Claude Anelka (born 12 March 1968) is a French

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager, who is currently the Director of Coaching at Little Haiti FC, and former player.

Early life

Anelka was born in

Saint-Pierre, Martinique Saint-Pierre (, ; ; Martinican Creole: ) is a town and commune of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique, founded in 1635 by Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. Before the total destruction of Saint-Pierre by a volcanic eruption in 1902, it ...

on 12 March 1968.

Playing career

Anelka played as a defender for

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

Paris FC Paris Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional football club based in Paris, that competes in the Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Paris FC play their home matches at the Stade C ...

and Choisy-le-Roi.

Managerial career

In 2004, he invested approximately £300,000 into Scottish side

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leagu ...

and became manager. However, he resigned as manager in September 2004 after managing just one draw and seven defeats from eight games. After resigning as manager, he became Director of Football, but resigned from that position in October 2004. Anelka, after leaving Raith, worked as a coach at FC Trappes, where both his brother and

Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He is widely considered as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Vieira began his career at ...

began their careers. On 8 December 2009, Anelka was announced as the first Head Coach of NASL expansion side

AC St. Louis AC St. Louis was an American professional association football, soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in December 2009, the team played its first and only season the next year in the NASL Conference of the temporary USSF ...

. Anelka was fired from the position on 25 June 2010. After a spell as Head Coach of Floridians FC he was appointed Director of Coaching at Little Haiti FC, of the Florida Youth Soccer Association (FYSA) in February 2015.

Personal life

He is the older brother of professional footballer

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...

and acted as his agent in 1999.

References

1968 births Living people French people of Martiniquais descent French footballers FC Versailles 78 players Paris FC players Association football defenders French football managers Association football agents Raith Rovers F.C. managers AC St. Louis coaches Expatriate football managers in Scotland Scottish Football League managers French expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer managers in the United States French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland French expatriate sportspeople in the United States People from Le Chesnay Footballers from Yvelines AS Choisy-le-Roi players Association football coaches {{France-footy-bio-stub