Franck Alain James Leboeuf (born 22 January 1968), typically Anglicisation, anglicised as Frank Leboeuf, is a French actor, sports commentator and former List of France international footballers, international footballer who played as a centre-back. With the France national football team, French national team, Leboeuf won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, 2000 European Championship as well as a number of domestic trophies, most famously during his five years at Chelsea F.C., Chelsea. Since the conclusion of his playing career, Leboeuf has transitioned to acting, appearing in stage and film productions.

Club career

Leboeuf was born in Marseille and raised in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer. He was introduced to football by his father, a former Stade Rennais coach, who trained children in the sport. After starting his career in 1986 in the lower divisions of the French leagues, Leboeuf moved to Stade Lavallois Mayenne FC, Laval in 1988. In 1991, he moved to RC Strasbourg, Strasbourg and played there until 1996, when he made a switch to English club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea for £2.5m. He played over 200 games for the club and scored 24 goals, mainly from penalties and Set piece (football), set pieces. With Chelsea, he won two FA Cups, one Football League Cup, League Cup and one Cup Winners' Cup. He left in 2001 for club Olympique de Marseille, Olympique Marseille, before finishing out his career in Qatar.

International career

For France, Leboeuf was capped 50 times, scoring four goals. His first two came on 6 September 1995 in a UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier at home to Azerbaijan, contributing to a 10–0 win that remains France's record. Although he was mainly a substitute in 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 1998 World Cup, he stepped in for Misconduct (football), red carded Laurent Blanc to play in the final, a 3–0 win against Brazil national football team, Brazil, a match in which he man-marked the highly rated striker Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer), Ronaldo. In a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier on 9 June 1999, Leboeuf scored the only goal from the penalty spot with five minutes to go as world champions France struggled away to amateurs Andorra national football team, Andorra. He received a winner's medal at the finals in Belgium and the Netherlands, though Blanc and Marcel Desailly were the preferred defensive partnership, including in the final. He scored a late winner against co-hosts South Korea national football team, South Korea on 26 May ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup (3–2). Holders France were eliminated in the group stage in a shock, and he retired from the team.

International goals

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

Style of play

A cultured centre-back, Leboeuf was noted for his long range passing ability and also for his consistent penalty-taking throughout his career. He took more than 20 penalties for Chelsea, missing just 3 times.

Acting

In 2001, whilst still playing football for Chelsea, Leboeuf had made his first acting appearance in the film ''Taking Sides (film), Taking Sides''. Following his retirement from competitive football, Leboeuf spent two years living in Los Angeles. During this time he played for amateur team Hollywood United, alongside celebrity team-mates such as Vinnie Jones, Steve Jones (musician), Steve Jones and Anthony LaPaglia. Leboeuf studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute in West Hollywood, keeping a low profile, and won his first acting work as a TV commentator, for a pay cheque totalling $100, which he keeps as a memento. Leboeuf acted in several theatre plays in France, including starring alongside Jean-Francois Garreaud in ''L'intrus'' in 2010 and a role in the play ''Avec Ma Belle Mère et Moi''. In 2014, Leboeuf played a French Resistance fighter in the World War II film ''Allies'' and a doctor in the Stephen Hawking biopic ''The Theory of Everything (2014 film), The Theory of Everything''.

Other media

Leboeuf works as a sports commentator and analyst for RMC (France), RMC and ESPN in the United States. In 2010, he was a contestant on the reality television show ''Koh-Lanta'' in the ''Koh-Lanta, le choc des héros'' special series. He was forced to depart the show after two episodes due to a back injury he had suffered in a car accident shortly before the series commenced. In 2014, Leboeuf made an appearance in the television comedy series ''Nos Chers Voisins'' and began writing a column for ''Téléfoot''. In 2019, Leboeuf competed on the first season of Mask Singer (French TV series), ''Mask Singer'', the French version of the global franchise ''Masked Singer'', disguised as a peacock.

Personal life

Leboeuf is married to actress Chrislaure Nollet and has two children, Jade and Hugo, from his first marriage to Beatrice. His amateur sporting hobbies include tennis, swimming and boxing. Franck Leboeuf is the cousin of the hotelier Philippe Leboeuf. Following the 1998 World Cup, he was appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1998.

Honours

Strasbourg *Ligue 2, Division 2 play-offs: 1991–92 French Division 2, 1991–92 *Coupe de France runner-up: 1994–95 Coupe de France, 1994–95 *UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup, 1995 Chelsea *FA Cup: 1996–97 FA Cup, 1996–97, 1999–2000 FA Cup, 1999–2000 *Football League Cup: 1997–98 Football League Cup, 1997–98 *FA Charity Shield: 2000 FA Charity Shield, 2000 *UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 1997–98 *UEFA Super Cup: 1998 UEFA Super Cup, 1998 Al-Sadd *Qatar Stars League: 2003–04 Qatar Stars League, 2003–04 Al-Wakrah *Sheikh Jassim Cup: 2004–05 France *FIFA World Cup: 1998 FIFA World Cup, 1998 *UEFA European Championship: UEFA Euro 2000, 2000 *FIFA Confederations Cup: 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2001 Orders *Knight of the Legion of Honour: 1998

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leboeuf, Frank 1968 births Living people 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 21st-century French male actors Al Sadd SC players Al-Wakrah SC players Association football defenders Chelsea F.C. players Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate soccer players in the United States FA Cup Final players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players FIFA World Cup-winning players Footballers from Marseille French expatriate footballers French expatriate male actors in the United States French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Qatar French expatriate sportspeople in the United States French footballers France international footballers French male film actors French male television actors Hollywood United players Ligue 1 players Male actors from Marseille Olympique de Marseille players Premier League players Qatar Stars League players RC Strasbourg Alsace players Stade Lavallois players UEFA Euro 1996 players UEFA Euro 2000 players UEFA European Championship-winning players