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Matt Le Tissier
Matt Le Tissier 2022.png
Le Tissier in 2022
Personal information
Full name Matthew Paul Le Tissier
Date of birth (1968-10-14) 14 October 1968 (age 56)
Place of birth Saint Peter Port, Guernsey
Height 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m)
Playing position 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 17 (3)
2013 Guernsey 1 (0)
Total 461 (164)
National team
Guernsey U15
1986 England Youth 1 (0)
1990–1998 England B 6 (3)
1994–1997 England 8 (0)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Matthew Paul Le Tissier (born 14 October 1968) is a famous former professional footballer. He played as an midfielder. Le Tissier spent his whole professional club career with Southampton. Fans loved him for his loyalty and called him "Le God."

He was a creative attacking midfielder with amazing skills. Le Tissier is the second-highest scorer for Southampton. He was named PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was also the first midfielder to score 100 goals in the Premier League. Le Tissier was very good at scoring penalty kicks. He scored 47 out of 48 attempts. Many people think he is one of the best penalty takers ever. He was born in Guernsey but chose to play for England. He played eight games for England between 1994 and 1997. In 2011, he became the honorary president of Guernsey F.C.. He even played a game for them in 2013 after retiring.

After he stopped playing, Le Tissier became a football expert. He worked on the Sky Sports show Soccer Saturday until 2020. Later, some of his social media posts caused controversy. This led to him stepping down from a role as a club ambassador.

Matt Le Tissier: Football Star

Early Life and Youth Football

Matt Le Tissier was born in Guernsey. This is a British island. He played youth football for Vale Recreation. He played there from age seven to sixteen. When he was fifteen, he had a try-out with Oxford United. But he did not join the team.

Becoming a Southampton Legend

Le Tissier joined Southampton in 1985. He signed his first professional contract in October 1986. He played his first game for the club against Norwich City. By the end of that season, he had scored six goals in 24 league games. This included three goals in one game against Leicester City. He scored his first two goals for Southampton in a League Cup game. This was against Manchester United in November 1986. Southampton won that game 4–1.

In the 1989–90 season, Le Tissier was voted PFA Young Player of the Year. He was one of the top goalscorers in the league. He scored 20 goals that season. Southampton finished seventh, which was their best finish in five years.

His best scoring season was in 1993–94. He scored 25 league goals. The next season, he won the Match of the Day Goal of the Season award. This was for an amazing 40-yard chip shot against Blackburn Rovers. He scored against his friend and former Southampton goalkeeper, Tim Flowers.

Le Tissier scored many goals each season in the 1990s. He helped Southampton stay in the top league. Many big clubs wanted to sign him. These included Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United. But he always stayed with Southampton. In 1995, Chelsea reportedly offered £10 million for him. This would have made him the most expensive player in England. But he chose to stay loyal to Southampton until he retired.

On 2 April 2000, Le Tissier scored a last-minute penalty for Southampton. This brought his total Premier League goals to 100. He was only the sixth player and the first midfielder to reach this goal.

Le Tissier scored the last goal at The Dell. This was Southampton's old stadium. It happened on 19 May 2001 against Arsenal. This was his last goal for Southampton. He played a few more games in the 2001–02 season. This was the first season at the new St Mary's Stadium. His last game for Southampton was on 30 January 2002. He announced his retirement on 29 March 2002. He had a calf injury that kept coming back.

Le Tissier's final match was a special game for him in May 2002. It ended in a 9–9 draw. He played for both teams. His ten-year-old son, Mitchell, also played and scored four goals!

Throughout his career, Le Tissier was known for his amazing penalty kicks. He scored 47 out of 48 penalties for Southampton. His only miss was on 24 March 1993. The Nottingham Forest goalkeeper, Mark Crossley, saved it. Crossley says it is the save he is most proud of.

Playing for Other Clubs

After leaving Southampton, Le Tissier played for Eastleigh. This was a non-league team. He played there for two seasons. He made his debut in October 2002. His last game for Eastleigh was in August 2003.

On 7 April 2013, Le Tissier announced he would play again. He signed with his hometown club Guernsey. He made his only appearance for the club on 24 April. He came on as a substitute in a 4–2 loss to Colliers Wood United.

Playing for England

Le Tissier played for Guernsey's under-15 team. He played in the 1983 Muratti Vase final.

He chose to play for England. He earned eight caps over three years. Guernsey does not have its own FIFA national team. This meant Le Tissier could play for England. He started a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland in 1995. The game was stopped because of trouble from some England fans.

Before the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Le Tissier scored three goals in one game. This was for England B against Russia B. But the manager, Glenn Hoddle, did not pick him for the World Cup squad. He never played for England again after that.

Le Tissier's Playing Style

Le Tissier was a very creative and skilled attacking midfielder. He was great at shooting and getting into good positions to score. He also had good vision and could create chances for his teammates. He could play as a supporting striker or on the right wing. He was known for his excellent control, technique, and dribbling skills. He used tricks and feints to get past opponents. He was also incredibly accurate with penalties.

FC Barcelona player and manager, Xavi Hernandez, looked up to Le Tissier when he was young.

Life After Football

On the old site of The Dell, Southampton's former stadium, there are apartment blocks named after players. One is called Le Tissier Court. At Southampton's current stadium, St Mary's Stadium, a special room is named after him.

In 2007, a plane from Flybe was named after him in Guernsey.

In September 2009, Le Tissier wrote in his autobiography. He said he once made a spread bet on a match he was playing in. He bet on when the first throw-in would happen. He tried to kick the ball out of play early to win the bet. But he didn't kick it hard enough. The ball eventually went out after 70 seconds. This meant he didn't win or lose money. The police looked into it, but no action was taken.

Le Tissier played a short game for Southampton in a special match in 2008. This was for his former teammate Claus Lundekvam.

Matthew Le Tissier
Le Tissier in 2010

In 2011, Le Tissier became the Honorary President of Guernsey F.C..

In 2016, Le Tissier and former teammate Francis Benali started a business. They became football agents. They wanted to help young players with their careers. Le Tissier was a long-time expert on the Sky Sports show Soccer Saturday. He left the show in August 2020.

In 2019 and 2020, Le Tissier was on the ITV show Harry's Heroes. This show helped former England players get fit again.

Le Tissier has shared his opinions on social media. Some of his posts caused controversy. For example, he was investigated in 2024 for promoting products online. This was because his posts were not clearly marked as advertisements.

In June 2024, Le Tissier joined Sholing, a non-league club, as an associate director.

Personal Life

Le Tissier married his childhood sweetheart, Cathy. They had two children. They divorced in 1997. Cathy and the children moved back to Guernsey. Later, he married Angela Nabulsi in 2008. They have one daughter. All three of Le Tissier's brothers also played football. But they did not play professionally. His brother Mark is the secretary of Guernsey F.C..

Matt Le Tissier is not related to another footballer from Guernsey, Maya Le Tissier. However, her father did play football with him.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Full Members Cup Total
Division Games Goals Games Goals Games Goals Games Goals Games 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 Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Games Goals
England 1994 5 0
1995 1 0
1996 1 0
1997 1 0
Total 8 0

Awards and Achievements

Southampton

  • Full Members' Cup runner-up: 1991–92

Eastleigh

  • Wessex Football League: 2002–03

Individual Awards

  • 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

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