Franck Ribery: French wing wizard
Franck Ribery
Scarface and Golden feet - Franck Ribery
Franck Ribery and Samir Nasri ( best goals )
Compilation Franck Ribéry by Math DeVauln
Franck Ribery
Franck Ribery pictures
Franck Ribery bioraphy
Franck Ribéry or Franck Bilal Ribéry (born April 7, 1983 in Boulogne-sur-Mer) is a French football player who currently plays for FC Bayern München.
Franck Ribéry's face suffered severe scarring when he was only 2 years old because of being involved, with his parents, in a serious car accident.
Footballing career
Galatasaray
He signed a contract with Turkish club Galatasaray in January 2005, and went on to help them win the 2005 Turkish Cup by scoring a key goal in a 1-0 victory in the semi-final and scoring a goal and assisting another in a 5-1 win in the final against rivals Fenerbahçe. The Galatasaray fans were impressed with the young Frenchman's skills, and quickly gave him the nickname, "FerraRibery".
Galatasaray Controversy
On April 25, 2007, the World Sport's top court dismissed an appeal by Turkish club Galatasary against French international Franck Ribery's move to Marseille in 2005. The Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) said in a statement that Ribery had terminated his contract with the Turkish club on just grounds, and that Galatasaray was not entitled to any compensation. The midfielder had signed a three-and-a-half year deal with the Turkish side in January 2005 before signing up with Marseille just five months later.
Galatasaray had claimed that Ribery was at fault when he broke his contract having not been paid for over four months. The Istanbul side was reportedly claiming 10 million euros in compensation from Marseille. The Turkish club appealed to CAS after football's world governing body FIFA dismissed their case last November.
Olympique de Marseille
Franck Ribery had 2 highly successful seasons at l'OM making 68 appearances (in all competitions) and scoring 14 goals. Ribery became a very important member of the squad contributing greatly towards Marseille's campaign to play UEFA Champions League football. Marseille completed the 2006-07 season in second place.
Bayern Munich
Ribery attracted growing interest from major European clubs including Real Madrid and Arsenal after a successful 2006 stint in the World Cup. On June 7, 2007, Bayern Munich officially announced the signing of Ribéry on a four year deal from Marseille for a club record fee of €26 million (16 M€ cash, and 10 M€ in 2008, i.e. £17.5 million) and up to €4 million more with team's successes.Ribéry was given the number 7 shirt, previously worn by club legend Mehmet Scholl, who had retired the preceding season.
On July 6, 2007 Ribery made his first appearance against FT Gern in a friendly. The game ended 18-0 for Bayern Munich and Ribery scored 2 goals.
In his first competitive match (1st game of the Ligapokal), he scored 2 goals against Werder Bremen, one of which was a Penalty. Bayern ended up winning the match 4-1. He then played in the 2nd match of the tournament against Stuttgart, scoring once again to beat them 2-0. He suffered a minor injury, and was unable to play the final of the Ligapokal.
International career
On May 27, 2006, he made his French senior national team debut in the "Les Bleus" 1-0 victory over Mexico at the Stade de France. He began the match and was substituted by David Trezeguet in the 74th minute.
On June 12, 2006, he was named in the starting lineup of the French team for their opener in the 2006 FIFA World Cup against Switzerland. His first international goal proved to be a crucial one, levelling France at 1-1 with Spain in the 41st minute of their knockout round match after calmly rounding the Spanish keeper, Iker Casillas. Though Spain were the favourites, France went on to win that game 3-1 to book a quarter-final slot against Brazil.
Upon facing Brazil on July 1, 2006, Ribéry was substituted in the 75th minute of the 1-0 victory following an impressive performance. He also played in the World Cup final defeat to Italy where he went close with a low shot in the first half of extra-time.
Personal life
Ribery converted to Islam and is married to Wahiba, they have a daughter named Hizya. He has taken the Muslim name of Bilal, which he shares with fellow french international Nicolas Anelka. He is also a competent Saxophone player, having played saxophone since the age of 12.
