Soccer Star - Laurent Blanc, French footballer

Laurent Robert Blanc (born 19 November 1965 in Alès) is a French association football manager and former player. He is the head coach of the French national team, having replaced Raymond Domenech in the wake of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He was previously the manager of Bordeaux.

Blanc formerly played professional football for numerous clubs, notably Montpellier, Napoli, Barcelona, Marseille, Internazionale, and Manchester United, often operating in the sweeper position. He is also a former French international, playing in several international tournaments, which includes the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, both of which France won. On 28 June 1998, Blanc scored the first golden goal in World Cup history against Paraguay.

Soccer Star - Youri Djorkaeff, French international footballer

Youri Raffi Djorkaeff (born 9 March 1968) is a former French international footballer who played as a forward or as an attacking midfielder. With the French national team, Djorkaeff won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. He is the son of former player Jean Djorkaeff.

 

 

Handsome Soccer Star - David Trezeguet, French footballer

David Sergio Trezeguet (born 15 October 1977) is a World Cup winning French-Argentinian international footballer who plays for River Plate.

He previously played for Juventus in the Italian Serie A for ten years and for the French national team. He is the highest scoring non-Italian ever to play for Juventus. He is perhaps most famous for scoring the golden goal in the Euro 2000 final against Italy, which gave France a 2–1 win in extra time.

Trezeguet was born in Rouen, Upper Normandy, France, and grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is the son of former French-Argentine footballer Jorge Trezeguet, who now works as his agent. David and his wife Béatrice have two children together: Aaron and Noraan. His wife is from Alicante, Spain.

Soccer Star - Michel Platini, French football player and manager

Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a former French football player and manager, and the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2007.

During his professional footballing career, Platini played for the clubs Nancy, Saint-Étienne, and Juventus, and was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He also participated in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups, reaching the semi-finals in the latter two. Platini, Alain Giresse, Luis Fernández and Jean Tigana together made up the "carré magique" (French for "magic square"), the group of midfield players that formed the heart of the French national team throughout the 1980s.

Soccer Star - Didier Deschamps, French footballer

Didier Claude Deschamps (born 15 October 1968 in Bayonne) is a retired French footballer and current manager of Marseille. He played as a defensive midfielder. As an international, he assisted France with victories in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. Deschamps captained France to victory in the 1998 World Cup final against Brazil.

Soccer Star - Zinedine Zidane, French footballer

Zinedine Zidane (born 23 June 1972) is a retired French footballer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Zidane was the leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. After a brief international retirement, he returned to the national team in 2005 and captained France to the 2006 World Cup Final where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament's most outstanding player.

At club level Zidane won the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus, an Intercontinental Cup, and a UEFA Super Cup each with both aforementioned sides. He is one of only three players to have been FIFA World Player of the Year three times (Brazilian striker Ronaldo and Argentine striker Lionel Messi are the other three-time winners). He also won the Ballon d'Or in 1998. He retired from professional football after the 2006 World Cup.

He currently holds the post of Real Madrid Director of Football, filling the spot previously held by Jorge Valdano.

Handsome Soccer Star - Karim Benzema, French international footballer

Karim Benzema (born 20 December 1987) is a French international footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid in the Spanish La Liga. He primarily plays as a striker whose influence can extend out to the wings and is known for his technical ability, powerful style of play, and vast goal-scoring ability. He is described as an "immensely-talented striker" who is "strong and powerful" and "a potent finisher from inside the box".

Benzema was born in the city of Lyon beginning his football career with local club Bron Terraillon. In 1996, he joined the biggest club in the city Olympique Lyonnais and, subsequently, came through the club's youth academy. Benzema made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season and appeared sporadically in his first three seasons as Lyon won three titles in that span. In the 2007–08 season, Benzema became a starter and had a breakthrough year scoring over 30 goals as Lyon won its seventh straight league title. For his performances, he was named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 1 Player of the Year and named to the organization's Team of the Year. Benzema was also the league's top scorer and given the Bravo Award by Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo. After another season at Lyon, in July 2009, Benzema signed a six-year contract with Spanish outfit Real Madrid. After struggling to establish himself in his debut season with the club, in the 2010–11 season, Benzema reached prominence scoring 26 goals en-route to helping Real Madrid win the Copa del Rey. In December 2011, he was named the French Player of the Year for his performances during the calendar year.

Benzema is a former French youth international and has represented his nation from under-17 level onwards. Prior to playing for the senior team, he played on the under-17 team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. Benzema made his senior international debut in March 2007 in a friendly match against Austria. On his debut, he scored his first international goal in a 1–0 win. Benzema has represented France at one major international tournament; UEFA Euro 2008. He made two appearances in the competition against Romania and Italy in the group stage.

Soccer Star - Mathieu Valbuena, French international footballer

Mathieu Valbuena (French pronunciation: [matjø valbwena]; born 28 September 1984) is a French international footballer who plays for Marseille in Ligue 1. He plays as an attacking midfielder and a winger and is known for his quickness, technical ability, and tenacious style of play. He is described by his former coach at Libourne Saint-Seurin Didier Tholot as "an explosive player who is capable of quickly taking two opponents out of the game to create space, above all due to his dribbling skills." Due to his small stature, Valbuena is nicknamed le petit vélo, which translates to "the small bike". This is a play on Valbuena's size and the fact that Marseille's home ground is called the Stade Vélodrome.

Valbuena began his career at professional club Bordeaux. He was let go from the club after two seasons and subsequently joined amateur club Langon-Castets in the fifth division of French football. In 2004, Valbuena joined Libourne Saint-Seurin in the Championnat National, the third level of French football. The midfielder had a good 2005–06 season with the club and signed with Ligue 1 club Marseille, prior to the 2006–07 season. With Marseille, Valbuena played in the UEFA Champions League for the first time and, in the 2009–10 season, was part of the team that won the league and league cup double, as well as the Trophée des champions.

Valbuena is a French international and made his debut with the team in May 2010 in a friendly match against Costa Rica. He scored his first international goal in the same match and was named to the team to participate in the 2010 FIFA World Cup as a result. Valbuena appeared in only one of the three matches France contested at the World Cup. In November 2010, he scored his second career international goal against England at Wembley Stadium.

Soccer Star - Marvin Martin, French international footballer

Marvin Martin (born 10 January 1988 in Paris) is a French international footballer who currently plays for French club Sochaux in Ligue 1. He plays as a creative play-making midfielder and is described as a player with "very good technique on the ball" and "excellent vision", which compensates for his relatively small frame. Martin is a former France youth international having starred for his country at under-21 level from 2008–2010.

During his development years, Martin went unnoticed by youth national team coaches. After establishing himself as a professional, he was called up to the France under-21 team in November 2008 to participate in a friendly match against Denmark. Martin made his youth international debut in the match as a starter. He was substituted out after 61 minutes as France won the match 1–0. Martin featured with the team for the rest of the campaign as France failed to qualify for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, which effectively ended Martin's under-21 career. On 26 May 2011, after a successful league season with Sochaux, Martin was called up to the senior national team by Laurent Blanc for June fixtures against Belarus, the Ukraine, and Poland. The midfielder described the call up as "a dream" and made his senior international debut on 6 June in the team's friendly match against the Ukraine appearing as a second half substitute with the match drawn 1–1. In the match, Martin scored two goals and assisted on another, which was scored by fellow debutante Younès Kaboul, as France won the match 4–1. As a result of his double, Martin became only the fourth French international, after Jean Vincent, Zinedine Zidane and Bafétimbi Gomis, to score twice on his debut.