Ludovic Giuly

Early life

Giuly was immersed in the world of football from an early age since his father, Dominique Giuly, born in the village of Zalana, in Corsica, was a former goalkeeper, who played briefly in professional football for Bastia before continuing an amateur career until the age of 32 with several clubs in the suburbs of Lyon. Ludovic Giuly made his debut in the club in which his father was then active: the ASCMO, now known as Monts d'Or Azergues Foot, in the city of Chasselay, located about twenty kilometers from Lyon. He then entered the training center of Olympique Lyonnais. In 1994, he won the Coupe Gambardella with their U18 team.

Lyon

Giuly began his career with Lyon in 1994 at age 18, and made his debut for the club in a Division 1 match on 21 January 1995 against Cannes; a 3–1 win. The following season, Giuly earned the nickname "the magic elf", referring to his low height (1.64 metres) and his vivacious character. In the 1996–97 season, Giuly finished the season with 16 goals in 37 matches. During the 1997–98 season, he played 19 matches with Lyon and scored one goal. He made his last appearance for Lyon on 10 January 1998 in a 1–0 loss against Marseille, where he played 90 minutes.

AS Monaco

Giuly was signed by Monaco in the winter break in January 1998. The transfer fee was €7.5 million (£6.6 million), although the fee was then assessed at 42 million francs, which was a considerable sum at that time. Just ten days after playing for…

Giuly has been capped for France on 17 occasions between 2000 and 2005. He was a member of their 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup-winning squad, starting in the 1–0 final victory over Cameroon in Paris. Although he was initially stated to play at UEFA Euro 2004, he was removed from his country's squad due to a leg injury he sustained in the 2004 Champions League final. Giuly was not selected for the French 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, as young Marseille playmaker Franck Ribéry was selected over him. However, with Djibril Cissé having broken his leg in a World Cup warm-up match against China, Giuly could have been called up, but he asserted after the initial France squad was announced that he would go on holiday to Dubai and Kish instead of waiting idly in the stand-by squad, and Sidney Govou was called up instead. Despite this, France head coach Raymond Domenech opened a door for Giuly whether he wanted to play for the national team. Giuly also qualified for the non-FIFA affiliated team of Corsica, having been called up for their 31 May 2011 friendly with Bulgaria.

Club

International

Source: Appearances and goals by national team and year

International goals

Source:

On 15 May 2007, Giuly's autobiography "Giuly by Giuly" was published by Hugo & Co. In the autobiography, Giuly settles accounts with former France coach Raymond Domenech, including revelations about his alleged affair with Domenech's partner Estelle Denis. From September 2006 to March 2007, Giuly worked as a columnist each Thursday in Luis Attaque on Radio Monte Carlo (RMC). In 2010, he incorporated Ultimate Player, a service company for professional footballers. The company employs 40 people. Giuly tested positive for the H1N1 (Swine flu) virus in October 2009 along with two PSG teammates, Jérémy Clément and Mamadou Sakho. This led to the league postponing Marseille's match with Paris St Germain. In January 2013, Monts d'Or Azergues Foot named their home stadium after Giuly as the Stade Ludovic Giuly.