Steed Malbranque facts for kids
Malbranque in 2016
|
||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 January 1980 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mouscron, Belgium | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.71 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| –1991 | U.S Oyonnax | |||||||||||||||
| 1991–1994 | Montpellier | |||||||||||||||
| 1994–1997 | Lyon | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1997–2001 | Lyon | 77 | (9) | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2006 | Fulham | 172 | (32) | |||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Tottenham Hotspur | 62 | (6) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Sunderland | 102 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | Saint-Étienne | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2016 | Lyon | 93 | (6) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Caen | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Caen II | 2 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Chasselay MDA | 20 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Limonest | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 544 | (56) | ||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | France U21 | 21 | (9) | |||||||||||||
|
Honours
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Steed Claude Malbranque is a former professional footballer who was born on January 6, 1980. He was born in Belgium but played for France in international matches.
Malbranque began his career at Lyon in France. In 2001, he moved to England. There, he played for Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, and Sunderland. He went back to France in 2011 for a short time with Saint-Étienne. In 2012, he joined Lyon again.
At Tottenham, he was one of only 17 players to play 50 games in one season. He usually played as a winger or an attacking midfielder. During his second time at Lyon, he also played as a central midfielder.
Contents
Steed Malbranque's Football Journey
Early Days at Lyon
Steed Malbranque trained at the Lyon youth academy from 1995 to 1997. During this time, he won two Under-15 championships. He also won the Under-17 Cup and the reserve team championship. He was even the captain of the French Under-18 team.
He played his first professional game for Lyon on February 21, 1998. He was 18 years old. The game was a 1–1 draw against Montpellier. He played a total of 96 games for Lyon. This included 12 games and two goals in the Champions League. He also played seven games in the UEFA Cup.
Malbranque was a substitute when Lyon won the 2001 French Coupe de la Ligue final. He did not play in that match. He once had the chance to join English club Arsenal. This was after he played well in a Champions League game. But he decided not to go, feeling he wasn't ready for the Premier League.
Playing for Fulham
In 2001, Malbranque finally moved to the Premier League. He joined Fulham for about £4.5 million. His first game was a 3–2 loss against Manchester United. He scored 10 goals in his first season.
He became a favorite player during his five years at Fulham. He played 211 games and scored 44 goals. This included six games and three goals in Fulham's short UEFA Cup journey in 2002–03. He was the top scorer that season with 13 goals. These goals helped Fulham avoid being moved to a lower league.
He was offered the chance to play for the Belgium national team. This was because he had not played for the main French team. But he said no, hoping to play for France instead. In October 2003, he scored in Fulham's 3–1 win over Manchester United. He also signed a new four-year contract with Fulham that month.
On May 13, 2006, Malbranque decided to leave Fulham. He was put on the transfer list. Many clubs were interested in him. He chose to sign with Tottenham Hotspur on August 31 for about £2 million. He had an injury that kept him out for about 10 weeks.
Time at Tottenham Hotspur
Malbranque played his first game for Tottenham Hotspur on November 8. This was almost 10 weeks after he signed. He played 63 minutes in a 3–1 League Cup win. He had a groin operation which delayed his start.
He scored his first goal for Spurs on December 9. It was in a big 5–1 win against Charlton Athletic. Fans loved Malbranque at Tottenham because he worked very hard. In the 2007–08 season, he was among the top players in the Premier League for tackles made. This showed how hard he worked and how good he was at tackling.
He scored Tottenham's 150th goal in European competitions. This was in a UEFA Cup game on March 14, 2007. On April 12, 2007, in a UEFA Cup quarter-final, Malbranque accidentally scored an own goal. He tried to clear the ball but kicked it into his own net. The game ended in a 2–2 draw, and Tottenham lost overall.
He started for Spurs when they won the 2008 Football League Cup Final against Chelsea.
Moving to Sunderland
Malbranque joined Sunderland on July 30, 2008. He signed a four-year contract. He scored his first goal for Sunderland in a 4–1 win against Hull City. He played his best for Sunderland in the 2009–10 season. He was very good playing on the left side of the field.
He scored his second Sunderland goal in an FA Cup win. His good playing helped Sunderland move up in the league. Malbranque stayed at Sunderland for the 2010–11 season. He played more in the middle of the field. He was part of Sunderland's seven-game unbeaten run. This included games against big teams like Manchester City and Arsenal.
On February 1, 2011, he played his 100th game for Sunderland. He became a fan favorite there. In the summer of 2011, it was announced he would move to French team Saint-Étienne. His manager said he was no longer needed. His transfer would also help the club save money.
Quick Stop at Saint-Étienne
On August 3, 2011, Malbranque signed a two-year contract with French team AS Saint-Étienne. This ended his 10 years of playing football in England.
A month later, Malbranque and Saint-Étienne agreed to end his contract early. Malbranque later denied rumors that he was going to retire from football.
Back to Lyon
.JPG)
On August 2, 2012, Malbranque's first club, Lyon, announced he was training with them. They were thinking of offering him a permanent contract. On August 25, 2012, Malbranque signed a one-year contract with Lyon.
In his first game back at Lyon, Malbranque played very well. He helped his team win 3–2. He also made many important passes that led to goals. For example, he assisted a goal in a UEFA Europa League game in the 93rd minute. He also scored a penalty goal in a game against Bastia. In December 2012, Malbranque signed a new contract with Lyon until 2014.
Later Career
On June 17, 2016, Malbranque signed a one-year contract with Caen. He joined them as a free agent.
In November 2017, he came out of retirement. He signed with Chasselay MDA. He played in the Championnat National 2. On September 4, 2020, he joined Limonest. He played in the Championnat National 3.
Playing for France
Steed Malbranque was born in Belgium, but his parents were French. He was called up to the French Under-21s. He was part of the team that lost to the Czech Republic in the final of the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.
In February 2004, Malbranque showed interest in playing for the Belgium national team. This was because he hadn't played for France's main team. However, Belgium's coach said Malbranque was not allowed to play for their country. A month later, Malbranque was called to the main France team. This was for a friendly game against the Netherlands. But he did not play in the game.
In November 2012, Malbranque was called up to the French team again. This was for a friendly game against Italy. But he still did not get to play his first game for the national team.
Trophies and Awards
Lyon
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2000–01
Fulham
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002
Tottenham Hotspur
- Football League Cup: 2007–08
See also
In Spanish: Steed Malbranque para niños
