Sébastien Squillaci facts for kids
Squillaci playing for Arsenal in 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sébastien Jean-Baptiste Squillaci | ||
| Date of birth | 11 August 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Toulon, France | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1996 | Seynois | ||
| 1996–1997 | Toulon | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–1998 | Toulon | 5 | (0) |
| 1998–2006 | Monaco | 117 | (11) |
| 1998–2000 | → Monaco B (loan) | 48 | (1) |
| 2000–2002 | → Ajaccio (loan) | 69 | (7) |
| 2006–2008 | Lyon | 62 | (3) |
| 2008–2010 | Sevilla | 49 | (1) |
| 2010–2013 | Arsenal | 23 | (1) |
| 2013–2017 | Bastia | 97 | (5) |
| Total | 470 | (29) | |
| International career | |||
| 2004–2010 | France | 21 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Sébastien Jean-Baptiste Squillaci (born on August 11, 1980) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a centre-back, which is a defensive position in football. From 2004 to 2010, he played 21 matches for the French national team. He also played three times for the Corsica national team.
Squillaci started his football journey with his hometown club, Seynois. In 1996, he joined Toulon and made his professional debut in the 1997–98 season. After a year with Toulon, Squillaci moved to Monaco. He spent two seasons with their reserve team before going on loan to Ajaccio for two years.
Squillaci returned to Monaco in 2002. He helped his team win the Coupe de la Ligue in 2003. He also played in European competitions for the first time. In the 2003–04 season, he was part of the Monaco team that reached the Champions League Final. That same season, Squillaci was named to the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 1 Team of the Year.
In 2006, Squillaci signed with Lyon. There, he won two league titles in a row and the Coupe de France in 2008. He then moved to Spain in 2008 to join Sevilla. With Sevilla, he played over 65 matches and won the Copa del Rey in his last season with the club. In 2010, Squillaci signed a three-year contract with the English club Arsenal. He also reached the League Cup final with Arsenal.
Squillaci is a former French international player. He made his first appearance for France in August 2004. This was in a friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He played for France in UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Sébastien Squillaci was born in Toulon, France. On May 12, 2007, his hometown of La Seyne honored him. They named a stadium after him for representing the area well. The Stade de Squillaci is now used by an amateur club called Avenir Sportif de Mar.
Squillaci's family comes from Corsica. Both his mother and father moved to mainland France from the town of Ghisonaccia in Haute-Corse. Squillaci is married and has a son named Aaron. He is also part of Champions for Peace. This group has 54 athletes who work to promote peace around the world through sports. The group was started by Peace and Sport, an international organization based in Monaco.
Club Football Career
Starting His Journey in Football
Squillaci began his football career playing for his local club, Seynois. His coach, Franck Seva, described him as a "lovely, quiet boy." Squillaci played there for ten years. Then, in 1996, at age 16, he moved to the professional club Toulon.
He started as a defensive midfielder. He spent only one season in Toulon's youth academy. In March 1998, Squillaci was called up to the first team. He made his professional debut on March 7, 1998. This was in a 1–0 league win against Nice. Toulon was fighting to avoid being moved down to a lower league. Squillaci played in five league matches and one Coupe de France match that season. Toulon ended up in 20th place and was moved down to the third level of French football.
Playing for Monaco
Squillaci was not under a professional contract with Toulon. This meant he could leave the club for free. He was signed by Monaco in 1998. He joined the club's reserve team, which played in the fourth division of French football. He played for the reserve team for two years, from 1998 to 2000. He played over 45 matches during this time.
After not getting much playing time, Monaco sent Squillaci on loan. He joined Ligue 2 club Ajaccio in Corsica. In two seasons with Ajaccio, Squillaci played over 70 matches. He helped the club get promoted to Ligue 2.
Squillaci returned to Monaco in 2002. In the 2003–04 season, Monaco faced Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals. Monaco won the tie and moved on to the semi-finals. They then beat Chelsea. Their amazing run ended when they lost 3–0 to FC Porto in the final. Squillaci played 217 matches for Monaco over six seasons.
Time at Lyon
After a few years, Squillaci decided to move to a new club. He signed a four-year deal with Lyon. Squillaci made his debut for Lyon in their first match of the Ligue 1 season. He played alongside Brazilian centre-back Cris. Lyon went on to have a fantastic season. They won the league by a huge 18-point lead. Squillaci became a key player for Lyon, playing regularly as a centre-back with Cris.
Moving to Sevilla
On July 14, 2008, Lyon announced that they had agreed to transfer Squillaci to the Spanish club Sevilla. The transfer fee was about €6.25 million. Squillaci signed a three-year contract with Sevilla. He played for Sevilla for two seasons.
Playing for Arsenal
Squillaci joined Arsenal in the summer of 2010. He signed a three-year contract. He wore the number 18 shirt. After an injury to another defender, Squillaci often played alongside Laurent Koscielny in central defense. Squillaci scored his first goal for Arsenal in the Champions League group stage against Partizan. His first goal in the Premier League came against Stoke City on February 23, 2011.
During the 2010–11 season, Squillaci played 28 matches and scored 2 goals for Arsenal. Arsenal also reached the League Cup final that season.
In the 2011–12 season, Squillaci played less often. He made his first appearance of the season in a League Cup win against Bolton Wanderers. He also played in a Champions League match against Olympiacos. His only Premier League appearance that season was on January 2, 2012, against Fulham. He came on as a substitute after another defender was sent off. Arsenal lost that match 2–1. He ended the 2011–12 season with six appearances in total.
Squillaci made his only appearance of the 2012–13 season in a 2–1 loss against Olympiacos in the Champions League. On June 5, 2013, Arsenal announced that Squillaci would leave the club when his contract ended on June 30.
Final Years at Bastia
On July 17, 2013, Squillaci joined Bastia. He signed a one-year contract. He made his debut in the first match of the season. He quickly became a regular starter for the team. He scored his first goal for Bastia on October 26, 2013, in a 1–0 win over Nice. In October 2016, he suffered a serious knee injury. Although he had signed for another season with Bastia, he announced the end of his professional career in November 2017.
International Career
Squillaci played for the French national team. His first match for France was in 2004. This was a friendly game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He played 21 matches for France in total.
Squillaci also played for the Corsica national team. This team is not part of FIFA. He played for Corsica three times in friendly matches. He was able to play for Corsica because both his parents have Corsican heritage.
Career Achievements
Squillaci won several trophies and awards during his career:
With Ajaccio
- Division 2: 2001–02
With Monaco
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2002–03
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2003–04
With Lyon
- Ligue 1: 2006–07, 2007–08
- Coupe de France: 2007–08
- Trophée des Champions: 2006
With Sevilla
- Copa del Rey: 2009–10
With Arsenal
- Football League Cup runner-up: 2010–11
Individual Awards
- UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2003–04
See also
In Spanish: Sébastien Squillaci para niños
