Matthieu Delpierre

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Matthieu Delpierre
Personal information
Full name Matthieu Delpierre
Date of birth April 26, 1981 (1981-04-26) (age 27)
Place of birth    Nancy, France
Height 6 ft 2.5 in (1.89 m)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current club VfB Stuttgart
Number 17
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1999–2004
2004–2005
2004–		 Lille OSC
VfB Stuttgart II
VfB Stuttgart		 83 (3)
03 (0)
89 (1)   
National team2



2008-		 France U-18
France U-20
France U-21
France B		 02 (0)
11 (0)
12 (0)
01 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 16 April 2008.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 26 March 2008.
* Appearances (Goals)

Matthieu Delpierre (born April 26, 1981 in Nancy, France) is a French professional football player. Delpierre plays as a centre back previously for Lille OSC and currently for VfB Stuttgart. He has represented France at the U-18, U-20 and under-21 levels, making appearances during the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

In his first season with Lille, Delpierre made little appearances for the club but helped in the club's promotion to Ligue 1. Delpierre became more of a regular in his second season with the club, helping them in securing third spot and UEFA Champions League qualification. Delpierre continued to perform for Lille though the club kept finishing at a lower position in the league every season.

Delpierre was signed by VfB Stuttgart on a free transfer after Lille refused to grant him a contract extension. Having been eclipsed by the team's generally poor displays over the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons, Delpierre started developing form under the tutelage of coach Armin Veh.

The following season, the French defender became a linchpin at the heart of the Stuttgart defence. Having only missed one game through illness, Delpierre formed an almost impenetrable barrier alongside Fernando Meira at the heart of the Stuttgart defence. Matthieu has also been a vital cog in Stuttgart's success in the DFB Cup 2006/07, conceding only three goals leading up to the finals, which they eventually lost to Nuremberg. On May 19, 2007, Delpierre won the German Bundesliga with Stuttgart, playing a significant part in their success.

His defensive performances have alerted the attentions of English and German giants respectively, Arsenal and Bayern Munich[1] and also French clubs Marseille and Saint-Étienne.

Delpierre took part in the french A-squad pre-selection for the first time in 2007.[2] He has recently extended his contract with Stuttgart until the summer of 2012.[3]

[edit] Career honours

With Lille:

With Stuttgart:

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bundesliga - Arsenal, Bayern eye Delpierre. Yahoo! Sport (2007-05-10). Retrieved on 2007-12-07.
  2. ^ List of the pre-selected players in the french A-squad in the season 2007-2008. Retrieved on 2007-12-07.
  3. ^ Four more years. vfb.de (2007-05-30). Retrieved on 2007-12-07.


v • d • e
VfB Stuttgart – current squad

1 Lehmann • 2 Beck • 3 Osorio • 5 Taşçı • 6 Meira • 8 Farnerud • 10 Baştürk • 11 Hitzlsperger • 13 Pardo • 15 Boka • 17 Delpierre • 18 Cacau • 19 Hilbert • 20 Marica • 21 Magnin • 22 Schipplock • 23 Fischer • 24 Ulreich • 25 da Silva • 28 Khedira • 29 Mandjeck • 31 Stolz • 33 Gómez • 35 Träsch • 38 Pisot • 42 Pischorn •  Schäfer •  Lanig •  Šimák • Manager: Veh