Franck Claude Silvestre (born 5 April 1967) 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 ...

who played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

. During his career, spent in two countries and with six different clubs, he played in more than 700 official games. A French international during three years, Silvestre represented the nation at Euro 1992.

Career

Born in Paris, Silvestre began his professional career at FC Sochaux-Montbéliard in 1985. An undisputed first-choice when he was just 18, he saw the club be relegated into the French second division in 1987, but it immediately gained promotion to the top level, also reaching the

French Cup The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...

final the next year, lost against

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league sys ...

. The player topped a great 1988 winning the

UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...

with France U21s. In 1989 Silvestre, who did not play for a big team, received his first senior callup from national team boss

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, a ...

, making his international debut against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

; he was also selected for

UEFA Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having qualifi ...

, but remained on the bench as the national side exited on the group stage – he gained a total of 11

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

, the last coming exactly in 1992. Silvestre signed in the 1993 summer for

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 ...

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or simply Auxerre (), is a French football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division ...

, making up for William Prunier's departure. During his years in the team, which featured Dutch

Frank Verlaat Frank Verlaat (born 5 March 1968) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. He had a 21-year career throughout Europe, playing in the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Germany and finishing his career in Austria. He e ...

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 ...

and Frédéric Danjou, he won two domestic cups and one league, including the historic 1995–96

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

, also appearing in 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 competi ...

. In 1998, Silvestre moved to

Montpellier HSC Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (), commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC or simply Montpellier, is a French professional football club based in the city of Montpellier in Occitanie. The original club was founded in 1919, while the current ...

, where he again was an undisputed starter, also eventually becoming

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

. In his third year, he helped the side return to the top division, after netting a career-best nine goals (in 33 matches); eventually, in January 2003, he left for

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastiais ( co, Sporting Club di Bastia, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a Corsican association football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of French f ...

, contributing to a comfortable escape from relegation. Aged already 36, Silvestre had his first abroad experience, joining

SK Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian association football club, based in Graz, Styria, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austria ...

in Austria, where he continued to appear regularly, albeit without no silverware conquered. In January 2006, he signed for his last club, second division

FC Sète FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

, not managing to help the club maintain its league status, and retiring with a total of 638 league matches played.

Honours

Sochaux * Division 2: 1987–88 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

runner-up: 1987–88 Auxerre * Division 1: 1995–96 *Coupe de France: 1993–94, 1995–96 Montpellier * UEFA Intertoto Cup:

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

France U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

References

External links

* *
AJ Auxerre statistics

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silvestre, Franck 1967 births Living people Footballers from Paris French footballers Association football defenders France under-21 international footballers France international footballers FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players AJ Auxerre players Montpellier HSC players SC Bastia players SK Sturm Graz players FC Sète 34 players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Austrian Football Bundesliga players UEFA Euro 1992 players French expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Austria French expatriate sportspeople in Austria Black French sportspeople