Mikael Silvestre Messages delivered but no guaranteed response

Team(s):

Date of Birth:	Tuesday, August 9, 1977
Birth Place:	France
Height:	184cm
Position:	Defender
Former Clubs/Teams:	Manchester United, Internazionale FC, Stade Rennes

Biography

Mikael Silvestre is a defender who plays for the French national side and Arsenal in the English Premier League. He prefers to play as the left-sided centre back, but some of his best performances have come when played as an attacking left-back. His pace and heading ability are his key assets. He was the first player in 30 years to move between Manchester United and Arsenal.

Childhood

Mikael Silvestre was born on 9th August 1977 in the French town of Chambray-les-Tours. He joined the Rennes academy, near to his hometown, at the age of 14, and worked his way up the ranks through the various youth teams.

Early Career

Silvestre played his first full league game in April 1996, aged just 19 years old, and became a regular performer for the club on the left flank of the pitch. His pace and control of the ball often allowed him to get out of tight situations, and get the team out of trouble. He played sufficiently well to win a move to European greats Inter Milan, but struggled to settle in Italy whilst playing as the second reserve defender.

Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson recognised that Silvestre could be a defensive rock, so took him to Old Trafford on 10th September 1999 – an extra defender to try and help build on United’s European Champions League success and treble winning season.

Silvestre was fighting for a first team place with the likes of Ronny Johnsen and Jaap Stam, so was often seen playing as left-back, where he took over from veteran Denis Irwin. He began to adapt to the pace of the English game, and became a corner-stone in United back-line, partnering up well with Wes Brown and most notably Rio Ferdinand in the heart of the United defence. Over the years, Mikael won four Premier League titles followed, along with European success in Moscow with United, though not without pain – Silvestre lost two full seasons with a dislocated shoulder and knee ligament damage.

Current Club

Mikael Silvestre arrived at Arsenal on the eve of the 2008/09 season, following Phillipe Senderos’s loan move to Milan. Arsene Wenger was looking to bring in a wise old head, and Silvestre had the positional sense and experience to help some of his youngsters through Premier League matches. Silvestre soon slotted into Arsenal’s rhythm as the team’s first-choice centre-back.

International

Mikael Silvestre won his first call up on the back of Laurent Blanc and Marcel Desailly’s decision to retire following World Cup 98 and Euro 2000 success. He made his debut in February 2001 against a strong German side, and went on to win the Confederations Cup (twice) and appear in Euro 2004 and World Cups 2002 and 2006, retiring from international football when France lost to Italy in the World Cup Final.