Stéphane Pierre Yves Guivarc'h (born 6 September 1970) is a French 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

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

. He featured in the France squad that 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 ...

on home soil. His early career was spent in France with the Breton clubs

Stade Brestois Stade Brestois 29 or simply Brest, is a French football club based in Brest. It was founded in 1950 following the merger of five local patronages, including Armoricaine de Brest, founded in 1903. In its early years, the club made a rapid rise ...

and

En Avant Guingamp En Avant Guingamp (, en, Forward Guingamp), commonly referred to as EA Guingamp, EAG, or simply Guingamp (), is a professional Football in France, football club based in the Communes of France, commune of Guingamp in France's Brittany region. ...

before moving to AJ Auxerre, where he won Ligue 1 in 1996. He returned to Brittany with

Stade Rennais Stade Rennais Football Club (), commonly referred to as Stade Rennais FC, Stade Rennais, Rennes, or simply SRFC, is a French professional football club based in Rennes, Brittany. They compete in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, and pl ...

with whom he 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 ...

's Golden Boot. At a second spell at Auxerre he retained the Golden Boot in Ligue 1 and also won the Golden Boot for the

1997–98 UEFA Cup The 1997–98 UEFA Cup was won by Internazionale in an all-Italian final against Lazio. It was their third title in eight years in the competition. It was the first instance of the UEFA Cup final being a one-game contest at a neutral stadium, ha ...

. That summer he started in the World Cup Final. Guivarc'h left France for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

of the Premier League after the World Cup but left after three months having failed to make an impact at St James' Park. He finished the season at

Rangers FC Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...

of the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

with medals in the league and

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

, of which he scored in the final. He then returned to Auxerre before retiring after the 2001–02 season with En Avant Guingamp.

Early life

Guivarc'h was born in

Concarneau Concarneau (, meaning ''Bay of Cornouaille'') is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Concarneau is bordered to the west by the Baie de La Forêt. The town has two distinct areas: the modern town on the main ...

, Finistère.

Club career

Brest, Guingamp, Auxerre and Rennes

Guivarc'h's career started at the Breton club

in 1989. In 1991, he moved to another club in the region,

, where his goalscoring rate was better than one every two games (68 in 110 league games), prompting a move to AJ Auxerre in 1995. He played for the club as they won a double of Ligue 1 and Coupe de France in 1995–96, under manager

Guy Roux Guy Marcel Roux (; born 18 October 1938) is a French former football player and manager known for being in charge of AJ Auxerre for more than 40 years and for leading the team to national and worldwide prominence. Managerial career A native of C ...

, but only scored 3 goals in 23 league appearances. After a season at Auxerre, he returned to a third Breton club,

for a single season, where he won the

Golden Boot for 22 goals in 36 appearances.

Auxerre 1997–98

Guivarc'h's Golden Boot-winning season prompted a return to Auxerre only one year after leaving them. He retained the Ligue 1 Golden Boot, rewarded for 21 goals in 32 league appearances. Guivarc'h scored seven times in the UEFA Cup in 1997–98 to earn its Golden Boot. The first goal came in the First Round's First leg against Deportivo La Coruña of Spain in a 2–1 win. The second leg was goalless. In the second round against

OFI Crete OFI may refer to: * Overseas Filipino Investors, Filipino expatriates who contribute to the economy of the Philippines through remittances, buying property, and creating businesses * OFI Crete, a Greek association football club based on the island ...

of Greece, he scored twice in the home leg in a 3–1 victory (

Antoine Sibierski Antoine Sibierski (born 5 August 1974) is a French former footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his career at hometown club Lille OSC, going on to play for AJ Auxerre, Nantes, with whom he won the Coupe de France twice, and RC Lens. H ...

got the other goal) and once in the second in a 3–2 defeat (5–4 on aggregate). In the third round's second leg against

Twente Enschede Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese Bo ...

of the Netherlands, he scored an 82nd-minute penalty in the 2–0 victory at home to send Auxerre through 3–0 on aggregate. In the quarter-finals against

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

of Italy, Auxerre lost the first leg 1–0 away. In the second leg Guivarc'h struck twice in a 2–2 draw which meant that Lazio advanced 3–2 on aggregate.

Newcastle United and Rangers

Guivarc'h was signed for Newcastle United by their manager

Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic F.C., Celtic and 515 for Liverpoo ...

in the 1998 close season. He played four league games, scoring on his debut against Liverpool, then was sold to

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

for £3.5m on 6 November 1998 by new manager

Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...

. At Rangers he won the treble under Dick Advocaat: the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

. Two days after signing, he scored two goals away at St Johnstone after coming on as a substitute in a 7–0 win. He also scored two away at Heart of Midlothian in a 3–2 win. He scored Rangers' first in the League Cup final versus

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

, which they won 2–1.

Auxerre and Guingamp

After only one season at Rangers he joined Auxerre for a third spell, then for his final season as a professional returned to Guingamp once more. During his two spells at the Breton club he scored 69 goals, a club record.

International career

As a result of his domestic goalscoring record Guivarc'h was selected as the lone striker in the World Cup winning

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 ...

team of 1998. He was given the number 9 shirt by manager

Aime Jacquet Aime (; frp, Éma) is a former commune in the Savoie ''département'' in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Aime-la-Plagne.South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

(3–0) Guivarc'h was substituted for

Christophe Dugarry Christophe Jérôme Dugarry (born 24 March 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. His clubs include Bordeaux, Milan, Barcelona, Marseille, Birmingham City and Qatar SC. He was also a member of the France team t ...

in the 29th minute. He did not play at all in the following 4–0 victory over

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. In the Last 16 against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

he came on in the 76th minute for his Auxerre teammate Bernard Diomede. France won 1–0 after extra-time with a golden-goal from

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 ...

. Guivarc'h was booked in the quarter-final against

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 ...

and substituted in the 65th minute with Christian Karembeu for

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 ...

and David Trezeguet. France won on penalties when the game finished 0–0 after extra-time. In the semi-final versus

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 ...

Guivarc'h was again substituted for Trezeguet in the 68th minute as France won 2–1. In the final against

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 ...

he was substituted in the 66th minute for

as France won 3–0.

Personal life

Guivarc'h was appointed a

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, ...

in 1998 after the World Cup victory. Since retirement as a player, Guivarc'h has returned to his hometown of Concarneau and become a swimming pool salesman. He is married and has three children. Despite the criticism, France's World Cup-winning manager

Aimé Jacquet Aimé Étienne Jacquet (born 27 November 1941) is a French former professional football manager and player. He was manager of the France national football team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Biography Jacquet was born in Sail-sous-Couzan, L ...

supported Guivarc'h's performances for his ability to contribute as a pivot despite not scoring in the tournament. He remains incredulous that the striker is perceived as a flop.

International goals

:''Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Guivarc'h goal.''

Honours

Auxerre * Division 1: 1995–96 Rangers *

: 1998–99 *

: 1997–98 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 ...

Individual *Division 1 Golden Boot: 1996–97, 1997–98 *

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

Golden Boot: 1997–98 Orders *

: 1998

References

External links

*http://www.fff.fr/servfff/historique/historique.php?cherche_joueur=GUIVA&submit=go {{DEFAULTSORT:Guivarch, Stephane 1970 births Living people People from Concarneau Sportspeople from Finistère Association football forwards French footballers French expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Scotland French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland France international footballers Footballers from Brittany AJ Auxerre players Newcastle United F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Stade Rennais F.C. players En Avant Guingamp players Stade Brestois 29 players 1998 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players Premier League players Scottish Premier League players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Championnat National players Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Trégunc French people of Breton descent