNICEF, which helps children around the world. He is also well-known for his efforts to fight against racism.

Early Life and Background

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

Club Football Career

Thuram's football career started with Monaco in France's top league, Ligue 1, in 1991. He later moved to Italy to play for Parma (1996–2001) and then Juventus (2001–2006). He finished his career with Barcelona in Spain, joining them in 2006.

Playing for Monaco

Thuram began his professional career with Monaco in 1991. He played only one game that season. The next season, he officially joined the main team and played 19 games.

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

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

Playing for Parma

In July 1996, Thuram made a big move to Italy to join 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, behind Juventus. He kept his starting spot in defense throughout his time with Parma. He played 163 league games and scored one league goal. In total, he played over 200 games for the club and became very well known. He also continued to play for France.

After a great season in 2000–01, where Parma reached the Italian Cup final and finished fourth in the league, Thuram moved to Juventus. His teammate, Gianluigi Buffon, also moved with him.

While at Parma, Thuram won the UEFA Cup and the Italian Cup in the 1998–99 season. Right after that, he also won the Italian Supercup.

Playing for Juventus

In the summer of 2001, Thuram joined Juventus with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Thuram played alongside many great defenders at Juventus, like Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta. In his first season, playing as a right-back, Thuram won the Italian league title. Juventus also reached the final of the Italian Cup.

The next season, Juventus won the Italian Supercup and won the league title again. 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, along with Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon, formed one of the strongest defenses in Europe. During these two seasons, Thuram won two more league titles with Juventus. However, these titles were later taken away because of a big football scandal in Italy called calciopoli. After five years with Juventus, Thuram moved to Barcelona in Spain. He played over 200 games for Juventus and scored two goals.

Playing for Barcelona

Thuram with Barcelona in 2008

On July 24, 2006, Thuram signed with Barcelona. 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 one of the main centre-backs for Barcelona. On August 2, 2008, he announced he was retiring from professional football. This was because doctors found a heart problem that had caused his brother's death.

International Career for France

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

After becoming a world champion in 1998, Thuram was a very important part of France's win at UEFA Euro 2000. This made the team ranked number one in the world by FIFA from 2001 to 2002. He also played in the 2002 World Cup, 2006 World Cup, Euro 1996, Euro 2004, and Euro 2008. He also won the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. In France's 2–1 win against England at Euro 2004, Thuram became the third French player to reach 100 international games.

1998 World Cup Victory

Thuram was chosen for the French team for the 1998 World Cup. He played a very important role throughout the tournament. A special moment was in the semi-final against Croatia. After Croatia scored first, Thuram scored two goals, which were his only two goals for the national team. These goals gave France a 2–1 win and sent 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 award as the third best player in the tournament. He, Bixente Lizarazu, Laurent Blanc, and Marcel Desailly formed a strong defense that only let in two goals in seven matches.

2006 World Cup Finalists

After a short break from international football, France's coach convinced Thuram to come back to the team in August 2005. Other famous players like Zinedine Zidane also returned. This happened because France was struggling to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. Thuram's partnership with William Gallas in central defense was key to France reaching the final. Thuram played his 116th game for France in a group match against South Korea in June 2006. He broke the record for most games played for France in the next match, a 2–0 win against Togo, playing his 117th game. He was named the best player in France's semi-final 1–0 win against Portugal.

Euro 2008 and Retirement

In June 2008, Thuram played against Romania in a group match. He became the first player to play in 15 UEFA European Championship final tournaments. He played one more game in the tournament, bringing his total to 16 appearances. Thuram was the captain of France in this tournament. Along with Claude Makélélé, he announced his retirement from international football in June 2008, after France lost to Italy. He ended his career as France's most capped player with 142 games. His record was broken by Hugo Lloris in 2022.

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 football player. Experts thought he was one of the best defenders in the world when he was at his peak. As a defender, he was known for his strength, speed, and energy. He was also very smart about the game, good at reading plays, marking opponents closely, and tackling strongly. This made him very hard to beat in one-on-one situations. He was also good at heading the ball.

When he played as a full-back, he was known for running forward to help the attack after winning the ball. He was a big, powerful, and flexible player who was good at both attacking and defending. He could play on either side of the field or in the middle. He often switched between playing as a centre-back or a right-back. Sometimes, he even played in midfield. Even though he played with a lot of physical power, 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 football players for France in the 2020s. He named his sons after the Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey and the Egyptian pharaoh Khephren. Thuram's cousin is also a footballer, Yohann Thuram-Ulien.

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. They met in 2015 and got married at the Palace of Fontainebleau.

Media Appearances

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

Working for Good Causes

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

Beyond his football career, Lilian Thuram has always been involved in important social issues. He has often spoken out against racism. For example, during some events in France in November 2005, Thuram spoke up against certain comments made by a politician, saying that everyone should be treated with respect.

In November 2011, Thuram helped create an exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly called "Human Zoos: The Invention of the Savage." This exhibition showed the history of how people from different cultures were sometimes put on display in zoos or shows. It aimed to educate people about this past and fight against prejudice.

In January 2013, Thuram joined a march in Paris to support a plan to make same-sex marriage legal in France. He explained that he supported same-sex marriage because he believes in equal rights for everyone. He compared denying equal rights to homosexual people to how women and black people were denied equal rights in the past. He also supported the right for same-sex couples to adopt children. He started the Fondation Lilian Thuram, which works to teach people about racism.

Career Statistics

Club Games

International Games

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

Awards and Trophies

Monaco

• Coupe de France: 1990–91

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 National Team

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

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 (a list of the greatest living footballers chosen by Pelé)
• FIFPro World XI: 2006
• Trophée d'honneur UNFP: 2009
• Équipe type spéciale 20 ans des trophées UNFP: 2011

Honors and 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