Player Information
Full name: Franck Bilal Ribéry
Date of birth: April 01, 1983
Birthplace: Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
Nationality: French
EU passport: Yes
Height: 171 cms
Weight: 62 kgs
Club: Bayern München
Position: Attacking Midfielder [R]
Squad Number: 7
Contract expires: June 2011
Previous clubs: Boulogne-sur-Mer > Ales > Brest > Metz > Galatasaray > Marseille > (€25m) Bayern München
International debut: May 2006, v Mexico
International Caps: 25
International Goals: 2
World Cups: Germany 2006 (2nd)
Date of birth: April 01, 1983
Birthplace: Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
Nationality: French
EU passport: Yes
Height: 171 cms
Weight: 62 kgs
Club: Bayern München
Position: Attacking Midfielder [R]
Squad Number: 7
Contract expires: June 2011
Previous clubs: Boulogne-sur-Mer > Ales > Brest > Metz > Galatasaray > Marseille > (€25m) Bayern München
International debut: May 2006, v Mexico
International Caps: 25
International Goals: 2
World Cups: Germany 2006 (2nd)
Awards Turkish Cup (2005)
German Liga Pokal (2007)
German DFB-Pokal (2008)
German Bundesliga (2008)
France's Young Player of the Season (2006)
French Player of the Year (2007)
German Bundesliga Player of the Season (2008)
German Footballer of the Year (2008)
Biography 1983
Born April 7, 1983 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais.
1986
At the age of two he was thrown through the windshield in a car crash that resulted in scars on the right side of his face and his forehead. Franck now regards the horrendous accident as a source of strength and motivation. "I was a fighter," he recalls.
2002
Converted to Islam around the time he married his Muslim fiance Wahiba Belhami who is of Algerian descent (originally from Nedroma, Tlemcen). He adopted the Arabic name Bilal.
May: Suffered relegation from French National league with US Boulogne after finishing 17th in the 20-team season.
2004
May: Helped Brest to win promotion the French Ligue 2 after finishing second in the National League (Third level).
August 7: Made his French Ligue 1 debut in the Metz 1-0 win over Nantes.
November 11: Scored his first French Ligue 1 goal in the 82nd minute of the Metz 1-1 away draw at Toulouse.
2005
January: Signed a contract with Turkish club Galatasaray, and went on to help them win the 2005 Turkish Cup by scoring a key goal in a 1-0 victory in the semi-final and scoring a goal and assisting another in a 5-1 win in the final against rivals Fenerbahce.
July 18: Hizya, his daughter, is born.
2006
May: Voted France's Young Player of the Season for 2005/06
May 15: Previously uncapped, he is selected in the France squad for the World Cup.
May 27: Made National team debut in the France 1-0 victory over Mexico at the Stade de France. He began the match and was substituted by David Trezeguet in the 74th minute.
June 27: Scored his first international goal, a crucial one, levelling France at 1-1 with Spain in the 41st minute of their knockout round match after calmly rounding the Spanish keeper, Iker Casillas. Though Spain were the favourites, France went on to win that game 3-1 to book a quarter-final slot against Brazil.
July 9: Member of the French squad that lost the FIFA World Cup final against Italy 1-1 (3-5 PSO) in Berlin's Olympiastadion.
August 04: A few days after pledging his future to Olympique Marseille, France midfielder Franck Ribery said he wanted to leave the French club. "My wish is to leave Marseille," he told French Television.
August 10: Franck Ribery has pledged his future to Marseille, just days after announcing he wanted to leave the club. "I am a Marseille player and I'm happy to be here," he said.
October 12: Included among the 30 nominees for the FIFA World Player of the Year Award.
October 17: Included among the 50 nominees for the European Footballer of the Year Award.
November 18: Franck Ribery will be out of action until the new year with a groin injury. The Frenchman said he felt pain for the first time the day after Lyon thrashed Marseille 4-1 in Ligue 1 three weeks ago. "I did not have enough time to rest (after the World Cup ended in July)," he added.
2007
May 13: Lost the French Cup final on penalty kicks with Marseille against Sochaux in the Stade de France.
May 25: Set to join Bayern Munich in the summer, a source close to the German club revealed, in a deal believed to be worth 15 millions euros.
June 7: Bayern Munich officially anounced the signing of Ribery on a four year deal from Marseille for a club record fee of €25 million. He was given the number 7 shirt, previously worn by club legend Mehmet Scholl, who had retired the preceding season.
July 6: Ribery made his first appearance against FT Gern in a friendly. The game ended 18-0 for Bayern Munich and Ribery scored 2 goals.
August 11: Made his Bundesliga debut in the FC Bayern's 3-0 home defeat of Hansa Rostock. He started the match and was substituted in the 79th minute by Jose Sosa.
August 18: Scored on a penalty kick his first Bundesliga goal during FC Bayern's 4-0 away victory at Werder Bremen.
2008
April 19: Helped Bayern to a record 14th German Cup title after defeating Borussia Dortmund 2-1 after extra time in the final in Berlin.
May 5: Won the German Bundesliga with FC Bayern, it was the 21st German title for the Bavarian side.
May 26: Voted Bundesliga player of the year in a poll of 268 league players published in Kicker newspaper. Ribery won 57.8 percent of the vote, well ahead of Luca Toni who came in second place with 24.8 percent and Diego Ribas with 8.5.
June 17: Lasted only ten minutes of the European Championship Group C finale against Italy, lost 0-2, being carried off the pitch after getting caught in a tangle of legs with Gianluca Zambrotta. The exact nature of the injury was a rupture of the ligament connecting the fibula to the tibia in his lower left leg.
June 19: Come through an operation on his left leg in Germany, two days after he was forced out of Les Bleus' final European Championship Group C game in Zurich with a severely twisted ankle. Bayern expect Ribery's rehabilitation to take seven to eight weeks.
August 6: Became only the second foreign player to be named Footballer of the Year in Germany after claiming the prize ahead of Michael Ballack and Luca Toni.
September 24: Made a happy return from injury to help holders FC Bayern M?nchen into the German Cup last 16 with a 2-0 win against 1. FC Nuernberg.
FIFA World Cup™ Germany 2006 player's profile
The Olympique Marseille midfielder recently came into national team calculations and is now on the shopping list of several clubs across Europe.
Extremely fast and tricky, leading the charge on the left flank. Tottenham, Arsenal and Turkey’s Galatasaray - where he played in 2005 - are among the clubs to have been linked with him.
Marseille is his sixth career club and he is only 23.
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