Philippe Christanval

Philippe Christanval

Personal information
Full name	Philippe Charles Lucien Christanval
Date of birth	(1978-08-31) 31 August 1978
Place of birth	Paris, France
Height
Position(s)	Centre back
Youth career
0000–1995	Clairefontaine
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2001	Monaco	81	(1)
2001–2003	Barcelona	31	(0)
2003–2005	Marseille	13	(0)
2005–2008	Fulham	36	(1)
Total		162	(2)
International career
2000–2002	France	6	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Philippe Charles Lucien Christanval (born 31 August 1978 in Paris) is a retired French footballer of Guadeloupian origin who most recently played for Fulham as a centre back. During his career, he played top-flight football in France, Spain and England, and earned six full international caps, as well as a selection to the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Monaco

His career began at AS Monaco in 1999, where he made 81 appearances, scoring one goal. They won the 1999-2000 league title, earning him the title of Young Player of the Year, and he made several UEFA Champions League appearances. In January 2001, it was reported that Monaco were considering exchanging him for Frank LeBoeuf of Chelsea.

Barcelona and Marseille

Christanval was then signed by Barcelona of Spain's La Liga for a £6.5million fee in June 2001, the team he supported as a child. After being released from Barcelona in 2003, he joined Marseille on 18 July on a four-year contract. They reached the 2004 UEFA Cup Final in his first season, but he was an unused substitute as they lost 2-0 to Valencia.

Fulham

After two weeks on trial at Arsenal, their manager Arsène Wenger opted not to sign Christanval. He then joined another Premier League London team, Fulham, on 9 September 2005. Upon his signing, manager Chris Coleman stated:

"He can be captain for the next five years if he shows the same consistency and level of performance."

In his first appearances at Fulham, he found himself playing in defensive midfield with Papa Bouba Diop. He was later moved back to his typical position. His only Premier League goal was a late equaliser in a 3–3 draw with West Ham United on 13 January 2007.

In the 2007-08 season he made a single substitute appearance. At the end of the season, Christanval was released by Fulham and was offered a trial with Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. On 9 April 2009, Christanval retired from football, having been unable to find a new club.

International

Christanval was a part of the France at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

He made his full debut on 7 October 2001, in a 0-0 friendly draw away to South Africa. Christanval played four more friendlies in 2002 before his last appearance, a 2-1 away win against Cyprus in qualification for Euro 2004. He was selected for the 2002 FIFA World Cup but did not enter the field of play.

Marseille

• UEFA Cup: Runner-up 2003–04

External links

• Philippe Christanval career statistics at Soccerbase