Sylvain Distin
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Sylvain Distin | ||
Personal information | ||
---|---|---|
Full name | Sylvain Distin | |
Date of birth | 16 December 1977 | |
Place of birth | Bagnolet, France | |
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | |
Playing position | Defender | |
Club information | ||
Current club | Portsmouth | |
Number | 15 | |
Senior clubs1 | ||
Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
1997–1998 1998–1999 1999–2000 2000–2002 2001–2002 2002–2007 2007– |
Joué-lès-Tours Tours Gueugnon Paris St-Germain → Newcastle United (loan) Manchester City Portsmouth |
26 (3) 32 (1) 28 (1) 28 (0) 178 (5) 36 (0) |
32 (4)
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
Sylvain Distin (born 16 December 1977 in Bagnolet, France) is a French footballer who currently plays for Portsmouth, having joined them on a free transfer on 23 May 2007.
[edit] Club career
Distin started his career at French non league side Joue-les-Tours, and moved to Tours a year later, where he played 26 times, scoring three goals. He then moved to Gueugnon of Ligue 2, signing his first professional contract. With Gueugnon he won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2000.[1] His performances for Gueugnon prompted Paris Saint-Germain to sign him, though his time at PSG was shortlived; after a year Distin moved again in a loan move to Newcastle United where he made 35 appearances.[2] Following the loan spell, Newcastle wished to sign Distin permanently, but instead he opted to sign for Manchester City as he wished to play in his preferred position of central defence (Distin had mainly been used as a left sided defender as Newcastle). The transfer fee was £4 million, setting a club record for a defender.[2]
Consistent performances in his first Manchester City season resulted in Distin being named Manchester City's Player of the Year for the 2002/03 season.[3] At the start of the 2003/04 season Distin was named captain of Manchester City following the retirement of Ali Benarbia. In total, Distin played 207 times for Manchester City and scored six goals.
Reports say that Distin turned down a Liverpool's late bid for him to sign for Portsmouth in order to get regular first team football.
Distin decided to leave Manchester City at the end of his contract on 22 May 2007, seeking a "fresh challenge",[4] and moved to Portsmouth on a three year deal a day later.[5] Distin was appointed vice captain by Harry Redknapp, and has lead Portsmouth in Sol Campbell's absences due to injury.
In a recent game, after criticism of his rough tactics, Sylvain Distin, in defense of his rough playing style, claimed that you cannot defend without contacting the opponent.[6] On May 17th 2008 he won his first major trophy playing in English football, by winning the FA cup with Portstmouth.
[edit] References
- ^ "Profile: Sylvain Distin", Manchester City FC vs Blackburn Rovers match programme, 2005-11-19.
- ^ a b Clayton, David (2002). Everything under the blue moon: the complete book of Manchester City FC - and more!. Edinburgh: Mainstream publishing. ISBN 1-84018-687-9. p68
- ^ Sylvain Distin. ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved on December 28, 2006.
- ^ "Distin confirms City exit", Sky Sports, 2007-05-22. Retrieved on 2007-05-23.
- ^ "Distin signs Portsmouth contract", BBC Sport, 2007-05-23. Retrieved on 2007-05-23.
- ^ "Distin rejects Ronaldo complaint", The Press Association, 2008-03-09. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
[edit] External links
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