Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
How many defenders do you know who played with the number 10 on their back?
You really have to be one hell of a superstar to pull that off.
So when Gallas joined Arsenal from Chelsea, it was an odd decision that Gallas later justified with his quality.
The French International had an accomplished career playing for the three best London clubs and turning out more than 80 times for his country.
Let us briefly look at his accomplished career and where he displayed his talents.
William Gallas started his professional career at a Ligue 2 club, Caen.
Despite his young age, he was instrumental in his side winning the second division and getting themselves promoted to Ligue 1.
Gallas' development saw him move to Marseille, where he played for four years. His biggest moment in Marseille colours came in 1999 when the Frenchman scored the winner against Manchester United in a European encounter. Quite a feat for a defender and one which you'd have got good odds against from casinos like Leroijohnny!
In 2001, Chelsea bought Gallas for approximately $6m. Gallas was formidable in the early part of his Chelsea career as he created a great defensive partnership with Marcel Desailly and later with John Terry.
His partnership with Terry resulted in 16 consecutive clean sheets for the club.
The problems started once an injury crisis came at Chelsea. As both Desaily and Terry were seniors to Gallas, both used to play in the middle of the defense. An injury to Wayne Bridge meant that the Frenchman had to play out of position at the left.
Despite scoring some vital goals in the Premier League campaign, he was unable to find a spot in his favoured position and decided not to renew his contract.
William Gallas signed for Arsenal in the summer of 2006 in a move that saw Ashley Cole move to the other side of London.
Arsene Wenger stated that he would be the core of his defence. His first match for the Gunners was against Middlesbrough, followed by his first Arsenal goal against Sheffield United.
A year later, Gallas reached a milestone in his professional career as he was named the Arsenal captain.
Slowly he formed another great defensive pair with Kolo Toure that made for a defensively stable Arsenal side.
In his first season as captain, Arsenal finished runners-up to Birmingham City in the League Cup and third in the Premier League.
In his second season as Arsenal captain, the Gunners reached the Champions League semi-finals, beating Villareal in the process. In the semis, they lost to a Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Manchester United.
Despite starting the 2009/10 season really well, Gallas had numerous injuries after January.
While Wenger had optimism in retaining Gallas, Arsenal were unable to fulfil his wage demands, which concluded his time at the club.
As Gallas was settled in London he decided to move to Arsenal's North London neighbors Tottenham in the summer of 2010.
Gallas became the first player ever to feature for Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham.
His first season was phenomenal in which he registered 36 appearances for Spurs and was pivotal in the club reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.
However, he couldn't live up to those standards as he suffered numerous injuries in his final two seasons in the English Premier League. In June 2013, Tottenham confirmed that they had released Gallas.
In October 2013, Gallas signed for Australian A-league club Perth Glory. Gallas had joined on the back of several international superstars coming to Australia i.e. Emile Heskey, Alessandro Del Piero. No doubt moving down under for the great weather, sandy beaches and online casinos in australia.
His time in Australia was not easy for him as advancing age and the hot climate made it difficult for him to survive.
Anyhow, he tried his best for the Australian club making 15 appearances before hanging his boots.
Gallas scored his first and only goal for the Australian club in a draw against Wellington Phoenix.
The Frenchman retired at the end of the 2013/14 campaign as injuries caught up to the French International.
The major tragedy in William Gallas's career has to be the injuries he has endured.
Having said that, he has still had a fulfilling career playing for some of the best clubs in Europe and representing his country in major International tournaments going as far as the World Cup Final in 2006.
Taking my son to his first football match was one of the best experiences I've had as a father so far. I've written this article for Alex to read when he gets older.
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