Willy Julie Guéret (born 3 August 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 a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Career

Guéret was born in Saint-Claude, Guadeloupe. He joined

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 ...

in 1996, playing alongside a young

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...

, but moved to England on 28 July 2000 when he signed for

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

. First-team opportunities were limited, however, and Guéret made only 18 starts for Millwall (with a further two as substitute) in all competitions. He was on the bench as Millwall lost the 2004 FA Cup final to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, and contributed to two games earlier in the cup run against Telford United and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. On 1 July 2004, Guéret signed for

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

. The club achieved promotion from League Two in his first season at Bury but Guéret's celebrations turned sour when the Swansea players entered the directors box against the orders of the game safety officer after the final whistle. Guéret and the other players were ordered by police to leave the directors box but Gueret was arrested for repeatedly telling a police officer to fuck off. Guéret was placed in a police van and taken to Bury police station where he was later released after being issued an £80 fixed penalty notice for disorder for an offence under s5 Public Order Act and was able to travel back from Greater Manchester to Swansea with his teammates. He expressed his wish to stay at the club until the end of his career. He would later go on to help Swansea win the 2006 Football League Trophy final. However, having fallen out of favour at Swansea, Guéret signed for MK Dons on the opening day of the 2007–08 season. He was hailed by

Ray Mathias Raymond Mathias (born 13 December 1946) is an English football coach and former player. He has spent most of his career in the lower leagues of English football. Mathias played for Tranmere Rovers between 1964 and 1985, and remains their recor ...

as the best goalkeeper in League Two and would go on to win the Golden Glove that season, keeping 23 clean sheets in 52 games. Guéret saved a penalty in the 2008 Football League Trophy final, in which MK Dons beat

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

2–0 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. On 1 February 2011, Guéret signed for

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Latimer Park. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in 1976, and have ...

after leaving the Dons by mutual consent. After six months at Kettering, Guéret announced his retirement from football. He was offered a coaching role with the MK Dons Academy but chose to return to France to set up a

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

production company with his brother at

Gimeux Gimeux () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 359 communes of the Charente department of France on 1 January 2025. The ...

in southern France.

Honours

Millwall *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

: 2000–01 *

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 ...

runner-up: 2003–04 Swansea City *

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

third-place promotion: 2004–05 *

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

: 2005–06 Milton Keynes Dons *Football League Two: 2007–08 *Football League Trophy: 2007–08 Individual * Football League Golden Glove:

2007–08 Football League Two The Football League 2007–08 (named Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons), was the sixteenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2007 and concluded in May 2008, with the promotion play-off finals. T ...

References

External links

*
LFP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gueret, Willy 1973 births Living people People from Saint-Claude, Guadeloupe French men's footballers Guadeloupean men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Red Star FC players Le Mans FC players Millwall F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players Ligue 2 players English Football League players National League (English football) players French expatriate men's footballers Guadeloupean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in England French people of Guadeloupean descent