Hugo Lloris

Personal information
Full name	Hugo Lloris
Date of birth	26 December 1986 (1986-12-26) (age 23)
Place of birth	Nice, France
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Lyon
Number	1
Youth career
1997–2005	Nice
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2008	Nice	72	(0)
2008–	Lyon	52	(0)
National team‡
2003–2004	France U18	5	(0)
2004–2005	France U19	20	(0)
2005–2006	France U20	4	(0)
2006–2008	France U21	3	(0)
2008–	France	8	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 December 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Hugo Lloris (born 26 December 1986 in Nice) is a French football goalkeeper currently playing for Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue 1. Formerly a French youth international, Lloris now plays for the senior team serving as the number one goalkeeper.^[1] He is the reigning Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year.

[edit] Club career

[edit] OGC Nice

Hugo began his football career at his hometown club OGC Nice. After spending nearly three years in the reserves, he was promoted to the first team squad and was handed the number 1 kit. He was designated by manager Frédéric Antonetti as the starting goalkeeper for the club's Coupe de la Ligue season ahead of fan-favorite and Nice-born as well Damien Gregorini, who was relied more upon in league play. Lloris made his professional debut on 25 October 2005, at the age of 18, recording a clean sheet in Nice's 2–0 Coupe de la Ligue win over LB Châteauroux.^[2] He recorded another clean sheet the following round against Sedan^[3] and helped Nice upset favorites Bordeaux^[4] and Derby de la Côte d'Azur rivals Monaco^[5] in the quarterfinals and semi-finals, respectively, meaning the club had reached their first-ever Coupe de la Ligue final. In the the final, Lloris played the entire 90 minutes in the club's 1–2 defeat against Nancy.^[6]

Lloris made his league debut on 18 March 2006 against Nancy picking up a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory.^[7] He made 4 more leagues appearances that season. The following season, Hugo was given the starting job permanently ahead of Gregorini, which subsequently led to Gregorini's departure to AS Nancy. Hugo appeared in 37 league matches recording 13 clean sheets. His efforts that season led to him being approached by several big European clubs with hopes of signing him for the future.

[edit] Olympique Lyonnais

After another solid season with Nice, speculation arose as to where Lloris would play the following season. He was primarily linked to French giants Olympique Lyonnais^[8], who wanted him to replace the departing Grégory Coupet, A.C. Milan^[9], who wanted him to replace the Brazilian Dida, and Tottenham Hotspur^[10], who wanted Lloris to replace Paul Robinson.

After reportedly coming to personal terms with Milan^[11], Hugo snubbed the Italian giants for the seven-time Ligue 1 champions Olympique Lyonnais. Lloris explained his decision citing Lyon's European ambitions, more playing time at Lyon, and in Milan, he was not guaranteed the starting goalkeeper spot.^[12] The transfer fee was priced at €8.5 million.^[13] He was promptly handed the number 1 jersey and also the starting goalkeeper position.

Hugo made his Lyon debut in their opening league match of the 2008–09 season against Toulouse. Lyon won the match 3–0 win giving Hugo his first career clean sheet with the club. Despite Lyon losing out on the title for the first time in seven years, Lloris was named the league's top goalkeeper and was also named to the Team of the Year.

The 2009–10 season saw Lloris continue his stellar play for Lyon recording four clean sheets in his club's first eight matches. For his amazing performances in the month of September, he was awarded the UNFP Player of the Month becoming the first goalkeeper since Steve Mandanda in August 2008 to receive the award. Lloris earned praise for his performances against Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League. In the first match, played at Anfield, Lloris made four critical saves holding Liverpool to only one goal. Lyon won the match 2–1. In the second match, he again performed admirably producing sharp stops from Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, and Andriy Voronin in the first half, then displaying stunning reflexes to deny the Brazilian Lucas Leiva midway through the second period. Though Lyon conceded late, they drew the match 1–1 with a goal from Lisandro López in injury time.^[14][15] On 20 December, Lloris finished third behind Nicolas Anelka and Yoann Gourcuff in voting for the France Football 2009 French Player of the Year award.^[16]

[edit] International career

Lloris has been active on the international front with France first appearing with the under-17 team. He later played with the under-19s and was part of the winning team at the 2005 European Under-19 Football Championship. Lloris appeared in all 20 matches the under-19 team contested. Lloris made only three appearances with the under-21 team, primarily because of his commitments to the senior team. On 11 October 2008, with the under-21 squad attempting to qualify for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, coach Erick Mombaerts called up Lloris to the team for their important two-legged playoff against Germany, despite Lloris having been called up to the senior team and the player having last played for the team on 1 June 2007. Lloris honored the call up and started the second leg. With France seconds away from a spot in the tournament, because of their 1–1 draw in the first leg, Germany got a late 90 minute goal from Benedikt Höwedes. The 1–0 victory eliminated France from the competition and also ended Lloris's under-21 career.

Lloris received his first call-up to the senior national team for France's 6 February 2008 showdown against Spain. However, he instead played for the B team in their friendly match against the Congo DR, held the day before the Spain friendly. After receiving several more call ups in 2008, he finally earned his first cap on 19 November 2008 in a 0–0 draw with Uruguay. On 9 September 2009, Lloris received his first international red card, against Serbia, following a foul on Nikola Žigić in the penalty box, despite replays showing otherwise.^[17] Lloris returned to the team on 14 October playing the entire 90 minutes in the team's 3–1 win over Austria.

Lloris was applauded by the media and players, alike, for his performance over two legs against the Republic of Ireland that saw France earn a spot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Former national team goalkeeper Grégory Coupet credited his performance as "phenomenal", while the French media branded him "Saint Lloris", which is a play on the nickname of Real Madrid counterpart Iker Casillas, who is considered one of the top goalkeepers in Europe at the moment.^[18][19][20]

[edit] Honours

[edit] International

• France
  • UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship: 2005

[edit] Individual

• Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2008–09
• Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2008–09
• UNFP Player of the Month: September 2009^[21]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Hugo Lloris French league stats at lfp.fr (French)
• Hugo Lloris FIFA competition record
• Soccernet Profile