Fabien Alain Barthez (born 28 June 1971) is a French racing driver and former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. At club level, he played football in both France and England with
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
,
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
,
AS Monaco,
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, and
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
. At international level, he represented the
France national team, with whom he won the
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
,
UEFA Euro 2000
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The finals tournament was ...
, and the
2003 FIFA Confederations Cup
The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup, held in France in June 2003. France retained the title they had won in 2001, but the tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroon player Marc-Vivie ...
, representing his nation at a total of three editions of both the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
and the
UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
; he also reached the final of the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
, after which he retired from international football.
Nicknamed ''Le Divin Chauve'' ("The Divine Bald One"), due to his trademark shaved head,
Barthez was France's most capped player in the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
, with 17 appearances at the finals and shares the record for the most
World Cup finals clean sheets with
Peter Shilton, with ten.
In club football, he won the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
with Olympique Marseille in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
as well as several
Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
and
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
titles. After retiring from football in 2007, Barthez began a career in motorsport in 2008.
Early life
Barthez was born in
Lavelanet
Lavelanet (; ''L'Avelhanet'' in the Languedocian dialect of Occitan) is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France.
Population
Its inhabitants are called ''Lavelanetiens.''
Tour de France
In 2 ...
, Ariège.
Club career
Marseille
Barthez made his first division debut for
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
on 21 September 1991, against
Nancy. He joined
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
in 1992, and won both the French championship and the
Champions League at the end of his first season in Marseille, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory over
A.C. Milan in
final of the latter competition. The 1993 victory made him the youngest goalkeeper to win a Champions League title until
Iker Casillas
Iker Casillas Fernández (; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "''San Iker''" ("Saint Iker") for his ability to produce spectac ...
did so in 2000.
Marseille, however, would be stripped of their domestic title, though not of the Champions League crown, due to their involvement in a domestic
match fixing
In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...
scandal, and a year later (1994) would suffer a forced relegation to the second division due to a related financial bankruptcy. He stayed with the club in Division 2 for the 1994–95 season, despite many offers from elite French clubs, helping Marseille to the title and to earn promotion to the first division.
Monaco
In 1995, Barthez joined
AS Monaco and won
Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
titles in 1997 and 2000. He also played in
Jean Tigana
Amadou Jean Tigana (born 23 June 1955) is a French former footballer and coach. He has played in midfield and managed professional football extensively throughout France, including 52 appearances and one goal for the France national football team ...
's talented Monaco side which famously put his future club
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
out of the Champions League in 1998 on away goals after a 1–1 draw at
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
.
Manchester United
As a result of Barthez's success in the World Cup and the Euros, he caught the attention of Manchester United manager
Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...
, who was searching for a star goalkeeper to replace the recently departed
Peter Schmeichel, as Ferguson did not think that the previous season's goalkeeper,
Mark Bosnich, was a long-term replacement. Barthez joined United for £7.8 million in 2000. He was later reunited with national teammate
Laurent Blanc
Laurent Robert Blanc (born 19 November 1965) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, and is currently the manager of Ligue 1 club Lyon. He has the nickname ''Le Président'', which was given to him ...
, who joined United in 2001. The Barthez–Blanc head-kissing ritual was performed at the start of Champions League matches.
Well known for being eccentric,
Barthez started out well for Manchester United. His first season was a triumph as he answered all the questions about how he would handle rainy
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
compared to sunny
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
. Barthez performed brilliantly throughout the season and became a crowd favourite. The fans loved his eccentric behaviour, his taunting dribbles and step-overs past opposing strikers,
and most importantly, his remarkable reaction saves.
Very often, it was critical saves that kept United from defeat or dropping valuable points,
helping United to the
2000–01 FA Premier League
The 2000–01 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth FA Premier League season and the third season running which ended with Manchester United as champions and Arsenal as runners-up. Sir A ...
title, their third in a row.
A memorable incident happened when Manchester United faced
Leeds United in March 2001. After dropping a cross from
Robbie Keane
Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional Association football, football coach and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. Keane served as Captain (association football ...
, Barthez deliberately kicked out with his foot at
Ian Harte
Ian Patrick Harte (born 31 August 1977) is an Irish football agent and former professional footballer who played as a left back. He was best known for his ability to score goals from long range, including being a free kick specialist.
He be ...
, who fell to the ground on the edge of six yard box, and the referee awarded a penalty to Leeds. Harte stepped up but Barthez made a low, one-handed save to his right. The only blemish in his first season was his failed attempt at "psyching out"
West Ham United's
Paolo Di Canio in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
Fourth Round; Di Canio beat the offside trap, while Barthez stood still with his hand up expecting the referee to blow his whistle, or Di Canio to stop. Di Canio continued and scored the only goal of the game, and later said it was "better to score and then see whether the goalkeeper is right or wrong".
The
2001–02 season was split into two parts for him. The first half was tumultuous. The Frenchman seemed to be taking some unnecessary risks outside his penalty area, and his antics began to have consequences that allowed unneeded goals for opposing teams. He was at fault for two goals in a 3–2 home defeat by
Deportivo de La Coruña in October 2001. Ferguson said how "eventually he will get caught out" and it wouldn't happen again. But another couple of late errors against
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in a 3–1 defeat at
Highbury the following month put much pressure on Barthez, with two goals gifted to
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...
, one of which came from a mis-hit clearance. Barthez was at the centre of further controversy when, after already being on a yellow card following an argument with
Matthew Upson
Matthew James Upson (born 18 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Upson played for England at full international level including at the 2010 World Cup.
Upson started his career with Bedfordshire ...
, he was caught by television cameras raising his middle fingers behind his back towards the Arsenal supporters, who had been taunting him for his errors towards the end of the match; the incident was missed by the referee
Peter Jones, however. There was much speculation as to what was the source of Barthez's decline, and critics such as the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
's
Phil McNulty
Phil McNulty is a Liverpool-born sports journalist. He has been BBC Sport’s chief football writer since July 2000. McNulty attended Roman Catholic secondary school De La Salle Grammar in Liverpool. He covered the FIFA World Cups for the BBC in ...
urged him to be dropped. Sir Alex Ferguson, however, had faith in his goalkeeper and stuck by him. Consequently, in the second half of the season, Barthez repaired his reputation with consistent, solid performances and the spectacular saves that he was famous for. His turn in fortunes was shown in a 2–2 draw with
Derby County at
Pride Park. Derby forward
Malcolm Christie
Malcolm Neil Christie (born 11 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Initially playing at non-league level for Deeping Rangers and Nuneaton Borough, he went on to play in the Premier League for bo ...
looked to have sealed his
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
, but referee
Steve Dunn controversially disallowed the goal, ruling that Christie kicked the ball out of Barthez's hands.
He was also noted for playing mind games before opposition players took a penalty. The first time this occurred was in November 2001 when
Leicester City came to Old Trafford. As
Muzzy Izzet prepared to take a penalty, Barthez stood aside from the goal, with his hands behind him on the post. Izzet, tired of waiting, slotted the ball in the bottom corner, but referee
Andy D'Urso made him retake the penalty, this time with Barthez in goal. Izzet went the same way, but Barthez denied him with a fine save to his right. An almost identical incident happened less than a year later in October 2002, when Barthez was unhappy about the awarding of a penalty to
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
, and so went from post to post banging his boots, and refused to be in goal for the penalty. This time he was booked for his antics by referee
Mike Dean, and so he then took his place between the posts and made it work again by saving
Steed Malbranque's spot kick.
The
2002–03 season ended with another Premier League crown for United.
The season was a mixed bag for Barthez. One highlight was a fabulous save to deny
Dietmar Hamann's 30-yard rocket at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
against
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, as United held on to win 2–1. In other games, he let goals go past him that he would have been expected to save, and suffered from a run of poor form towards the end of the season.
Barthez was also widely criticized in United's exit to
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
in the Champions League, especially for
Ronaldo
Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People
Notable people known as Ronaldo include:
As ...
's opener which beat him at the near post. It would prove to be his last ever game with United as Sir Alex Ferguson's patience had finally run out. Barthez was dropped for the final three games of the season, with
Roy Carroll taking his place.
Return to Marseille
Barthez's poor form at the end of the previous season and the arrival of American newcomer
Tim Howard in summer of 2003, saw the Frenchman face competition for a starting spot at United. As Barthez had only returned from international duty in August, Howard played during the club's American tour of the summer, and his performances led Ferguson to choose him to start over Barthez in the
Community Shield in August. By October, Howard had won the starting goalkeeper's job from Barthez; as a result, United agreed to release Barthez from his contract at Old Trafford after the
2003–04 season, and also agreed to loan Barthez out to his former club Marseille for the remainder of that season. Barthez began training with Marseille, who took on a portion of his wages, but
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
initially blocked the loan deal on the grounds that it was not agreed upon within the international
transfer window
A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...
. The two clubs agreed on a loan deal after the transfer window reopened on 1 January 2004, and Barthez joined Marseille soon afterwards. On 27 April, Marseille and Barthez agreed to a two-and-a-half-year contract which would keep him at the club until spring 2006.
Barthez was involved in a controversy during a friendly match between Marseille and
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
's
Wydad Casablanca
Wydad Athletic Club ( ar, نادي الوداد الرياضي, ) commonly referred to as Wydad AC and known as Wydad, or simply as WAC, is a Moroccan sports club based in Casablanca. Wydad AC is best known for its professional football team that ...
on 12 February 2005. With ten minutes left, a Marseille player was
sent off and a brawl erupted between players on the pitch. Barthez was reported for spitting on the Moroccan
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
. On 21 April, Barthez was summoned to a hearing before the disciplinary committee of the
French Football Federation
The French Football Federation ( FFF; french: Fédération Française de Football) is the governing body of football in France. It also includes the overseas departments ( Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion), the over ...
(FFF); the following day, he received a six-month suspension, with the last three months being suspended. In an unusual move, the federal council of the FFF appealed the suspension, arguing that the punishment should have been for a minimum of six full months. Eventually, his suspension was extended to six full months due to political pressures.
Retirement
On 8 August 2006, Barthez announced he was still hoping to play professional football for another two years, insisting he was also looking to continue his career in the French international setup. His ideal scenario would have been a return to first club Toulouse, where he could be close enough to allow him to take care of his sick mother. But he said if he did not have a club by 31 August he would not carry on with football. On 5 October 2006, it was confirmed that he had retired from football, having failed to agree a return to Toulouse. Barthez commented, "The only club I wanted to go to was not so happy to have me. It happens and you have to live with it."
Comeback
![Fabien Barthez](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Fabien_Barthez.jpg)
On 17 December 2006, Barthez announced his return to football by signing a contract with Ligue 1 side
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
, who were lacking an experienced goalkeeper following
Mickaël Landreau
Mickaël Vincent André-Marie Landreau (; born 14 May 1979) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper.
Landreau holds the record for Ligue 1 appearances, with 618 for Nantes, Paris Saint-Germain, Lil ...
's move to
Paris Saint-Germain the previous summer. Serbian goalkeeper
Vladimir Stojković
Vladimir Stojković (, ; born 28 July 1983) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays for Saudi club Al-Fayha as a goalkeeper.
During his career he played for the two biggest clubs in his country, Red Star and Partizan, but also represente ...
, originally recruited to replace Landreau, failed to impress and left Nantes at the winter break following a rift within the squad.
On 29 April, Nantes chairman Rudi Roussillon announced that following an altercation with a Nantes fan, Barthez had left the
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
with his family. The next day, Barthez confirmed that he had quit the team, and the club terminated his contract. Barthez denied that he was planning to retire, and in an article for French daily ''
L'Équipe
''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby football, rugby, motorsport, and cycle sport, ...
'', he said that he was looking for another contract for at least two years. Barthez was linked with numerous clubs but nothing ever materialised and he had to face never playing professional football again.
Luzenac
In 2012, Barthez became the honorary president of
Championnat National
The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, t ...
team
Luzenac
Luzenac (; oc, Lusenac) is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. Luzenac-Garanou station has rail connections to Toulouse, Foix and Latour-de-Carol.
Population
Sports
* Luzenac is also home to the football club Luz ...
, where he personally picked
Quentin Westberg
Quentin Oyamo Westberg (born April 25, 1986) is a soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Atlanta United. Born in France, Westberg opted to represent the United States on the international level and is a former youth international having r ...
and
Nicolas Dieuze
Nicolas Dieuze (born February 7, 1979) is a French former professional football midfielder.
He signed for Grenoble from Le Havre AC
Le Havre Athletic Club (; commonly referred to as Le Havre) is a French association football club based i ...
to sign for the club.
International career
Early international career
On 26 May 1994, Barthez won his first
cap for
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in a 1–0 victory against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Barthez was understudy to Bernard Lama at
UEFA Euro 1996
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
– at which France reached the semi-finals – after testing positive for cannabis earlier that year;
he was suspended for two months as a result. Following a later suspension to Lama instead, however, Barthez subsequently gained the number one goalkeeping position shortly after the tournament and would not relinquish it for a decade.
1998 World Cup
In the
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
, which was hosted by his home country, Barthez conceded only two goals in seven games
and won the
Yashin Award
At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game.
Awards
*There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...
as the best goalkeeper of the tournament, also placing second in the
IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper
The IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper is a football award given annually since 1987 to the best goalkeeper of the year as voted by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). The votes are cast by IFFHS's editorial staff as ...
award that year, behind
José Luis Chilavert
José Luis Félix Chilavert González (; born 27 July 1965) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Sportivo Luqueño, Guaraní, San Lorenzo de Almagro, Real Zaragoza, Vélez Sarsfield, RC Strasbourg, Pe ...
. Barthez was also well known during the tournament for letting teammate and good friend Laurent Blanc kiss his shaved head before the start of every match, supposedly for good luck.
Barthez was an integral part of his national team's inaugural triumph which also made it the
first time in 20 years that a host had won the World Cup. He kept five clean sheets throughout the tournament, with the only goals he conceded being a penalty in the group stage against
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, and another goal against
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
in the semi-final.
In the quarter-final shootout defeat of rivals
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, he kept a clean sheet, and also saved
Demetrio Albertini's penalty kick. He kept another clean sheet in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, which ended in a 3–0 win over defending champions
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
During the game, Barthez was also at the centre of a notable controversial incident when he made a spectacular save while rushing out and attempting to anticipate Brazilian superstar
Ronaldo
Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People
Notable people known as Ronaldo include:
As ...
, doing his trademark leap/step-over the attacking striker to grab the ball, which injured Ronaldo in the process; Barthez later commented that he never intended to hurt the striker.
Following France's World Cup victory, Barthez was one of the most popular national players in France, after
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...
.
Euro 2000
Two years later, Barthez was again the starter as his country won
Euro 2000. It was the first time in 26 years that a national team held both the World Cup and Euro titles, a feat last accomplished by
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
in 1974. After that triumph, France held the top position in the
FIFA World Rankings
The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, led by Brazil . The teams of the men's member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the ...
system from 2001 to 2002.
2002 World Cup and Euro 2004
Barthez played on France's World Cup team again in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
in which they exited in the first round without winning a game or scoring a goal; he kept his only clean sheet of the tournament in his nation's second group match, a 0–0 draw against
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
.
He was also his nation's starting keeper throughout their victorious
Confederations Cup campaign in 2003, and at
Euro 2004; in the latter tournament, he saved
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
's penalty shot in the opening round robin match, but France went out in the quarter-finals to eventual winners
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.
2006 World Cup
His place as starting goalkeeper in France's
2006 World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
campaign, in the face of a substantial public campaign in support of
Grégory Coupet
Grégory Coupet (born 31 December 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Throughout his playing career, he represented Saint-Étienne, Lyon, Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as the France n ...
, was surprising to many, even more so given Coupet's flawless performance in the remainder of the World Cup qualifying campaign after Barthez's suspension. The decision was met with derision in the French press and also led to Coupet's walking out of the national squad before the tournament, though he was to return one day later. The move was viewed by some as a desire to keep the veterans of France's 1998 World Cup victory on the team. ''L'Equipe'' reported after the World Cup that Barthez would have walked out of the squad had he not been named the starter.
France had a slow start in the group stage, drawing their first two games and putting their chances of reaching the knock-out stages at risk. Fortunately, Barthez's team found their form and won their final round robin match 2–0 to advance to the next stage, where they upset heavily favoured
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
3–1 in the
round of 16.
In defeating Brazil, 1–0 on 1 July 2006, Barthez, having made only one save in the game (on an injury time shot from Ronaldo), became the first keeper to blank the Brazilian team in consecutive World Cup finals matches, the first being the 1998 final (3–0). France is now one of only four nations (along with
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
) to have shut Brazil out twice in the World Cup finals, and the first to have done it in consecutive matches, both times with Barthez in goal.
Barthez again kept another clean sheet – his fourth of the tournament
– in the semi-final against
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
(with Zinedine Zidane's penalty shot the winning goal), though he appeared in questionable form. A few minutes from time, he spectacularly spilled a free-kick which
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-ti ...
recovered, heading over the bar although unchallenged. He did, however, redeem himself in injury time when a French defender fumbled the ball, enabling a Portuguese player to mount a last-moment attack. Barthez scrambled out of the net and blocked the first shot.
During the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
against Italy, he briefly captained his team for the remainder of the second period of extra time after Zidane was sent off. During the penalty shootout, neither he nor his Italian counterpart
Gianluigi Buffon made a save, and France striker
David Trezeguet's missed shot ultimately proved decisive.
This proved to be Barthez's 87th and final international appearance, as he retired from international football following the tournament.
Motorsport career
After retiring from football in 2007, Barthez began a career in motorsport in 2008. He began competing at selected events in the
Porsche Carrera Cup France that year with the team SOFREV Auto Sport Promotion. He also competed at two events in the THP Spider Cup. In 2009, he raced in a number of various motorsport series such as the
French GT Championship
The FFSA GT Championship (''Championnat de France FFSA GT'') is a French Grand Touring-style sports car racing series that began in 1997. It is the main event of the ''Championnat de France des Circuits'' (formerly called ''Super Série FFSA'' and ...
, Bioracing Series and the
Caterham Sigma Cup France as well as the Porsche Carrera Cup France. He continued to race in the FFSA GT Championship in 2010 and picked up his first podium in race 1 at
Dijon-Prenois. In the 2012 season, he won his first race in the FFSA series at the
Circuito de Navarra in race two and finished seventh in the championship. In 2013, he was crowned French GT Champion alongside Morgan Moullin-Traffort, driving a
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
.
In 2013, he also competed in the newly re-branded
FIA GT Series alongside Gérard Tonelli in the Gentleman Trophy class with SOFREV ASP driving a GT3-spec
Ferrari 458 Italia.
In February 2014, it was announced that Barthez would enter the
2014 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 82nd 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 82e 24 Heures du Mans) was an 24-hour automobile endurance racing event for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars held from 11 to 15 June 2014 at the Circuit de la Sarth ...
race, driving Sofrev ASP's Ferrari 458. Barthez and his co-drivers finished 29th overall and ninth in LMGTE Am class.
Coaching career
On 2 July 2010, following Laurent Blanc's appointment as the new manager of the French national team, Barthez was named among the team's technical staff as a goalkeeping coach.
Style of play
Rated by pundits as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, in his prime, Barthez was considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world,
and is regarded as one of the best French players ever in his position,
being named the fourth greatest French goalkeeper of all time in
IFFHS
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...
' Century elections, behind
Bernard Lama,
Pierre Chayriguès
Pierre Chayriguès (2 May 1892 – 19 March 1965) was a French footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was part of France national team at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
He was the first prominent French goalkeeper and is still today the younges ...
, and
Julien Darui. Standing at , he was not particularly tall for a goalkeeper,
although he was extremely athletic, and was known for his elevation, as well as his decision-making, bravery, ability to read the game, and commitment when coming out to collect the ball, which made him effective in the air and enabled him to command his area effectively in spite of his short stature;
however, at times he was still caught out on high balls due to his lack of height and poor handling, and he also came under criticism on occasion for his indecisiveness when struggling to deal with crosses.
A flamboyant and instinctive keeper, he was also extremely agile, and possessed excellent reflexes, which enabled him to produce spectacular, acrobatic, and decisive reaction saves;
he also possessed a good positional sense.
In addition to his shot-stopping abilities,
Barthez was also known to be a passionate, popular, and highly recognisable footballing figure,
who stood out for his outgoing personality, self-assurance, and composure under pressure, as well as his leadership from the back and authoritative presence in goal.
Furthermore, Barthez was highly regarded for his exceptional skills with the ball at his feet, as well as his accurate distribution with his left foot, which enabled him to play the ball out from the back or launch an attack with his quick throws or long goal kicks; his confidence in possession often led him to be involved in the build-up of plays, and he often operated outside the penalty area, and would even occasionally attempt to
dribble
In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score.
A ...
with the ball past opposing strikers with
feints such as
nutmegs or
stepovers. He was also very quick off his line, and often acted as a
sweeper-keeper, thus contributing to the evolution of the role.
While he received plaudits for his goalkeeping ability in the media, throughout his career Barthez also frequently came under criticism from pundits for his stubbornness, and his aggressive, unorthodox, and eccentric style of play, as well as for taking unnecessary risks, and was also deemed to be inconsistent, unreliable, and prone to errors and lapses in concentration.
Personal life
Through his career, Barthez was known for his active romantic life, and dated Canadian model
Linda Evangelista
Linda Evangelista (; born May 10, 1965) is a Canadian fashion model. She is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential models of all time, and has been featured on over 700 magazine covers. Evangelista is primarily known for being ...
.
She became pregnant but miscarried, six months into the pregnancy.
The couple broke up in 2000,
reunited in 2001,
[ and then officially ended their relationship in 2002. Barthez is a smoker.] Known for his eccentric and superstitious personality, Barthez often wore red briefs underneath his goalkeeping shorts, and usually cut off the sleeves of his goalkeeping jersey. Although most starting goalkeepers are usually assigned the number 1 shirt, he instead chose to wear the number 16 shirt.
Endorsements
During his playing career, Barthez signed advertising deals with McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
and Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Marseille
*UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
: 1992–93
* Division 2: 1994–95
AS Monaco
* Division 1: 1996–97, 1999–2000
* Trophée des Champions: 1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
Manchester United
*Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
: 2000–01, 2002–03
France
*FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
: 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
; runner-up: 2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
*UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
: 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
*FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
: 2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
Individual
* FIFA World Cup Yashin Award: 1998
*FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game.
Awards
*There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...
: 1998
*Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
Goalkeeper of the Year: 1998
*IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper
The IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper is a football award given annually since 1987 to the best goalkeeper of the year as voted by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). The votes are cast by IFFHS's editorial staff as ...
: 2000
*UEFA Euro
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
Team of the Tournament: 2000
*PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
: 2000–01 Premier League
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
* Équipe type spéciale 20 ans des trophées UNFP: 2011
*The Dream Team 110 years of OM: 2010
*Most clean sheets in the Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
: 2000–01
Orders
*Knight of the Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
: 1998
Records
* Second-most caps for France as a goalkeeper: 87 (behind Hugo Lloris
Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (born 26 December 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Tottenham Hotspur and the France national team. He is a three-time winner of the National Union of Professional Footbal ...
)
* All-time France FIFA World Cup appearances: 17
* Most FIFA World Cup clean sheets: 10 (with Peter Shilton)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barthez, Fabien
1971 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Ariège (department)
French expatriate sportspeople in England
Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
Expatriate footballers in England
French footballers
France youth international footballers
France international footballers
French expatriate footballers
Association football goalkeepers
Toulouse FC players
Manchester United F.C. players
Olympique de Marseille players
AS Monaco FC players
FC Nantes players
Ligue 1 players
Premier League players
UEFA Euro 1996 players
1998 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2000 players
2002 FIFA World Cup players
2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players
UEFA Euro 2004 players
2006 FIFA World Cup players
FIFA World Cup-winning players
FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players
UEFA European Championship-winning players
French racing drivers
Blancpain Endurance Series drivers
European Le Mans Series drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
24 Hours of Spa drivers
UEFA Champions League winning players
Footballers from Occitania (administrative region)
Tech 1 Racing drivers