Gaël Clichy

Early career

Clichy began his football career at the age of five playing for his hometown club AS Hersoise. He, initially, was a predominantly right-footed player, but through decisive coaching from his father, Clichy's left foot eventually became his primary. One such example of his father's coaching came during a regional youth cup match, which his father was refereeing. The younger Clichy was informed by his father that if he scored a goal with his right foot, he would disallow it. Following this, Clichy developed his left foot "to the point where he eventually forgot his right foot". After five seasons with Hersoise, Clichy joined JS Cugnaux, a local club based in nearby Cugnaux. He spent only one year at the club before moving to AS Muret. In 1998, Clichy joined AS Tournefeuille and began attending secondary at the Collège Leonardo da Vinci. During his stint at Tournefeuille, he was selected to attend the Pôle Espoirs de Castelmaurou, a regional academy located in the Midi-Pyrénées region that trained players similarly to the Clairefontaine academy in Île-de-France. Clichy spent three years at the center training there during the weekdays and playing with Tournefeuille on the weekends. In 2000, after developing at both Tournefeuille and Castelmaurou, Clichy was linked to a host of professional clubs, including Auxerre, Bordeaux, and Toulouse who were seeking to obtain his services. The young player ultimately decided to move to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur…

Youth

Clichy has earned caps with all of France's youth teams for which he was eligible. He was a late participant at under-15 level under coach Luc Rabat. Clichy made his youth international debut on 13 March 2001 in a 3–0 friendly win over Italy. He remained with the team for the rest of the campaign appearing in three matches at the 2001 edition of the Montaigu Tournament which France won. Clichy also played in all three matches at an international tournament in Salerno, Italy. At under-17 level, Clichy appeared in ten matches as France attempted to qualify for the 2002 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. He made his debut with the team on 19 September 2001 in its opening league match of the season; a 1–0 win over Yugoslavia. In qualifying for the UEFA-sanctioned tournament, Clichy appeared in two of the three qualification matches. In the tournament, he appeared in all six matches as the starting left-back. France reached the final, but were defeated by a resilient Switzerland, who were led by future Arsenal teammate Philippe Senderos. Due to increased playing time at his parent club Cannes, Clichy's stint with the under-18 team was uneventful appearing in only three matches. He returned to the team as a regular for under-19 duty as the team was attempting to qualify for the 2004 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. In qualifying, France were surprisingly eliminated in the first round after finishing third in its first qualifying round group.…

Predominantly left-footed but naturally right-footed, he was described earlier in his career as a player who possessed "almost unrivaled stamina" that was "quick in the tackle and willing to drive forward".

Clichy was born and raised in Toulouse, in southwestern France. His mother, Jacqueline, is a medical nurse, while his father, Claude, was an educator in the city. While Clichy was beginning his football career, his father often served as a part-time coach and referee. At the age of 15 while playing for Cannes, Clichy nearly died. After climbing over a metal fence while crossing a ground at the club's facility, a ring he was wearing got caught in the fence, which resulted in the skin and tissue from the fourth finger of his right hand being completely torn off. During the seven-hour operation to repair the finger, Clichy's heart stopped beating due to a problem with his lungs. It restarted after 15 seconds. The doctor who led the operation described Clichy's survival as "a miracle", while the player himself admitted that the ordeal changed his attitude towards life stating "It made me realise that life can go quick. You could leave tomorrow so you have to enjoy it to the maximum so you don't regret anything the next day. You can look forward to the future but not too far ahead".