Steed Malbranque
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| Steed Malbranque | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steed Malbranque | |
| Date of birth | January 6, 1980 | |
| Place of birth | Mouscron, Belgium | |
| Height | 5’ 7" / 1.72 m | |
| Nickname | The Avenger, Steeeeed (said in a low voice) | |
| Position | Attacking Midlfielder, Left Winger | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Tottenham Hotspur | |
| Number | 15 | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (goals) |
| 1997-01 2001-06 2006- |
Lyon Fulham Tottenham Hotspur |
87 (6) 211 (44) 5 (1) |
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* Professional club appearances and goals |
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Steed Malbranque, (born January 6, 1980 in Mouscron, Belgium), is a footballer currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. He had been playing in Fulham's reserve team, dropped by Chris Coleman after he turned down a new contract allegedly worth £50,000 per week, which was reportedly the highest contract offer in Fulham's history [citation needed]. Malbranque's parents named him Steed after the character in 'The Avengers' - they saw him as the epitome of Britishness. Malbranque was called into the senior France squad in February 2004, despite being born in Mouscron, across the Belgian border. One admirer is UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who cited Malbranque as a "fantastic player" (alongside Arjan de Zeeuw and Teddy Sheringham) on a recent appearance on Football Focus. Steed is known for having his shirt untucked through out games which make him look even smaller than he is, his shirts also appear to be a few sizes too big.
On 13th May after extensive contract talks with his club failed, Malbranque was placed on the transfer list at Fulham after he declared his intentions to leave at the end of his contract. There was rumoured interest from Reading, Middlesbrough, West Ham United, Manchester City and Newcastle United but instead signed for Tottenham Hotspur on the deadline day of the transfer window (Thursday 31st August 2006) despite the official Tottenham Hotspur website confirming that he will be sidelined for two months following a "hernia" operation. It is suggested that this is due to an "enlargement" operation.
Coach Martin Jol commented: “Steed is a skilful, versatile midfielder of real quality. He is a player we have always admired and we are delighted he has come to us, there were a number of other clubs interested. He is a player who can cover the left, centre and right midfield positions and will work well within our system.”
Malbranque commented: “Tottenham is a big club and it’s a fantastic new challenge for me. It’s an excellent squad and I’m looking forward to joining. I will be working hard on my recovery and rehabilitation in order to be ready to play as soon as possible.”
Malbranque will earn around £30,000 per week during his 4 year stay at Tottenham Hotspur.[citation needed] He made his Spurs debut on November 8th 2006 in the Carling Cup 4th Round victory over Port Vale at White Hart Lane. He scored his first goal for Spurs in a emphatic 5-1 victory over Charlton Athletic at White Hart Lane on December 9th 2006
In 2006 Malbranque was named the 45th greatest foreign player to ever play in the FA Premiership in a poll conducted by over 1.5 million football fans.
[edit] External links
| Tottenham Hotspur F.C. - Current Squad |
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1 Robinson | 2 Chimbonda | 3 Lee | 4 Zokora | 5 Davids | 6 Tainio | 7 Stalteri | 8 Jenas | 9 Berbatov | 10 Keane | 11 Mido | 12 Černý | 13 Murphy | 14 Ghaly | 15 Malbranque | 16 Ziegler | 18 Defoe | 20 Dawson | 22 Huddlestone | 24 O'Hara | 25 Lennon | 26 King | 27 Davenport | 28 Barnard | 29 Ifil | 30 Gardner | 32 Assou-Ekotto | 35 Dervite | 39 Barcham | Manager: Jol |
Steed's second nationality is Belgian so he speaks French,Dutch and English fluently.
