Johan Micoud
Personal information
Date of birth	July 24, 1973 (1973-07-24) (age 36)
Place of birth	Cannes, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Retired
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1992–1996 1996–2000 2000–2002 2002–2006 2006–2008	AS Cannes Girondins Bordeaux AC Parma Werder Bremen Girondins Bordeaux	127 (17) 127 (27) 047 0(9) 123 (31) 061 (10)
National team2
1999–2004	France	017 0(1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 May 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 31 July 2004. * Appearances (Goals)

Johan Micoud (born 24 July 1973 in Cannes) is a retired French professional footballer, who played mostly as an attacking midfielder.

Left-footed, he was considered a very good playmaker and a dead-ball expert.

[edit] Club career

A product of AS Cannes' youth system, Micoud became the side's newest playmaker, after Zinedine Zidane's 1992 departure to FC Girondins de Bordeaux. He helped the club to promotion from the second division in 1993 and UEFA Cup qualification the following season.

In 1998-99, two years after also moving to Bordeaux, Micoud played a pivotal role as the club were crowned league champions, and helped it to the following season Champions League's second group stage.

In 2000, he was seduced by the attraction of playing abroad, initially joining Italy's AC Parma, where he stayed for two seasons. Micoud then moved to Germany, signing for SV Werder Bremen, where he enjoyed a successful four-year stay, the peak of which being a major force in the league and cup double in 2004, as he netted 10 league goals, the highest for a midfielder alongside Bayer Leverkusen's Bernd Schneider.

In June 2006, aged 33, Micoud returned to France, re-joining the club where he first flourished, Bordeaux,^[1]enjoying immediate success as he scored the winner in his first league match back at the club, at FC Lorient (1-0). He quickly became a key player in Bordeaux's squad, helping it to win the 2007 League Cup and fight for the title the following season. However, after two solid seasons, club manager Laurent Blanc announced on May 10, 2008 that Micoud's contract would not be renewed at the end of the season, and the player subsequently retired from the game.^[2]

[edit] International career

Despite being selected in the French national team on several occasions throughout his career, Micoud never managed to secure himself a regular starting role, mainly due to the presence of Zidane, whom occupied the same position.

Courtesy of his stellar championship performances with Bordeaux, he made his debut on August 17, 1999, in a friendly match with Northern Ireland, and was subsequently picked for the squad which won Euro 2000, but he only played in one of the six matches of the tournament, in the group match against Holland, effectively a dead rubber given that both nations had already qualified both the group. He was also selected for the disastrous FIFA World Cup campaign of 2002, during which he was entrusted with the key midfield role against Uruguay, only to turn in a largely unconvincing display in a disappointing 0-0 draw, mostly remembered for Thierry Henry's red card.

Regardless of his consistently high level of performance at club level, Micoud found himself subsequently marginalised by the following national selectors. Jacques Santini only selected him once, in a friendly match against Holland in 2004, and he failed to make the squad for Euro 2004 in Portugal, despite his Bremen performances. With Raymond Domenech, he did not win a single call-up for the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, with the finals to be held in Germany, the country where he delivered strong performances on a regular basis.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

This article has been translated from French Wikipedia

[edit] External links

• L'Équipe stats (French)
• Bundesliga stats at Fussballdaten (German)

v • d • e France squad – UEFA Euro 2000 Winners (2nd title) 1 Lama • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Blanc • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Deschamps • 8 Desailly • 9 Anelka • 10 Zidane • 11 Pirès • 12 Henry • 13 Wiltord • 14 Micoud • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Ramé • Coach: Lemerre

v • d • e France squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Ramé • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Christanval • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Makélélé • 8 Desailly • 9 Cissé • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Boghossian • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Micoud • 23 Coupet • Coach: Lemerre