Matt Le Tissier facts for kids
Le Tissier in 2022
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Paul Le Tissier | ||
| Date of birth | 14 October 1968 | ||
| Place of birth | Saint Peter Port, Guernsey | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1975–1984 | Vale Recreation | ||
| 1985–1986 | Southampton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–2002 | Southampton | 443 | (161) |
| 2002–2003 | Eastleigh | ||
| 2013 | Guernsey | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 444 | (161) | |
| International career | |||
| Guernsey U15 | |||
| 1986 | England Youth | 1 | (0) |
| 1990–1998 | England B | 6 | (3) |
| 1994–1997 | England | 8 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Matthew Paul Le Tissier (born 14 October 1968) is a former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Le Tissier is famous for playing his entire professional career for one club, Southampton. His loyalty and amazing skill earned him the nickname "Le God" from the fans.
Le Tissier was a creative player with fantastic technical skills. He is the second-highest goal scorer in Southampton's history. In 1990, he was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year. He was also the first midfielder to score 100 goals in the Premier League. He is famous for his incredible record of scoring penalty kicks, scoring 47 out of 48 times.
After he stopped playing, Le Tissier became a football expert on TV. He worked on the Sky Sports show Soccer Saturday until 2020. He has also shared his opinions on social media about events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused some controversy.
Contents
Club Career
Starting Out in Football
Le Tissier was born in Guernsey, an island near the coast of France. He played for a local youth team called Vale Recreation from age seven to sixteen. When he was fifteen, he had a tryout with the English club Oxford United, but he was not signed.
A Legend at Southampton
In 1985, Le Tissier joined Southampton as a youth player and signed as a professional in 1986. He made his first-team debut in a 4–3 loss to Norwich City. By the end of the season, he had scored six goals in 24 games, including three in one match (a hat-trick) against Leicester City.
In the 1989–90 season, he was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year. He scored 20 league goals, helping Southampton finish seventh in the First Division, their best result in five years.
Goal-Scoring Hero
Le Tissier was known for scoring spectacular goals. In the 1993–94 season, he scored an amazing 25 league goals. The next season, he won the Match of the Day Goal of the Season award for a 40-yard chip shot against Blackburn Rovers.
He regularly scored more than ten goals a season. His goals were very important in helping Southampton stay in the Premier League, as they were often close to being relegated (sent to a lower league).
Loyalty to His Club
Many bigger clubs, like Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United, wanted to sign Le Tissier. In 1995, Chelsea reportedly offered £10 million for him, which would have made him the most expensive player in England. However, Le Tissier chose to stay with Southampton for his whole career.
Milestones and Farewell
On 2 April 2000, Le Tissier scored his 100th Premier League goal with a penalty kick. He was the first midfielder ever to reach this milestone.
On 19 May 2001, he scored the very last goal at Southampton's old stadium, The Dell, in a match against Arsenal. This was also his last goal for the club. He retired from professional football in 2002.
The Penalty King
Le Tissier had an amazing record with penalty kicks. He took 48 penalties for Southampton and scored 47 of them. The only time he missed was on 24 March 1993, against Nottingham Forest. The goalkeeper, Mark Crossley, saved it and later said it was the save he was most proud of in his career.
Later Career
After leaving Southampton, Le Tissier played for two seasons with the non-league team Eastleigh.
In 2013, ten years after he had stopped playing, he came out of retirement for one game. He played for his hometown club, Guernsey, to help them when they had many games to play in a short time.
International Career
Le Tissier chose to play for the England. He earned eight caps (appearances) for his country between 1994 and 1997. Because his home of Guernsey does not have a FIFA national team, he was allowed to play for England.
His first match was a friendly against the Republic of Ireland in 1995. The game had to be abandoned because of trouble in the crowd.
Before the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Le Tissier scored a hat-trick for the England B team against Russia B. Despite this great performance, the manager Glenn Hoddle did not pick him for the final World Cup squad. He never played for England again.
Style of Play
Le Tissier was a creative and skillful attacking midfielder. He was known for his powerful and accurate shooting, his intelligence on the field, and his ability to create scoring chances for his teammates.
Although he wasn't known for being fast or for his work-rate, he had excellent ball control, balance, and dribbling skills. He often used tricks to beat defenders. Famous Spanish player and manager Xavi Hernandez has said that Le Tissier was one of his childhood heroes.
Life After Football
Le Tissier is still honored in Southampton. At the site of the old stadium, The Dell, one of the apartment buildings is named Le Tissier Court. In Southampton's current stadium, St Mary's Stadium, a special suite is named after him. In 2011, he became the Honorary President of Guernsey F.C.
He worked for many years as a TV expert on the show Soccer Saturday. In 2019 and 2020, he appeared on the ITV show Harry's Heroes, where former England players got back in shape for a match.
In 2020, Le Tissier was let go from his job at Sky Sports. He said he was asked to wear a Black Lives Matter badge and believes that his refusal to wear it after the first time was a reason for his dismissal.
After retiring, he has used social media to share his views on world events. His posts about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine have been met with criticism. This led to him stepping down from his role as a Club Ambassador at Southampton in April 2022.
Personal Life
Le Tissier has three children. He married his current wife, Angela Nabulsi, in 2008. His three brothers, Mark, Kevin, and Carl, also played football, but not professionally. Mark is the secretary of Guernsey F.C.
He is not related to Maya Le Tissier, another footballer from Guernsey, although her father used to play football with him.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Full Members Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Southampton | 1986–87 | First Division | 24 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 10 |
| 1987–88 | First Division | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 2 | |
| 1988–89 | First Division | 28 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 11 | |
| 1989–90 | First Division | 35 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 | – | 44 | 24 | ||
| 1990–91 | First Division | 35 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 23 | |
| 1991–92 | First Division | 32 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 51 | 15 | |
| 1992–93 | Premier League | 40 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | – | 44 | 18 | ||
| 1993–94 | Premier League | 38 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 40 | 25 | ||
| 1994–95 | Premier League | 41 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | – | 49 | 30 | ||
| 1995–96 | Premier League | 34 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | – | 43 | 10 | ||
| 1996–97 | Premier League | 31 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | – | 38 | 16 | ||
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 26 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | – | 30 | 14 | ||
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 30 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 33 | 6 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 21 | 3 | ||
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 10 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | ||
| Total | 443 | 161 | 33 | 12 | 52 | 27 | 12 | 9 | 540 | 209 | ||
| Eastleigh | 2002–03 | Wessex Premier Div. | – | – | ||||||||
| 2003–04 | Southern Lge. Eastern Div. | – | – | |||||||||
| Guernsey | 2012–13 | C. Counties Premier Div. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 444 | 161 | 33 | 12 | 52 | 27 | 12 | 9 | 541 | 209 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1994 | 5 | 0 |
| 1995 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 8 | 0 | |
Honours
Southampton
- Full Members' Cup runner-up: 1991–92
Eastleigh
- Wessex Football League: 2002–03
Individual
- PFA Young Player of the Year: 1989–90
- Southampton Player of the Season: 1989–90, 1993–94, 1994–95
- Most assists in the Premier League: 1994–95
- PFA Team of the Year: 1994–95 Premier League
- BBC Goal of the Season: 1994–95
- English Football Hall of Fame: 2013
- One Club Man Award: 2015
See also
In Spanish: Matthew Le Tissier para niños
