Johan Cédric Micoud (born 24 July 1973) 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 lea ...

who played as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He was considered a skilled

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and a dead-ball expert. During a 16-year career he played professionally in France, Italy and Germany. Micoud gained 17

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 Java ...

for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and represented the nation at

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

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, winning the former tournament.

Club career

Cannes

Born in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, Alpes-Maritimes, Micoud grew up in Vallauris. He was a youth product of local

AS Cannes Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed in 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 2 ...

' youth system, becoming the side's

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

after

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

's departure to

Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux () or simply Bordeaux, is a French football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It competes in the Championnat National 2 ...

. He helped the club to promotion from the second division in 1993 and

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

to the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

in the following season.

Bordeaux

Playing behind a strike partnership of Lilian Laslandes and

Sylvain Wiltord Sylvain Claude Wiltord (born 10 May 1974) is a French former professional footballer. Mainly a right winger, he also played as a centre-forward, second striker and on the left wing. Wiltord had a four-season spell at Arsenal, with whom he w ...

, Micoud played a pivotal role as the club were crowned

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

champions in 1998–99, beating

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...

to the title on the final day of the season. The following season he helped the club to the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

's second group stage. He also reached two

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

finals with Bordeaux, losing to

RC Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, commonly known as RC Strasbourg (, ; RCS) or simply just Racing, is a French professional association football club founded in 1906 and based in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. It became a professional club in ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Parma

In the 2000 summer he moved abroad, initially joining

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

where he stayed for two seasons. Although Micoud and Parma won the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

, he lost his starting place to

Hidetoshi Nakata is a Japanese former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Considered one of the best talents to come from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) country in the early late 1990s and early 2000s, Nakata became ...

, and was forced out of the club, linked with moves to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

and

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Werder Bremen

In August 2002, Micoud moved to Germany, signing for

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

. He made his debut for the club in a 3-1 win over 1. FC Nürnberg, scoring one of Bremen's goals. Micoud was one of the key players in Bremen's surprise double win in 2004, and scored in the decisive game against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

where Bremen secured the Bundesliga title. Micoud also scored in every round of the

2003–04 DFB-Pokal The 2003–04 DFB-Pokal was the 61st season of the annual German football cup competition. 64 teams competed in the tournament of six rounds which began on 29 August 2003 and ended on 29 May 2004. In the final Werder Bremen defeated second-tier ...

, except the final. He ended the season with ten goals and eight assists. After the season, Micoud signed a new contract with Bremen until 2007, and was described by the club's sporting director

Klaus Allofs Klaus Allofs (born 5 December 1956) is a German former professional football player, manager, and executive. A striker, Allofs was a prolific goalscorer for club and country. He amassed Bundesliga totals of 424 games and 177 goals over the cou ...

as 'the best midfielder in the Bundesliga'. It had previously been speculated that Micoud could leave, as he criticised the club for allowing two other key players in Aílton and

Mladen Krstajić Mladen Krstajić ( sr-cyr, Младен Крстајић, ; born 4 March 1974) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He represented Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. From Janua ...

to join Schalke. The following season saw Bremen finish third in the league. In his final season with Bremen, Micoud scored five times in the Champions League, including winners against

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

in the group stage and

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

in the knockouts. He also scored eight goals and managed fourteen assists in the Bundesliga as Bremen finished runners-up. Micoud left Bremen to return to former club Bordeaux in 2006, with Klaus Allofs stating that they would not have agreed to sell Micoud to any other club. A friendly match in Bremen's Weserstadion between the two teams was also organised, where Micoud scored the only goal for Bordeaux and was given a standing ovation by the Bremen fans.

Return to Bordeaux

In June 2006, aged 32, rejoined Bordeaux, costing three million euros. He quickly became a key player in the squad, scoring the winner in his first league match back at the club, at

FC Lorient Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (;), commonly referred to as FC Lorient (), is a French professional association football club based in Lorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently competes in Ligue 2, having been relegated f ...

. Micoud helped Bordeaux win the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

League Cup and fight for the title the following season. In February 2008, Micoud scored his 50th

goal in a 6-0 win against

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

, Bordeaux's record away win. In March, Micoud was involved in a controversy after being accused of diving to help win a penalty in a crucial game with third-placed Nancy, which Bordeaux would win 2-1. However, after two seasons,

Laurent Blanc Laurent Robert Blanc (; born 19 November 1965) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back and is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad Club (J ...

announced on 10 May 2008 that the player's contract would not be renewed, and he retired from the sport.

International career

Despite being called up in the France national team on several occasions, Micoud never managed to secure a regular starting role, mainly due to the presence of Zidane who occupied the same position. Courtesy of his stellar championship performances with Bordeaux, he made his debut on 17 August 1999 in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

with

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, and was subsequently picked for the squad which won

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 ...

. Micoud only played in one of the six matches of the tournament, in the group match against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, effectively a dead rubber given that both nations had already qualified both the group. He assisted Christophe Dugarry's opening goal from a corner, although France eventually lost 3-2. He was also selected for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

campaign of

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, and replaced the injured Zidane for the second game, a 0-0 draw with Uruguay. Regardless of his consistently high level of performance at club level, Micoud found himself subsequently marginalised by the following national bosses. After the World Cup, he was not picked for France again for two years, before Jacques Santini selected him for a friendly against Holland in March 2004, recognising Micoud's form with Bremen. Santini included Micoud in his preliminary squad for

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

but he did not make the final squad. Under Raymond Domenech Micoud did win a single call up for the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, and Micoud publicly criticised Domenech for ignoring his Bremen performances, suggesting that Domenech's refusal to pick him may be influenced by Micoud's star sign.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Bordeaux * Division 1: 1998–99 *

: 2006–07 Parma *

: 2001–02 Werder Bremen *

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

: 2003–04 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

: 2003–04 France *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Individual * '' kicker'' Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Micoud, Johan 1973 births Living people Footballers from Cannes French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders AS Cannes players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Serie A players Parma Calcio 1913 players SV Werder Bremen players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Bundesliga players France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2000 players 2002 FIFA World Cup players UEFA European Championship–winning players European champions for France French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Italy French expatriate sportspeople in Germany French expatriate sportspeople in Italy Occitan sportspeople