Philippe Christanval

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Philippe Christanval
Personal information
Full name Philippe Charles Lucien Christanval
Date of birth 31 August 1978 (1978-08-31) (age 29)
Place of birth    Paris, France
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2+12 in)
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current club Unattached
Number 5
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1999–2001
2001–2003
2003–2005
2005–2008
AS Monaco
FC Barcelona
Marseille
Fulham
81 (1)
32 (0)
13 (0)
36 (1)   
National team2
2000–2002 France 05 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 09:10, 6 March 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 09:10, 6 March 2008 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Philippe Charles Lucien Christanval (born 31 August 1978 in Paris) is a French football player of Guadeloupian origin who most recently played for Fulham as a centre back. He was however released from Fulham having had an injury plagued 2007/2008 season.

His career began at AS Monaco in 1999, where he made 81 appearances, scoring one goal. Here he also won the French title in the 1999/00 season and made several UEFA Champions League appearances.

He was then snapped up by FC Barcelona for a £6.5million fee in June 2001. He had a terrible time from then on attempting to cope with various injuries, particularly following his 2003 move to Marseille.

Having spent two weeks on trial at Arsenal, Arsène Wenger opted not to sign him. He then joined rival London team, Fulham. Upon his signing, Chris Coleman stated:

"Philippe is a player I have been looking at since I have been Fulham manager. I have always admired him. He was excellent at Barcelona but then had problems with injury and fell out of favour with the last few managers he has had."

"His quality is there - you can see that. He makes the right decisions. For me the best defenders make the right decisions more often than not and he fits into that category."

In his first appearances at Fulham, he found himself playing in defensive midfield. He was quite successful with an enforcement partnership with Papa Bouba Diop. His qualities were obvious; despite being a centre back, he had good vision and passing ability. More recently he has found himself back in the centre half role. His first premiership goal was a late equalizer in a 3–3 draw with West Ham United on 13 January 2006. He has since struggled with injuries, and in the 2007/08 season has only made a single appearance coming on as sub.

He was a part of the France side in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

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