David Ginola

Although Ginola was a very prominent French player, he did not see much action with the France national team, being capped only 17 times in his career. In 1987, Ginola played for the France under-21 team at the Toulon Tournament. He was named the tournament's best player after France beat England 4–3 in the final. Ginola is infamous in France for his mistake in a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Bulgaria. France needed only a draw in their final group qualifying match on 17 November 1993 to qualify for the finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and Ginola had come on as a late substitute for Jean-Pierre Papin. With the score level at 1–1 in the last minute of the match, Ginola overhit a cross intended for Eric Cantona. The ball was collected by Emil Kremenliev, who launched a quick Bulgarian counterattack which resulted in Emil Kostadinov scoring the winning goal. Bulgaria thus won the match 2–1 and qualified for the 1994 World Cup finals at the expense of France. In a television interview aired on 18 November 1993, Gérard Houllier, the manager of the France team during its entire 1994 World Cup qualifying campaign, blamed France's 2–1 defeat by Bulgaria entirely on Ginola and described him as someone who had "sent an Exocet missile through the heart of French football" and as the "assassin of the team". After being barracked by French fans and branded as the "assassin of French football" by the French press, Ginola moved to England, signing for Newcastle United.…

Ginola made his first senior appearance for Sporting Toulon as an eighteen-year-old in a 1985 2–0 victory away at Metz. He played fourteen times in his first season, and by 1986 he was a regular in the Toulon line-up. In 1988, he moved to Racing Paris, where he remained until signing for Brest in 1990. There, he began to impress with his flamboyant style of play. In 1991, he played a crucial role in a landmark victory (3–2) against the side who would go on to sign him, Paris Saint-Germain.

Paris Saint-Germain

Ginola joined Paris Saint-Germain in January 1992, at a time when it was pushing for major honours with the financial backing of TV channel Canal+. He quickly adapted to the club and became a fan favourite noted for his elegant first touch and pace. His popularity did not suffer any consequence even when he admitted that he supported Paris Saint-Germain's rivals Marseille as a boy and that he would have joined them rather than PSG. In his first full season (1992–93), Ginola won the Coupe de France (scoring in the final) and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. At the end of 1993, he was also won the French Footballer of the Year award from France Football. In his second full season in 1993–94, PSG won the second league title of its history, losing only three times. Alongside Paul Le Guen, Bernard Lama and Antoine Kombouaré and coached by Artur Jorge, Ginola provided 13 goals in 38 games, which made him the top club goalscorer. The following season, under…

As a winger, Ginola was renowned for his flair, "magical" touch on the ball, quick feet, and balance, as well as his ability to get past players from any type of position. His ability to do so was shown in games for both Tottenham and Newcastle, as demonstrated by his goal in Newcastle's 5–0 win over reigning Premier League champions Manchester United, on 20 October 1996. In addition to his technical skills, he also possessed good vision. He became a part of the memorable "Entertainers" Newcastle side of his era, which also featured other acclaimed players including Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand, Faustino Asprilla, Peter Beardsley, and Keith Gillespie. In 1999, Dutch legend Johan Cruyff remarked that it was his belief that Ginola was currently the best player in the world. Despite his ability, Ginola was also notorious for his poor work-rate, difficult character, and lack of discipline both on and off the pitch, which led him to be involved in confrontations with other players as well as some of his managers. As such, his compatriot Eric Cantona criticised him for his poor mentality, despite his technical ability. In 2015, The Daily Telegraph placed Ginola at number 15 in their list of "The top 20 overrated football players of all time", describing him as "one of the world's best on his day, but unfortunately his day was very infrequent. Ginola's carefree attitude infuriated most of the managers he worked with, which is partly why he never lasted more than three years at any…

David Ginola-Ceze was born on 25 January 1967 in Gassin, Var.