Mikaël Silvestre facts for kids
Silvestre in 2015
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 9 August 1977 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Chambray-lès-Tours, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Defender | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Rennes | 55 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Inter Milan | 18 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2008 | Manchester United | 249 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Arsenal | 26 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Werder Bremen | 27 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Portland Timbers | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Chennaiyin | 14 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 391 | (12) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997 | France U20 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2006 | France | 40 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Mikaël Samy Silvestre (born August 9, 1977) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a defender. He is best known for playing nine years at Manchester United. With this team, he won many important titles. These included the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.
Silvestre started his career at Rennes in 1996. He then moved to the Italian club Inter Milan in 1998. In 1999, he joined Manchester United. There, he won multiple Premier League titles. He also won the UEFA Champions League in his last season with the club in 2008. After Manchester United, he played for Arsenal. Two years later, he moved to the German team Werder Bremen. He spent two more years in Germany. Then, he went to the United States to play for Portland Timbers. In 2014, he signed with Indian Super League team Chennaiyin. He retired from playing at the end of that season.
Silvestre also played for the France national team. He played 40 games for France between 2001 and 2006. He was part of the French team that won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003. Silvestre also played for his country in UEFA Euro 2004. He was part of the French team in two FIFA World Cups, in 2002 and 2006. In 2006, his team finished as runners-up.
Contents
Early Life and Start in Football
Silvestre was born in Chambray-lès-Tours, France. He began playing football at the Rennes Football Academy. He started his professional career with Rennes in the 1995–96 season. His good play there helped him gain a strong reputation. In the 1997–98 season, he was signed by Inter Milan in Italy. He played 31 games for Inter in different competitions.
Playing for Manchester United
Silvestre joined Manchester United in 1999. He made his first appearance for them against Liverpool. In his first season, he played as a central defender. By the 2001–02 season, he became a regular player. He often played as a left-back. He was good at defending and also at helping the team attack.
Later, he moved to his preferred position, central defence. He formed a strong partnership with other defenders. He was known for being calm and fast. He also made good passes that helped create goals. In the 2003–04 season, he played with Rio Ferdinand. However, Ferdinand was banned for a time. This made the team's defence less strong.
In 2006, Manchester United signed new defenders. This made it harder for Silvestre to get a starting spot. But he decided to stay and fight for his place. In August 2006, he signed a new contract. The manager, Alex Ferguson, said Silvestre was an important player. He also said Silvestre's experience would help younger players.
In the 2006–07 season, he scored his first away goal for United. However, he suffered a broken bone in his foot. After recovering, he dislocated his shoulder. This meant he could not play for the rest of the season. Still, he won his fourth Premier League medal that season. Manchester United won the league for the first time since 2003.
In the 2007–08 season, Silvestre suffered a serious knee injury. This kept him out for most of the season. He made his comeback in March 2008. He played his first full game in April 2008 in a Champions League match.
Moving to Arsenal
In August 2008, Silvestre moved to Arsenal. He signed a two-year contract. This move was special because players rarely transfer directly between Manchester United and Arsenal. He was given the number 18 shirt.
Silvestre played his first game for Arsenal in October 2008. It was his 250th game in English football. He scored an own goal in his first Champions League game for Arsenal. But Arsenal still won the match. His first league goal for Arsenal was against Tottenham Hotspur. He also played against his old team, Manchester United.
Playing in Germany and USA
After the 2009–10 season, Arsenal released Silvestre. He became a free agent, meaning he could join any club. He chose to sign with Werder Bremen in Germany. He scored his first goal for Bremen in a 2–0 win. He played 26 league games that season. He was released by Bremen in 2012.
In 2013, Silvestre went to the United States. He joined MLS team Portland Timbers. He signed a two-year deal with them. In May 2013, he suffered a serious knee injury. This meant he missed the rest of the season. He had surgery to fix the injury. Even with his injury, he stayed involved with the team. Portland released him in January 2014.
Final Club: Chennaiyin
In September 2014, Silvestre joined Indian Super League team Chennaiyin. He signed a four-month contract. He started in their first match, which they won. After playing 14 games for Chennaiyin, Silvestre announced his retirement. He said he would explore coaching options.
International Career for France
Silvestre played for the French junior team in 1997. He played his first game for the senior France team in February 2001. He helped France win the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003.
Silvestre also played one game in the French team that reached the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After this tournament, he did not play for the national team again for a while. He was called up again in 2008 but did not play. He was considered for the 2010 World Cup but did not make the team.
Playing Style
Silvestre was a very flexible defender. He could play as a left-back or as a central defender. He was known for his speed and how long he could play without getting tired. He was also good at passing the ball and was comfortable with the ball at his feet.
After Retirement from Playing
After he stopped playing football, Silvestre became a director of football. He worked for his former club Rennes starting in July 2015. He left this role in December 2016. In 2021, he started an agency called Talent Lyfe. This agency helps athletes and young talents in sports.
Personal Life
Mikaël Silvestre's father, Franck, is from Guadeloupe.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rennes | 1995–96 | French Division 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1996–97 | French Division 1 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 1997–98 | French Division 1 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 | |
| Total | 49 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 0 | ||
| Inter Milan | 1998–99 | Serie A | 18 | 1 | 7 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | |
| Manchester United | 1999–2000 | Premier League | 31 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 1 | |
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 1 | |
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 1 | |
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 34 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 46 | 3 | |
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 35 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 2 | |
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 33 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 1 | |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 249 | 6 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 69 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 361 | 10 | ||
| Arsenal | 2008–09 | Premier League | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| Total | 26 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 3 | ||
| Werder Bremen | 2010–11 | Bundesliga | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | – | 30 | 1 | ||
| 2011–12 | Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | – | 31 | 1 | ||||
| Portland Timbers | 2013 | Major League Soccer | 8 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Chennaiyin | 2014 | Indian Super League | 14 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 14 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 391 | 12 | 36 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 87 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 542 | 15 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2001 | 9 | 1 |
| 2002 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Silvestre goal
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 April 2001 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France |  Portugal |
2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 21 August 2002 | Stade du 7 Novembre, Gafsa, Tunisia |  Tunisia |
1–0 | 1–1 |
Honours
Manchester United
- Premier League: 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07
- FA Cup: 2003–04
- Football League Cup: 2005–06
- FA Community Shield: 2003, 2007
- UEFA Champions League: 2007–08
- Intercontinental Cup: 1999
France
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 2001, 2003
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2006
See also
In Spanish: Mikaël Silvestre para niños
