Lilian Laslandes

Early career

Laslandes was born in Pauillac, Gironde. He started his professional career at the rather late age of 20, starting at the club Saint-Seurin in which he scored 10 goals in his 33 appearances for the club. AJ Auxerre took notice of his talent and acquired him following the season. He went on to make 125 appearances for the club, 20 of them in European competitions, scoring 47 goals including two in European cup ties. Laslandes then moved to Girondins de Bordeaux on a free transfer on 1 August 1997 scoring 47 goals in 119 appearances. Foreign clubs were starting to take notice of the Frenchman and his consistent goalscoring ability, including some from England, Germany and Spain.

Sunderland

Laslandes arrived in June 2001, as Peter Reid's replacement for the ageing Niall Quinn. Much media hype surrounded the powerful Frenchman as the club paid £3.6 million for his signature, but he struggled to adapt to the pace of the English Premiership and Sunderland's style of direct football. Laslandes' relationship with Reid had also deteriorated. After 12 appearances with no league goals and one in the League Cup against Sheffield Wednesday, Laslandes went on loan in January 2002 to German club 1. FC Köln, where he played five matches without scoring, which earned him the derogatory nickname "LasLandesliga". This was followed by a more successful loan to French first division club Bastia for the 2002–03 season, where he scored eight goals in 30…

Club

International

France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Laslandes goal.

Auxerre

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

Division 1: 1998–99 Coupe de la Ligue runner-up: 1997–98