Steve Savidan

Steve Savidan

Personal information
Date of birth	(1978-06-29) 29 June 1978
Place of birth	Angers, France
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1997–1999	Angers	42	(15)
1999–2000	Châteauroux	20	(3)
2000–2001	Ajaccio	37	(6)
2001–2002	Angers	36	(6)
2002–2003	Beauvais	24	(0)
2003–2004	Angoulême	37	(12)
2004–2008	Valenciennes	145	(61)
2008–2009	Caen	38	(14)
Total		379	(117)
National team
2008	France	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Steve Savidan (born 29 June 1978) is a French retired footballer who played as a striker.

A late bloomer, he played for seven different clubs, mostly in the country's second and third divisions. At the age of 30, he reached the French national team for his sole cap.

Club career

Born in Angers, Savidan's first year of professional football was spent with Angers SCO, his hometown team. He attracted attention from LB Châteauroux and was transferred after two seasons: out of 20 games he only managed to score three goals as a substitute and, at the end of the year, was sold to AC Ajaccio.

Savidan would spend also only one year at his new club, before returning to former side Angers. For the 2002–03 season he was bought by AS Beauvais, and failed to score a single goal over the entire course of the campaign, moving to AS Angoulême subsequently. As the club operated in the third division, thus lacking professional status, the player would also work briefly as a waste collector and bartender;^[1] finished that season with his best individual effort at the time, with 12 goals.

At age 26, Savidan signed with Valenciennes FC also in the third level. Mainly due to his impressive scoring rate, the club went straight into Ligue 1 in just two seasons. During the latter campaign, the side was crowned league winners, and he finished joint-top scorer at 16.

In his first game in the first level, at AJ Auxerre on 5 August 2006 (aged 28), Savidan netted in a 1–1 draw. On 10 February of the following year he had an impressive performance, scoring four goals in a spectacular 5–2 away win against FC Nantes – he would finish the season as the competition's second top scorer, behind veteran Pauleta.

Settled in Valenciennes, Savidan opened a restaurant called K9 (K for wife Karine, and 9 for his shirt number).^[2] However, he signed for SM Caen in summer 2008 for a reported fee of €5 million.

Savidan scored fourteen goals in 2008–09, but Caen was relegated to division two. Subsequently he arranged a move to AS Monaco FC, also in the €5million region; however, a defect in his heart was detected upon his medical, and the 31-year-old ended his career on 4 July 2009, on the advice of the club's doctors.^[3][4]

In the fall of 2009, Savidan – who played ice hockey in his childhood – joined hometown club ASG Angers, serving as coach of the under-9 team.^[5]

International career

Savidan did not receive any call-ups to represent France during his two-year stint in the top level at Valenciennes, where he displayed good form.

However, on 13 November 2008, aged 30, he was picked to the national team by coach Raymond Domenech,^[6] who was impressed by the player's start to the 2008–09 campaign. He played the second half of the 0–0 home draw against Uruguay, on the 19th.

Honours

Team

• Second Division: 2005–06

Individual

• Second Division: Top scorer 2005–06
• Third Division: Top scorer 2004–05

References

External links

• L'Équipe stats (French)
• Steve Savidan French league stats at LFP.fr (French)
• Steve Savidan at National-Football-Teams.com