Sébastien Jean-Baptiste Squillaci (born 11 August 1980) 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 a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. From 2004 to 2010, he played 21 matches for the France national team while also making three appearances for the Corsica national team. Squillaci began his football career playing for hometown club Seynois in the commune of La Seyne-sur-Mer. In 1996, he joined

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

and made his professional debut in the 1997–98 season, while the club was playing in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

. After a year with Toulon, Squillaci joined

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. He spent two seasons on the club's reserve team before joining

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

on loan for two years. Squillaci returned to Monaco in 2002 and contributed to the team that won the

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 ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. He also featured in European competition for the first time in his career and, in the 2003–04 season, played on the Monaco team that reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final. In the same season, Squillaci was named to the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP)

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 ...

Team of the Year. In 2006, Squillaci signed a long-term contract with league rivals

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and won two consecutive league titles, as well as the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

before departing for Spain in 2008 to join Sevilla. With Sevilla, he appeared in over 65 matches and won the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

in his final season with the club. In 2010, Squillaci signed a three-year contract with English club Arsenal where he also reached the 2011 Football League Cup final. Squillaci is a former France international and made his debut in August 2004 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 ...

against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. He has participated in

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

, as well as the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

for his nation.

Early and personal life

Squillaci was born in

, Var. On 12 May 2007, for his positive representation of La Seyne, the commune honoured the player by naming a stadium after him. The Stade de Squillaci is currently being occupied by amateur club ''Avenir Sportif de Mar''. Squillaci is of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

n descent through both his mother and father. The couple moved to the mainland from the commune of Ghisonaccia in Haute-Corse. Squillaci is married and has a son, Aaron. He is a member of ''Champions for Peace'', which is a group of 54 athletes that are committed to serving peace in the world through sport. The group was created by

Peace and Sport Peace and Sport (also known as "L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport") is a sports organization based in Monaco under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco. Ivorian Football player, footballer Didier Drogba became the organization's ...

, a

-based international organisation.

Club career

Early career

Squillaci began his football career playing for hometown club Seynois. While training at La Seyne, he was described by his coach Franck Seva as a "lovely, quiet boy". Squillaci spent a decade at the club before moving to professional club

in 1996 at age 16. He was originally a defensive midfielder and spent only one season in the club's youth academy, where he was supervised by former club player Christian Dalger. Squillaci began the 1997–98 season playing on the club's reserve team. Following the firing of Albert Emon mid-season, he was replaced with Dalger. In March 1998, Dalger, subsequently, called up Squillaci to the first team and he made his professional debut on 7 March 1998 in a 1–0 league win over

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionVictor Agali. With Toulon in a relegation battle, Squillaci made substitute appearances in wins over

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, and

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

and defeats to

Martigues Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte. A ...

and Red Star Paris. Toulon ultimately finished the campaign in 20th place, which resulted in the club's relegation to the

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

, the third level of French football. Squillaci finished the season with five appearances in the league and one in the

. Toulon, surprisingly, reached the Round of 16 in the latter competition.

Monaco

Due to not being under a professional contract while playing with Toulon, Squillaci was allowed to leave the club on a free transfer. He was recruited by

and joined the club in 1998. Following his signing, Squillaci was inserted onto the club's reserve team, which was playing in the Championnat de France Amateur, the fourth level of French football. He spent two years playing on the club's reserve team from 1998 to 2000 amassing over 45 appearances. After failing to establish himself under Claude Puel, Monaco officials announced that Squillaci would be heading to

to join

club

on loan. In two seasons with the club, Squillaci appeared in over 70 matches and helped the club achieve promotion to

. After Puel's departure and the appointment of new manager Didier Deschamps, Squillaci joined Monaco in 2002. In his first full season as a player for his side, facing

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

in the quarter-finals of the 2003–04

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 ...

, Monaco progressed despite losing 4–2 in Madrid, due to the 3–1 victory in the return leg; the side advanced through to the semi-finals on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

, where they defeated Chelsea. Their run came to an end when they suffered a 3–0 defeat to

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. Squillaci made 217 appearances for the club over six seasons.

Lyon

After the departure of Deschamps and a disappointing 11th-place finish after years of European qualification, Squillaci opted to play elsewhere. He was linked to several clubs before inking a four-year deal with

, with Sylvain Monsoreau heading the other way as compensation to Monaco. Squillaci made his Lyon debut in their opening match of the Ligue 1 season pairing with Brazilian centre-back Cris. Lyon would go on to dominate the season, winning the league by an unprecedented 18-point margin. Squillaci went on to establish himself as Lyon's first-choice centre-back alongside Cris.

Sevilla

On 14 July 2008, it was reported Lyon had reached an agreement with

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club Sevilla for the transfer of Squillaci for a €6.25 million transfer fee plus €500,000 in bonuses. Squillaci agreed to a three-year deal. Six months after his departure from Sevilla, in January 2011, officials of Squillaci's former club Toulon confirmed the club was seeking €150,000 in compensation from Sevilla. The compensation Toulon was seeking was related to a solidarity contribution in which 5% of any future transfer fee was allocated to the youth clubs who trained a player from ages 12–23. Sevilla agreed to meet with Toulon, but no agreement was initially reached.

Arsenal

Squillaci joined

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 ...

on a three-year contract in the summer of 2010 for a fee believed to be around £4 million. He took the number 18 shirt, previously held by fellow French former Arsenal centre-backs

Mikaël Silvestre Mikaël Samy Silvestre (born 9 August 1977) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He is best known for a nine-year spell at Manchester United F.C., Manchester U ...

and Pascal Cygan. Following an injury to centre-back Thomas Vermaelen, Squillaci formed a central defensive partnership with fellow new signing Laurent Koscielny. Squillaci scored his first goal for Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League group stage against Partizan. His first

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

goal came against Stoke City on 23 February 2011 from a Nicklas Bendtner cross. During the 2010–11 season, Squillaci made 28 appearances and scored 2 goals for the Gunners across all competitions as Arsenal also reached the League Cup final. Due to his poor performances in his first season and the arrival of German international Per Mertesacker in the summer of 2011, Squillaci fell down the pecking order at the club ahead of the 2011–12 season. He made his first appearance of the season in the League Cup round win against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

and continued to be a part of the League Cup squad, playing in the quarter-final defeat to

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. He made his first Champions League appearance of the season on 6 December 2011, where he played the full 90 minutes in Arsenal's 3–1 away defeat to Olympiacos, Arsenal's final group stage match. He made his first Premier League appearance of the season on 2 January 2012 when he replaced midfielder Aaron Ramsey for the last ten minutes against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

after centre-back Johan Djourou was sent off. Arsenal went on to lose the match 2–1 as Squillaci's clearing header in the 92nd minute of the match fell to the feet of Bobby Zamora, who scored a volley to give Fulham all three points. On 17 February, Squillaci came on as an early substitute in Arsenal's fifth round

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

match at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

after

Francis Coquelin Francis Joseph Coquelin (; born 13 May 1991) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ligue 1 club FC Nantes, Nantes. He has also featured for Valencia CF, Valencia, Arsenal F.C., Arsenal, ...

sustained an injury, with regular defenders Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny already missing through injury. Squillaci had a torrid match, deflecting Kieran Richardson's 40th minute shot into his own net, and was himself substituted through injury in the 52nd minute as Arsenal lost 2–0. He ended the 2011–12 season with six appearances, with only one of these appearances being in the Premier League. Squillaci made his only appearance of the 2012–13 season in a 2–1 defeat against Olympiacos in the

. On 5 June 2013, Arsenal announced Squillaci, along with teammates Andrey Arshavin and Denílson, would leave the club when their contracts expired on 30 June.

Bastia

On 17 July 2013, Squillaci was unveiled as the

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

's new number 5 on a one-year contract, with an optional extension for two years. He made his debut in the opening match of the season, a 2–0 loss against

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, and since established himself in the starting 11 that helped the club place in the top ten in Ligue 1. He scored his first goal of the season from a header in a 1–0 win over Nice on 26 October 2013. In October 2016, he suffered a rupture of the cruciate ligaments in the right knee. Although having signed for a new season with Bastia, he announced the end of his professional career in November 2017.

International career

Squillaci was a

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 ...

international with his first cap coming in 2004, making his debut in a friendly match against

. He earned 21 caps for France. Squillaci also qualifies for the non-

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

affiliated team of

, having been called three times to the team for friendlies: in 2009 against Congo, in 2011 against

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, and in 2012 against an international squad of players coached by

Gérard Houllier Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, ...

. He qualifies through both his father and mother's Corsican heritage.

Career statistics

Club

:Source:

International

:Source:

Honours

Ajaccio * Division 2: 2001–02 Monaco *

: 2002–03 *

runner-up: 2003–04 Lyon *

: 2006–07, 2007–08 *

: 2007–08 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Sevilla *

: 2009–10 Arsenal *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

runner-up: 2010–11 Individual * UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2003–04

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Squillaci, Sebastien 1980 births Living people Footballers from Toulon French men's footballers Men's association football defenders SC Toulon players AS Monaco FC players AC Ajaccio players Olympique Lyonnais players Sevilla FC players Arsenal F.C. players SC Bastia players Ligue 2 players Championnat National 2 players Ligue 1 players La Liga players Premier League players UEFA Euro 2008 players France men's international footballers 2010 FIFA World Cup players Corsica men's international footballers French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco Expatriate men's footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Monaco French expatriate sportspeople in Spain French people of Corsican descent 21st-century French sportsmen