Franck Silvestre

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 final the next year, lost against FC Metz. The player topped a great 1988 winning the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 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, making his international debut against the Republic of Ireland; he was also selected for UEFA Euro 1992, but remained on the bench as the national side exited on the group stage – he gained a total of 11 caps, the last coming in 1992 with his final call-up as an unused substitute the following year. Silvestre signed in the 1993 summer for Guy Roux's AJ Auxerre, making up for William Prunier's departure. During his years in the team, which featured Dutch Frank Verlaat, Laurent Blanc and Frédéric Danjou, he won two domestic cups and one league, including the historic 1995–96 double, also appearing in the UEFA Champions League. In 1998, Silvestre moved to Montpellier HSC, where he again was an undisputed starter, also eventually becoming team captain. 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,…

Sochaux

Division 2: 1987–88 Coupe de France runner-up: 1987–88 Auxerre

Division 1: 1995–96 Coupe de France: 1993–94, 1995–96 Montpellier

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999 France U21

UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 1988