Louis Saha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Louis Saha | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Louis Laurent Saha | |
| Date of birth | August 8, 1978 | |
| Place of birth | Paris, France | |
| Height | 1.81 m (5' 11.25") | |
| Position | Forward | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Manchester United | |
| Number | 9 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1996-1997 | FC Metz | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (goals) |
| 1997-1999 1999 1999-2000 2000-2004 2004-Present |
FC Metz Newcastle United (loan) FC Metz Fulham Manchester United |
24 (1) 11 (1) 23 (4) 116 (53) 52 (18) |
| National team** | ||
| 2004 - Present | France | 17 (4) |
|
* Professional club appearances and goals |
||
Louis Laurent Saha (born 8 August 1978 in Paris) is a French international footballer of Guadaloupian descent who plays for the English club, Manchester United.
He made his English football debut while on loan at Newcastle United on January 9, 1999, but made the greatest impact of his career when, during 2000, he was transferred to Fulham from F.C. Metz for £2.1million. During a spell of nearly four years at the club, he scored 63 goals in total.
In January 2004 he moved to Manchester United for £12.82million, and was handed the number 9 shirt which had been vacant since the departure of Andy Cole two years earlier. Saha scored from a free-kick on his United debut in a 3-2 win over Southampton F.C. on 31 January 2004. In February 2004, Saha capped another debut appearance with a goal, on this occasion for the French national team, in a 2-0 victory against Belgium. Saha ended the season with 7 goals from 13 appearances for United and he looked to have developed a promising partnership with Ruud van Nistelrooy.
However, the arrival of Alan Smith (from Leeds United for £6million) and then Wayne Rooney (from Everton for £30million) pushed Saha down the pecking order and he was linked with a move away from the club less than a year after arriving. His 2004-05 season was badly hit by a succession of injuries and he managed only two goals. 2005-06 also began with injury setbacks, but Saha has silenced his critics with a series of strong performances since his return to first-team action in November 2005. He now looks likely to replace van Nistelrooy as United's main striker after the Dutchman has left the club. A member of the French national team and now fairly well established in the squad, Saha was a part of the squad at the 2004 European Football Championship. He is a friend of national team-mate Thierry Henry.
He was picked in the 2006 World Cup Squad squad for France as a forward, along with Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet as well as Djibril Cissé, Sylvain Wiltord and Franck Ribéry. He was unable to play in the final due to receiving his second yellow card of the knockout stages in the semi-final against Portugal.
2006 finally saw him pick up his first medal in the Carling Cup 4-0 win over Wigan. Saha managed to score one of the goals and could be the first of many trophies with the Red Devils. He got his 2006-2007 Champions League of to a good start, scoring 2 goals in Manchester United 3-2 win against Celtic.
On the 26th September he helped his team beat Benfica in matchday 2 of their UEFA Champions League campaign. He scored a deflected left footed goal which helped Manchester United win away in Europe for the first time in three years.
[edit] External links
- FootballDatabase provides Louis Saha's profile and stats
- Saha at Newcastle United
- Saha at Fulham
- Saha at Manchester United
- LouisSaha.com Fansite
- Useful Louis Saha Links
 |
France squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Runners-up | |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Landreau | 2 Boumsong | 3 Abidal | 4 Vieira | 5 Gallas | 6 Makélélé | 7 Malouda | 8 Dhorasoo | 9 Govou | 10 Zidane | 11 Wiltord | 12 Henry | 13 Silvestre | 14 Saha | 15 Thuram | 16 Barthez | 17 Givet | 18 Diarra | 19 Sagnol | 20 Trézéguet | 21 Chimbonda | 22 Ribéry | 23 Coupet | Coach: Domenech |
||
| Manchester United F.C. - Current Squad |
|---|
|
1 Van der Sar | 2 Neville | 3 Evra | 4 Heinze | 5 Ferdinand | 6 Brown | 7 Ronaldo | 8 Rooney | 9 Saha | 11 Giggs | 13 Park | 14 Smith | 15 Vidić | 16 Carrick | 18 Scholes | 20 Solskjær | 22 O'Shea | 23 Richardson | 24 Fletcher | 25 D. Jones | 27 Silvestre | 29 Kuszczak | 34 Shawcross | 35 Lee | 36 Gray | 38 Heaton | 41 Marsh | 42 Barnes | 43 Rose | 49 R. Jones | Manager: Ferguson |
Categories: 1978 births | Living people | People from Paris | French footballers | France international footballers | FA Premier League players | Newcastle United F.C. players | Fulham F.C. players | Manchester United F.C. players | Left-footed football (soccer) players | UEFA Euro 2004 players | FIFA World Cup 2006 players
