Franck Ribery

About Franck Ribery

Franck “Bilal” Ribery is a French midfielder. He was born on April 1st, 1983 in Boulogne-sur-Mer. He started his professional career in 2004 with the French club FC Metz. Runner-up of the 2006 FIFA World Cup with national team, he is known for his acceleration and became in only 1 year the successor of Zidane. After 2 amazing seasons playing for Marseilles, he was transferred to Bayern Munich in 2007 for a €26 million fee.

Ribery's Background

Franck Bilal Ribery was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France on April 1st, 1983. He started playing football when he was 6 years old in the local club FC Conti. At 12 years old, he joined Lille OSC training centre and was evicted from it 4 years later for not paying attention during classes. In 2001, he joined US Boulogne and moved to Olympique Ales the next season, both clubs playing in national league (amateur league). He played his first professional match in 2003 with Stade Brestois, a Ligue 2 club. A few months later, he was spotted by coach Jean Fernandez and was transferred to FC Metz, his first Ligue 1 team, without any fees. Six months later, he suddenly moved to Turkey and signed a 3 years contract with Galatasaray S.K. in January 2005. However, in June 2005, he moved back to France and signed a new contract with Marseilles, one of the best team in Le Championnat. On June 7th 2007, he signed a 4 years contract with Bayern Munich for a €26 Million fee.

Club Football

FC Metz (2004-2005)
When Ribery was spotted by coach Jean Fernandez, he signed his first professional contract with Ligue 1 club FC Metz. In August 2004, one month only after his professional debut, he was named Player of the Month. Playing on the right wing, his accelerations made him famous and people were comparing him to another French midfielder, Robert Pires, who was playing for Arsenal at that time. In January 2005, he signed a four year contract with the Turkish club Galatasaray S.K. In 6 months only with Metz, he scored 2 goals in 21 appearances.

Galatasaray S.K. (2005)
Ribery spent only 5 months in Turkey and got his nickname “Ferrarribery” because of his amazing accelerations. He helped his team wining the 2005 Turkish Cup by scoring the wining goal in the semi-finals and scoring a goal and assisting another one in the final. However, he decided to leave because the club was not paying him. He started in 17 games and scored 2 goals in all competitions. He moved back to France in July 2005 and signed a new contract with Olympique de Marseilles, one of the best teams in France.

Olympique de Marseilles (2005-2007)
The 2 years he spent with the French club were very successful for Ribery. He imposed himself as a playmaker in the first few games, and let his team to win the 2005 Intertoto Cup. In 2006, he was named French Young Player of the Year and scored one of the fastest goal of the season against Nantes, 13 seconds after the beginning of the game! Runner-up of the 2006 Coupe de France and the 2007 Coupe de France, he also finished at the 2nd place with his team in Le Championnat behind Lyon. During those 2 years, he started in 68 games and scored 14 goals, in all competitions. On June 7th, 2007, he signed a four year contract with Bayern Munich for a €26Million fee, establishing a new club record fee for Marseilles.

Bayern Munich (2007-present)
On July 6th, 2007, Bayern Munich was playing a friendly game against FT Gern : Ribery made his first appearance with his new team and scored 2 goals (the game ended 18-0 for Bayern Munich!!!).On July 21st, 2007, he played his first official game in Germany against Werder Bremen in the first round of the German League Cup and scored 2 goals. In the semi-finals, he netted a penalty and led his team to the final. However, after a minor injury, he was enable to play the final, which was won by Bayern Munich 1-0 over Schalke 04. Thanks to him and the perfect cooperation with his new team-mates Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose, Bayern Munich is actually leading the German Championship.

International Football

France
Ribery started his international career with the Under-21 French National Team in 2004. Two years later, on May 27th, 2006, he earned his first cap with the senior team in a friendly game against Mexico.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he started in almost all the matches. He scored his first international goal against Spain and led France to the quarter-finals. He finished runner-up, losing against Italy in final. Since Zidane retired, he has been the new playmaker of France. He scored 2 goals in 24 selections.

International Goals

Awards and Honours

Galatasaray S.K
Turkish Football Cup : 2005

Olympique de Marseilles
Ligue 1 : Runner-up :2007
Coupe de France : Runner-up : 2006, 2007
UEFA Intertoto Cup : 2005

Bayern Munich
German League Cup : 2007

France
FIFA World Cup : Runner-up : 2006

Personal Awards

Career Statistics

M = Matches, G = Goals, A = Assists

Personal Info

When he was 2 years old, Ribery and his parents got into a serious car accident and young Franck was thrown through the windshield of a car in Boulogne-sur-Mer, where he was born. This left significant scars on his face - that’s why one of his nicknames is “Scarface”. Unfortunately, some have called Ribery one of the least handsome players in football due to his facial features and teeth.

Wife / Girlfriend

Ribery is married to Wahiba and has converted to Islam before his wedding. Wahiba is from Algerian descent (originally from Nedroma, Tlemcen). Ribéry has adopted the Arabic name Bilal. They have been married for 8 years and have 2 daughters, Hizya, who was born on July 18, 2005, and Shahinez, who was born on January 9th, 2008.

Sponsors

Important Links

http://www.franckribery.org

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franck_Ribery
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franck_Rib%C3%A9ry
http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/FootballFicheJoueur20000000000000000000019521.html
http://www.franckribery.org/biography.aspx
http://franck-ribery.skyrock.com/