Vincent Guérin (born 22 November 1965 in Boulogne-Billancourt) is a former footballer who played in a midfield role, currently the reserve coach at Paris Saint-Germain.

Career[link]

In a career stretching from 1984 to 2002, he played for Stade Brestois 29, Matra Racing, Montpellier Hérault, Paris Saint-Germain, Heart of Midlothian in Scotland and, finally, with Red Star 93.

With Paris Saint Germain he won one Ligue 1 in 1994, placed second in 1993, 1996 and 1997, won the Coupe de France twice, in 1993 and 1995, won one Coupe de la Ligue in 1995, and one Cup Winners' Cup in 1996. He was also a finalist in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1997, and won another Coupe de France in 1990 with Montpellier.

With France he won the UEFA Under 21 European Cup in 1988 (13 matches played), and earned 19 full international caps, scoring 2 goals, as well as participating at Euro 1996.

Doping controversy[link]

In 1997, the French Football Federation moved to suspend Guérin after he failed a drugs test administered after a PSG game on 5 October.^[1] Guérin appealed unsuccessfully to the FFF's doping appeals commission, who awarded him an 18-month ban, 12 months of which were suspended. Guérin subsequently appealed to the French federal Administrative Court at Versaille, contesting the FFF's decision on several counts. The court at Versaille upheld one of Guérin's contentions, that the drugs test was improperly administered, and thus decreed that the entire process should be deemed void.^[1] Resultantly, the FFF-imposed suspension was annulled.

Honours[link]

• UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 1

1995-96

• Ligue 1: 1

1993-94

• Coupe de France: 3

1989-90, 1992-93, 1994-95

• Coupe de la Ligue: 1

1994-95

See also[link]

• List of sportspeople cleared of doping charges

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile at londonhearts.com

v t e France squad – UEFA Euro 1996 Fouth Places 1 Lama 2 Angloma 3 Di Meco 4 Leboeuf 5 Blanc 6 Guérin 7 Deschamps (c) 8 Desailly 9 Djorkaeff 10 Zidane 11 Loko 12 Lizarazu 13 Dugarry 14 Lamouchi 15 Thuram 16 Barthez 17 Madar 18 Pedros 19 Karembeu 20 Roche 21 Martins 22 Martini Coach: Jacquet

David Ginola

Personal information
Full name	David Desire Marc Ginola[1]
Date of birth	(1967-01-25) 25 January 1967 (age 45)
Place of birth	Gassin, France
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1985–1988	Toulon	82	(4)
1988–1990	Racing Club de Paris	61	(8)
1990–1992	Brest	50	(14)
1992–1995	Paris Saint-Germain	115	(33)
1995–1997	Newcastle United	58	(6)
1997–2000	Tottenham Hotspur	100	(13)
2000–2002	Aston Villa	32	(3)
2002	Everton	5	(0)
Total		503	(81)
National team‡
1990–1995	France	17	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:27, 06 June 2007 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:27, 06 June 2007 (UTC)

David Desire Marc Ginola (English pronunciation: /ˈdʒɪnəlɑː/) (born 25 January 1967) is a French former international football player who has also worked as an actor and model.

Ginola was born in Gassin, Var. He played football for ten seasons in his native France before moving to England in 1995, when he signed for Newcastle United. He stayed in the country until retiring seven years later, having also turned out for Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton. Since his retirement from the game in 2002 he has become involved in several new pursuits, including acting.

Club career[link]

Ginola played at club level for Toulon (1985–88), Racing Levallois 92 (1988–90), Brest (1990–92), Paris Saint-Germain (1992–95), Newcastle United (1995–97), Tottenham Hotspur (1997–2000), Aston Villa (2000–2002) and Everton (2002).

France[link]

Ginola made his first senior appearance for Sporting Toulon as an eighteen year-old in a 1985 2–0 victory away at Metz.^[2] He played fourteen times in his first season, and by 1986 he was a regular in the Toulon line-up.

In 1988 he moved to Racing Club Paris, where he remained until signing for Brest in 1990. There, he began to impress observers with his flamboyant style of play. In 1991, he played a crucial role in a landmark victory (3-2) against the side who would go on to sign him, Paris Saint-Germain F.C..

Ginola joined the French capital club in January 1992, at a time when it was pushing for major honors with the financial backing of TV channel Canal+. He took little time to adapt to his new surroundings and soon conquered the Parc des Princes crowd with his elegant first touch and his pace.

At the same time, he was going through tough times with the national football team coached by Gérard Houllier, but the Parisian public never seemed to begrudge him for that. In fact, he would go on to become one of the most popular footballers among the notoriously uncompromising Parisian supporters. He became such a fan favorite that, even when he admitted that he supported Paris Saint-Germain's fierce rivals Olympique Marseille as a boy and that he would have joined them rather than PSG had an agreement been struck with Bernard Tapie, his popularity did not suffer any consequence.^[3]

In his first full season with PSG (1992–93), Ginola won the Coupe de France and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. At the end of 1993, he was also won the French Footballer of the Year award from the France Football magazine. 1993-94 would turn out to be the best season of his career, though it was also blighted by a personal all-time low for Ginola, occurring in November 1993. He was scapegoated for a defeat suffered by the French national football team against their Bulgarian opponents, which eliminated Les Bleus from the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

While suffering heartache with his country, Ginola was shining with his club. A star-studded PSG side featuring the likes of Paul Le Guen, Bernard Lama and Antoine Kombouaré and coached by Portuguese tactician Artur Jorge won the second league title of its history, losing only three times along the way. Ginola played an important role in this title-winning campaign, providing 13 goals in 38 games, which made him the top club goalscorer for the season.

The following season, under new manager Luis Fernandez, proved to be less successful in the league, with FC Nantes being crowned champions. Ginola scored 11 times in 28 league appearances. Paris Saint-Germain did shine in the cup competitions though, winning another Coupe de France as well as the first edition of the new Coupe de la Ligue. In the UEFA Champions League, the Parisian club caused a major shock after knocking out 1994's finalists FC Barcelona in the quarter finals, with Ginola playing particularly well. The club was eliminated at the next hurdle by defending champions A.C. Milan.

In the summer of 1995, David Ginola decided to leave France. Known to be a Spanish football enthusiast, he was expected to be snapped up by Barcelona. Furthermore, between 1992 and 1995, his stellar displays in European competitions against the Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona had attracted media attention in Spain, with local media dubbing him "El Magnifico". However, he ended up with English club Newcastle United F.C., then managed by Kevin Keegan.

Newcastle United[link]

In 1995, Ginola joined Newcastle United for £2.5 million. He was signed at a time when manager Kevin Keegan was attempting to turn the club into one of the major forces in English football, and the board was prepared to offer strong financial backing to sign a number of European superstars. In the 1995–96, Newcastle finished second, four points behind Manchester United. This was their strongest league performance in decades, and Ginola was an integral part of the team. The team chemistry was perfect with Ginola fitting in nicely with his new teammates. However, it was a major disappointment that Newcastle had finished second in the Premier League as they had led by up to 10 points as late as January.

In 1996, Barcelona made a move for him, but Newcastle rejected their offer.^[4] Ginola later stated his regret that he had never played for one of the "big clubs".^{[citation needed]} To add to their line-up, Newcastle paid £15m, breaking the transfer record, to sign Alan Shearer. Despite this, Newcastle finished second again, being narrowly overtaken by Manchester United. Halfway through the season, Kevin Keegan suddenly resigned as manager to be succeeded by Kenny Dalglish.

Keegan departed in January 1997 and Ginola did not get on with his replacement Kenny Dalglish, who never fancied the Frenchman.^[5] It soon became obvious he was heading for a move out of Tyneside, in spite of his popularity among Geordie supporters, some of whom had nicknamed him "David Copperfield" because of his ability to conjure up magic.

Tottenham Hotspur[link]

Tottenham Hostpur signed Ginola in July 1997 for £2.5m, where he was joined by Newcastle team-mate Les Ferdinand. In 1999, he was named PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year,^[6] while playing for Tottenham Hotspur. During the 1998/99 season, Ginola scored one of his most notable goals, when Spurs played Barnsley in the FA Cup 6th Round. Ginola weaved in and out of a number of Barnsley players and finished in the left side of the net, the only goal of the game. He was the first player in Premiership history to win the award while at a club who finished the season outside of the top 4. He also won his only English domestic trophy with Spurs, the 1999 League Cup with a 1–0 victory over Leicester City at Wembley Stadium. Ginola is fondly remembered by Spurs fans for his extravagant forward play and personality off the pitch. He played an integral role in their 1999 League Cup win and scoring a long range goal in a 3–1 win against Manchester United in a previous round. The respect and fondness Tottenham fans have for Ginola was shown when he was given one of the biggest cheers on their 125th anniversary when legends were paraded on the pitch. Ginola was inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame on 11 December 2008.^[7][8]

Aston Villa[link]

In July 2000 Ginola joined Aston Villa for a transfer fee of £3 million. He expressed his disappointment that Tottenham had sold him, saying the news that they had accepted the offer was a "bombshell".^[9] Villa manager John Gregory challenged Ginola to prove he could still perform in the Premiership, rather than move to a less demanding league abroad, as Ginola was now in his 33rd year and seemed unlikely to continue at professional level for much longer.^[10]

In January 2002 he was banned for two matches and fined £22,000 for stamping on an opponent and disputing his dismissal with the fourth official.^[11]

Everton[link]

In 2002 Ginola signed for Everton^[12] playing five games for the club before retiring in May 2002, just after David Moyes took over as manager.^[13] He announced his intention to move into either acting^[14] or football coaching.

International career[link]

Although Ginola was a very prominent French player, he did not see much action with the French national team, having been capped only 17 times in his career.^[2]

Ginola is famous in France for a mistake in a World Cup qualifying game against Bulgaria. France needed only a draw from their final qualifying group game on November 17, 1993 to qualify for the finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup. With the match level at 1–1 in the last minute, Ginola overhit a cross and Bulgaria subsequently counter-attacked and scored, winning the game 2-1 and enabling Bulgaria to qualify for the finals at the expense of France.

The French manager Gérard Houllier blamed the entire defeat on Ginola, and he was subsequently called the assassin of French football by the media. After being barracked by French fans, Ginola moved to England, signing for Newcastle United.^[15] Houllier's successor Aimé Jacquet regularly selected Ginola for international matches, but often used him only as a substitute. Ginola played his last match for the national team in 1995.

Playing style[link]

Ginola was renowned for his "magical" touch on the ball and his ability to get past players from any type of position and then manage to score a goal. His ability to do that was shown in games for Tottenham and Newcastle, with his most memorable goal in Newcastle's stunning 5–0 win over Premier League giants Manchester United on 20 October 1996, becoming a flamboyant part of the memorable "Entertainers" Newcastle side of his era, which also featured other highly acclaimed players including Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand, Faustino Asprilla, Peter Beardsley and Keith Gillespie.

In 1999, Dutch legend Johan Cruijff remarked that it was his belief that Ginola was currently the best player in the world.^[16]

Acting[link]

Ginola has acted in two films since his retirement from football. He played the title role in the short comedy Mr Firecul and Corporal Dieter Max in the 2005 war film The Last Drop.^[17]

Ginola's reputation was enhanced during his time in England when he starred in a commercial for L'Oréal hair products. In 1996, he featured in the ITV commercial for the Renault Laguna motor car.

Also, in 2000, Ginola made a cameo appearance in the first episode of the ITV drama series At Home with the Braithwaites. He played himself, announcing the results for the first ever Euro Lottery.

In 2006 Ginola appeared in the second series of Channel 4's Coach Trip during episode 22, in which he acted as a tour guide of Sainte-Maxime.

He also appeared on an episode of Chop Shop on Discovery Turbo where he had a one-off car designed for his son's birthday.

Cameo appearance as Daveed Ginjola in Beezly'n'Cool comic September 2009^[18]

Personal life[link]

Ginola is married to fashion model Coraline. The couple have a son and a daughter, and live near Saint-Tropez.^[19]

In 2008, Gionola was sued for child maintenance by Joelle Pinquier. She alleged that Ginola fathered her daughter Joy after a short affair. Although he refused to take a paternity test, Ginola agreed to pay £400/month child maintenance until Joy was 18. Ginola's lawyer successfully showed that not only had he kept up the payment, he was in actual fact six months in advance of the agreed schedule.^[20]

Wine making[link]

In 2008 Ginola received a silver medal at the International Wine Challenge for a rosé wine produced at his vineyard in Provence.^[21]

Endorsements[link]

Ginola has recently been a promoter of USB memory sticks from Kingston Digital Europe Ltd – an affiliate of Kingston Technologies and appeared at PC World in Gateshead on 28 May 2010 and Tottenham Hale on 29 May 2010.

Honours[link]

Paris SG

• Championat de France: 1994
• Coupe de France: 1993, 1995
• Coupe de la Ligue: 1995

Tottenham Hotspur

• Football League Cup: 1999

Awards[link]

Tottenham Hotspur

• English PFA Players' Player of the Year 1999.
• English Football Writers Player of the Year 1999.
• Club Player of Year 1998

Statistics[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: David Ginola

• Sunday Times article-8 November, 2009
• David Ginola, “Le Magnifique” – Spanish-

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)

Marco van Basten

Personal information
Full name	Marcel van Basten
Date of birth	(1964-10-31) 31 October 1964 (age 47)
Place of birth	Utrecht, Netherlands
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1981–1982	Ajax
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1982–1987	Ajax[2]	133	(128)
1987–1995	Milan	147	(90)
Total		280	(218)
National team
1981	Netherlands U21	15	(13)
1983–1992	Netherlands[2]	58	(24)
Teams managed
2003–2004	Jong Ajax
2004–2008	Netherlands
2008–2009	Ajax
2012–	Heerenveen
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Marcel "Marco" van Basten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑr.koʊ̯ vɑm.ˈbɑs.tə(n)]; 31 October 1964) is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played for Ajax and Milan, as well as the Dutch national team, in the 1980s and early 1990s. He is regarded as one of the greatest forwards of all time and has scored 277 goals in a high-profile career, which ended in 1995 as a result of an injury suffered two years earlier. He was later the head coach of Ajax and the Dutch national team.

Known for his strength on the ball, his tactical awareness and spectacular strikes and volleys, van Basten was named European Footballer of the Year three times (1988, '89 and '92) and FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992. Van Basten was voted eighth in a poll organised by the French weekly magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century.^[3] In 2004, a nationwide poll was held for the 100 greatest Dutch people (De Grootste Nederlander) and van Basten was number 25, the second highest for a football player^{[citation needed]}. In March 2007, Sky Sports ranked van Basten first on its list of great athletes who had their careers cut short.^[4]

Playing career[link]

Early years[link]

Van Basten was born on 31 October 1964 in Utrecht. He began playing for a local team, EDO, when he was seven years old. A year later, he moved to UVV Utrecht. After 10 years there, he briefly played for another club from Utrecht, Elinkwijk.

Ajax[link]

AFC Ajax signed van Basten for the 1981–82 season. He played his first game for Ajax in April 1982, scoring a debut goal in the 5–0 victory over NEC.

In the 1982–83 season, he competed with the European top scorer Wim Kieft for the position of centre forward, and scored nine goals in 20 league matches. After Kieft left for Serie A club Pisa the next season, van Basten solidified his position as the team's main attacker.

He became a top scorer in the league for four seasons from 1983–84 to 1986–87, scoring 117 goals in 112 matches. In the 1985–86 season, he scored 37 goals in 26 league matches, including six goals against Sparta Rotterdam and five against Heracles Almelo, and won the European Golden Boot. He also scored the winning goal in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final against Lokomotive Leipzig in 1987.

Milan[link]

In 1987, Silvio Berlusconi signed van Basten for Milan, with fellow countrymen Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard joining in 1988. In his first season, Milan won their first Scudetto in eight years, but van Basten played only 11 games and was constantly troubled by an ankle injury.

In 1988–89, van Basten won the Ballon d'Or as Europe's top footballer. He scored 19 goals in Serie A and scored two goals in the final of the European Cup as Milan triumphed against Steaua Bucureşti.

In 1989–90, he became Capocannoniere, Serie A's leading goal scorer, and Milan successfully defended the European Cup after beating Benfica in the final match.

Milan struggled in the 1990–91 season, as Sampdoria won the Scudetto. After van Basten fell out with Arrigo Sacchi, Berlusconi sacked the manager. Fabio Capello took over the following season, and Milan went undefeated in the league to win another Scudetto. Van Basten scored 25 league goals, and became Capocannoniere again.

In November 1992, he became the first player to score four goals in a Champions League match, against IFK Göteborg, including a picture perfect bicycle kick. The record was later equalled by other players, but was bettered only 20 years later, when Lionel Messi scored five goals against Bayer Leverkusen during the 2011-12 Champions League season.

Milan stretched their unbeaten run into the 1992–93 season, going 58 matches over two seasons before they lost a game. Van Basten played exceptionally well in the early part of the season. He was again voted the European player of the year, becoming the third player after Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini to win the award three times.

His troublesome ankle injury^[5] recurred in a game against A.C. Ancona, forcing him to undergo another series of surgery. He returned for the last few games in the season, before Milan lost to Marseille in the Champions League final. The match was van Basten's final game for the Italian club.

He had been hopeful of playing for his country at the 1994 World Cup as well as for his club in the 1994–95 season after spending the whole 1993–94 season out of action (missing Milan's victory in the European Cup as well as their Serie A title glory),^[6] but his club ordered him not to take part in the World Cup amid fear of ruining his rehabilitation.^[7] He finally conceded defeat in his battle to recover on 17 August 1995, when he announced his retirement as a player after two whole years on sidelines.^[8]

After retirement[link]

He played in the Demetrio Albertini testimonial at the San Siro in March 2006, and headed in a goal before being substituted early in the first half. On 22 July 2006, he also returned for the testimonial to celebrate the 11-year Arsenal career of Dennis Bergkamp, in what was the first game played at the new Emirates Stadium. He played in the second half for the Ajax legends team. He entered the match as part of a double substitution that also introduced Johan Cruyff. He took part in Tyskie's (polish beer) advertising campaign with Luis Figo and Zbigniew Boniek.

International[link]

Van Basten's talent was already noticed at a young age and he was called up for the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship. He made his senior debut that same year. At the UEFA Euro 1988, van Basten scored a total of five goals, including a hat trick against England, the winning goal in the semi-final against West Germany, and a spectacular volley in the final against the Soviet Union.^[9] He was the tournament's top scorer and was the only player to score more than two goals.

The Dutch national team exited early in the World Cup in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, losing to West Germany in the second round. Van Basten never scored in the World Cup Finals.

The Netherlands reached the semi-final of UEFA Euro 1992 when they lost to Denmark in a penalty shootout, with Peter Schmeichel saving a penalty shot from van Basten.

Managing career[link]

Ajax B[link]

Van Basten while manager of the Netherlands.

Van Basten officially left Milan in 1995 and retired from football, stating he would never try management. However, he changed his mind and took a course with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). His first stint as a manager was as an assistant to his former teammate John van 't Schip with the second team of Ajax in 2003–04.

Netherlands[link]

On 29 July 2004,^[10] van Basten was named the new manager of the Dutch national team, with van 't Schip as his assistant.

As a manager, he soon established himself as a man of strong principles. Van Basten famously dropped regulars like Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids and Roy Makaay and benched Mark van Bommel, because he believed that they were either past their prime or constantly underachieving.

There were also calls for van Basten to call up Dennis Bergkamp, who had retired from the national team six years earlier for a final "hurrah" as he was retiring that season. Van Basten then revealed to the media that he never intended to do so despite Bergkamp's own willingness.

For probably the first time in decades, none of the "Big Three" Clubs (Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord) provided the backbone for the national team. Instead, newcomer AZ led the way with players such as Denny Landzaat, Barry Opdam, Barry van Galen, Ron Vlaar, Jan Kromkamp and Joris Mathijsen. Other unheralded choices were Khalid Boulahrouz, Hedwiges Maduro, Ryan Babel and Romeo Castelen selected. Van Basten had also wanted to include Ivorian forward Salomon Kalou, but was thwarted when Kalou was denied Dutch citizenship by the immigration authorities headed by Rita Verdonk. Kalou eventually accepted a call-up to play for Côte d'Ivoire.

Van Basten (left) with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar during training prior to Euro 2008.

Under his guidance, the team were unbeaten in their World Cup qualification group and made it through the group stages at the FIFA World Cup 2006, but were eliminated in a frenzied 1–0 loss to Portugal in the Round of 16. Van Basten was heavily criticised for dropping Ruud van Nistelrooy (who had scored 28 goals for the Netherlands) before this game, in favour of Dirk Kuyt, who did not score throughout the entire tournament.

In November 2006, van Basten recalled exiled Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf for a friendly against England at the Amsterdam ArenA. In May 2007, van Basten announced the end of his long-running dispute with Real Madrid forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had previously declared never to play for a Dutch national squad with van Basten as its manager.^{[11][dead link]} Other players, such as Roy Makaay, Mark van Bommel, Boudewijn Zenden, and Edgar Davids, however, remained out of favour.

Van Basten had a contract with the KNVB for managing the Dutch national side until 2008. The KNVB had expressed its wishes to extend his contract to include the World Cup qualification route to 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. On 22 February 2008, van Basten signed a four-year contract with Ajax, starting from 1 July.^[12] His last tournament thus was the UEFA Euro 2008, where the Netherlands surprised with a strong round 1 performance. They beat World Champions Italy 3–0 in their first match, followed by a 4–1 win over World Cup runners-up France. In their third game, already qualified for the next round, van Basten selected non-regulars such as Maarten Stekelenburg, Wilfred Bouma and Ibrahim Afellay for the starting lineup against Romania, a match the 'Oranje' won 2–0. In the quarter finals, van Basten faced fellow Dutchman Guus Hiddink's Russia. With the score at 1–1 after 90 minutes, Hiddink and Russia went on to win the match 3–1.

Ajax[link]

Van Basten became trainer of Ajax after Euro 2008 but resigned on 6 May 2009 after his team failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Van Basten started the season well, having spent millions on players such as Miralem Sulejmani, Ismaïl Aissati, Darío Cvitanich, Evander Sno, Eyong Enoh and Oleguer Presas Renom. However, in the second half of the season striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar left for Real Madrid, and Van Basten started switching around his lineups. When Ajax lost eleven points in four games, the Eredivisie title was out of sight. Ajax could, however, still get second place, which would have ensured a place in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. But after two big losses against PSV (6–2) and Sparta Rotterdam (4–0) Van Basten's Ajax could only make it to number three. Van Basten decided to resign as Ajax manager at the end of the 2008–09 season. After this, Van Basten became a pundit for Sport1, but was still planning to return as a manager.

SC Heerenveen[link]

On 13 February 2012, it was announced that van Basten would become the manager of Eredivisie club Heerenveen in the 2012–13 season.

Honours[link]

Statistics[link]

Club[link]

*European competitions include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Cup, and UEFA Super Cup

International[link]

^[13]

Manager[link]

As of 3 May 2009

References[link]