Anthony Le Tallec

Anthony Le Tallec

Le Tallec playing for Le Mans in 2009
Personal information
Full nameAnthony Le Tallec
Date of birth3 October 1984
Place of birthHennebont, France
Height1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current team
Valenciennes
Number19
Youth career
1999–2001Le Havre
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2001–2008Liverpool17(0)
2001–2003→ Le Havre (loan)54(7)
2005→ Saint-Étienne (loan)7(1)
2005–2006→ Sunderland (loan)27(4)
2006–2007→ Sochaux (loan)25(4)
2007–2008→ Le Mans (loan)26(5)
2008–2010Le Mans70(14)
2010–2012Auxerre52(8)
2012–Valenciennes57(12)
National team
2001France U176(3)
2005–2008France U214(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:59, 3 February 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Anthony Le Tallec (born 3 October 1984) is a French professional footballer who plays for Valenciennes FC in Ligue 2, as a forward or attacking midfielder.

Club career

Liverpool

Born in Hennebont, Le Tallec was signed from Le Havre AC by Liverpool in 2001, along with his cousin Florent Sinama Pongolle,[1] by manager Gérard Houllier. This was after impressive performances for the French national youth team in the UEFA European Under-16 Championship and the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with the player being awarded the 'Silver Ball' as the second best player (behind his cousin) in the latter tournament as the national team emerged champions;[2] both players remained a further two years at Le Havre, loaned by the Reds.[1]

Le Tallec scored his first and only Liverpool goal in a UEFA Cup tie against NK Olimpija Ljubljana in October 2003.[3] After his return, he also featured in the club's victorious run in the UEFA Champions League, starting in the home leg of the quarterfinal tie against Juventus FC,[4] but did not appear in the squad list of 18 for the final itself.

For the 2005–06 season, Le Tallec joined fellow Premier League side Sunderland on loan, in a bid to gain some more first team football. He stated: "I am a competitor and I want to play all the time, but with Liverpool it was impossible. I chose to come to Sunderland because I need to play every week". In a disappointing season for the club, who finished bottom of the table, he was its top scorer with only six goals in all competitions; this included a header against Fulham, helping the Black Cats pick up their only home win of the campaign.[5]

In May 2006, after Sunderland announced they would not be looking to retain his services, Le Tallec returned to Liverpool but was not given a squad number by boss Rafael Benítez. At the end of the month, he joined up with the France U21s for the European Championship which took place in Portugal, only featuring in the national team's final group match after it had already secured qualification, and being substituted after 61 minutes.

Return to France

In August 2006 Le Tallec moved to FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, on another loan deal. He won the season's French Cup where he scored a late equaliser in the final, which eventually led to a penalty shootout against Olympique de Marseille – a fellow Liverpool player out on loan, Djibril Cissé, netted two goals in the match for the opposition.[6]

On 31 August 2007, it was reported that Scottish Premier League club Hearts were close to signing Le Tallec.[7] However, the player ended up moving to Ligue 1 team Le Mans Union Club 72, on loan for the entire season with a view to a permanent deal for approximately £1.1 million pounds.[8]

At the end of the campaign, on 27 June 2008, Le Mans decided to make the loan permanent, signing Le Tallec to a four-year contract.[9][10] On 27 June 2010, following Le Mans top flight relegation, he reached an agreement with fellow top-divisioner AJ Auxerre for a four-year deal, worth €3 million.[11]

Honours

Club

Sochaux
Liverpool

Country

Individual

Personal life

Le Tallec's younger brother, Damien, is also a footballer. Another French youth international who was groomed at Le Havre, he started his professional career in Germany with Borussia Dortmund.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bright future ahead for rising French cousins; Bleacher Report, 24 April 2009
  2. ↑ Anthony Le Tallec – FIFA competition record
  3. ↑ "Liverpool overwhelm Olimpija". BBC Sport. 15 October 2003. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  4. ↑ "Liverpool 2–1 Juventus". BBC Sport. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  5. ↑ "Sunderland 2–1 Fulham". ESPN Soccernet. 4 May 2006. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  6. ↑ "Cissé's bid for glory thwarted by fellow red". Liverpool TV. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Nade completes switch to Hearts". BBC Sport. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  8. ↑ "Anthony Le Tallec signs with LMUC 72" (in French). Le Mans FC. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  9. ↑ Le Mans : A. Le Tallec signe quatre ans (Le Mans: A. Le Tallec signs four years); Foot Africa 365, 27 June 2008 (French)
  10. ↑ "Le Tallec leaves Liverpool for Le Mans". FIFA.com. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  11. ↑ "Le Tallec, 4 ans à Auxerre" [Le Tallec, 4 years with Auxerre] (in French). L'Équipe. 27 June 2010. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.

External links