Sébastien Squillaci facts for kids
Squillaci playing for Arsenal in 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 August 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Toulon, France | ||
| Height | 1.85 m | ||
| Playing position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1996 | Seynois | ||
| 1996–1997 | Toulon | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1997–1998 | Toulon | 5 | (0) |
| 1998–2000 | Monaco B | 48 | (1) |
| 1998–2006 | Monaco | 117 | (11) |
| 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) | |
| National team | |||
| 2004–2010 | France | 21 | (0) |
| 2009–2012 | Corsica | 3 | (0) |
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Sébastien Jean-Baptiste Squillaci (born August 11, 1980) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a centre-back, which is a defensive position. From 2004 to 2010, he played 21 games for the French national team. He also played three times for the Corsica national team.
Squillaci started his football journey with his local club, FC Seynois. In 1996, he joined Toulon and began his professional career in the 1997–98 season. After a year with Toulon, Squillaci moved to Monaco. He spent two seasons with their reserve team. Then, he joined AC Ajaccio on loan 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 UEFA 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. He also won the Coupe de France in 2008. In 2008, he moved to Spain to play for Sevilla. With Sevilla, he played over 65 matches. He 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 played his first game for France in August 2004. This was 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 Family
Squillaci was born in Toulon, France. On May 12, 2007, his hometown honored him by naming a stadium after him. This was because he represented La Seyne in a positive way. The stadium, called Stade de Squillaci, is used by an amateur club.
Squillaci's family comes from Corsica, an island in France. His parents moved to the mainland from a town called Ghisonaccia. Squillaci is married and has a son named Aaron. He is also part of "Champions for Peace." This group has 54 athletes who use sport to help bring peace to the world. The group was started by Peace and Sport, an organization based in Monaco.
Club Football Journey
Starting His Career
Squillaci began playing football at his local club, FC Seynois. His coach described him as a "lovely, quiet boy." He played there for ten years. In 1996, when he was 16, he joined Toulon. He started as a defensive midfielder.
Squillaci played for Toulon's reserve team in the 1997–98 season. In March 1998, he 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 a few more games. Toulon ended up in 20th place and was moved down to the third level of French football. Squillaci played five league games and one cup game that season.
Time at Monaco
Squillaci joined Monaco in 1998. He was able to move for free because he was not under a professional contract with Toulon. He spent two years playing for Monaco's reserve team. He played over 45 games for them.
Later, Monaco sent Squillaci on loan to AC Ajaccio, a club in Corsica. He played there for two years. During this time, he played over 70 matches. He also helped the club get promoted to a higher league.
In 2002, Squillaci returned to Monaco. He became a key player for the team. In the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, Monaco faced Real Madrid. Monaco lost 4–2 in Madrid but won 3–1 at home. They moved on to the semi-finals because of the away goals rule. They then beat Chelsea. Their amazing run ended when they lost 3–0 to FC Porto in the final. Squillaci played 217 games for Monaco over six seasons.
Playing for Lyon
After his coach left Monaco, Squillaci decided to move to another club. He signed a four-year deal with Lyon in 2006. Squillaci played his first game for Lyon in the opening match of the 2006–07 season. He played alongside the Brazilian defender Cris. Lyon had a fantastic season, winning the league by a huge 18-point lead. Squillaci became a regular starter for Lyon.
Moving to Sevilla
On July 14, 2008, Lyon and Sevilla in Spain agreed on Squillaci's transfer. Squillaci signed a three-year deal with Sevilla. He played for Sevilla for two seasons.
Time at Arsenal
Squillaci joined Arsenal in England in the summer of 2010. He signed a three-year contract. He wore the number 18 shirt. This number was previously worn by other French defenders at Arsenal.
When another defender was injured, Squillaci played alongside Laurent Koscielny. Squillaci scored his first goal for Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League group stage against Partizan. His first goal in the Premier League came against Stoke City on February 23, 2011.
In the 2010–11 season, Squillaci played 28 games 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 in the League Cup. He also played one game in the Champions League. He played his only Premier League game of the season on January 2, 2012. He came on as a substitute against Fulham. Arsenal lost that match 2–1. He ended the 2011–12 season with six appearances in total.
Squillaci played only one game in the 2012–13 season. This was a 2–1 loss against Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League. On June 5, 2013, Arsenal announced that Squillaci would leave the club when his contract ended on June 30.
Playing for Bastia
On July 17, 2013, Squillaci joined Bastia in France. He signed a one-year contract. He wore the number 5 shirt. He played his first game for Bastia in the first match of the season. He quickly became a regular starter. He helped the club finish in the top ten in Ligue 1. 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. Even though he had signed for another season with Bastia, he announced the end of his professional career in November 2017.
Playing for His Country
Squillaci played for the French national team. His first game was in 2004, in a friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He played 21 games for France in total.
Squillaci also played for the Corsica team. This team is not part of FIFA. He was called up three times for friendly games. These were against Congo in 2009, Bulgaria in 2011, and an international team in 2012. He could play for Corsica because both his parents have Corsican heritage.
Career Statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Toulon | 1997–98 | Division 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Monaco B | 1998–99 | CFA | 24 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | ||||
| 1999–2000 | CFA | 24 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 48 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 1 | ||
| Ajaccio (loan) | 2000–01 | Division 2 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Division 2 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 5 | |||
| Total | 69 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 7 | ||
| Monaco | 2002–03 | Ligue 1 | 35 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 3 | ||
| 2003–04 | Ligue 1 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | — | 41 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Ligue 1 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 36 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06 | Ligue 1 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 36 | 3 | ||
| Total | 117 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 153 | 14 | ||
| Lyon | 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 3 |
| 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| Total | 62 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 85 | 3 | ||
| Sevilla | 2008–09 | La Liga | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | La Liga | 16 | 1 | 9 | 0 | — | 6 | 2 | — | 31 | 3 | |||
| Total | 49 | 1 | 11 | 0 | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 3 | |||
| Arsenal | 2010–11 | Premier League | 22 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 32 | 2 | |
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 23 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 2 | ||
| Bastia | 2013–14 | Ligue 1 | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 3 | ||
| 2014–15 | Ligue 1 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 1 | |||
| 2015–16 | Ligue 1 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 | |||
| 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| Total | 97 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 106 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 470 | 29 | 40 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 53 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 579 | 36 | ||
International Games
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2004 | 6 | 0 |
| 2005 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 0 | |
Awards and Trophies
Ajaccio
- Division 2: 2001–02
Monaco
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2002–03
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2003–04
Lyon
- Ligue 1: 2006–07, 2007–08
- Coupe de France: 2007–08
- Trophée des Champions: 2006
Sevilla
- Copa del Rey: 2009–10
Arsenal
- Football League Cup runner-up: 2010–11
Individual
- UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2003–04
See also
In Spanish: Sébastien Squillaci para niños
