Lilian Thuram

At 52 years old, Lilian Thuram has this physical status:

Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (French pronunciation: [li.lj] ty.am] (born 1 January 1972) is a French author and former professional footballer who played as a defender. He takes a public stand on topics relating to equality, migrant, and racial discrimination, and he was a member of France's High Council for Integration. Thuram founded the Lilian Thuram Foundation in 2008 to educate against racial discrimination.

Thuram has written four books, the most recent of which is White Thinking: How Racial Bias Is Constructed and How to Move Beyond It (French title: La pensée blanche) as well as three graphic novels.

Thuram is the most capped player in France's national team, with 142 appearances between 1994 and 2008. He began playing football in Monaco and spent more than 15 years in France, Italy, and Spain, with notable stints in Serie A with both Parma and Barcelona before concluding his career with Barcelona. Thuram was a key player for France's 1998 FIFA World Cup; his team also won UEFA Euro 2000; and he was in the squad for the 2006 World Cup (where France finished runners-up). He was a quick, strong, and versatile player who could play either as a center-back or as a right-back, and was an excellent both offensively and defensively skilled player. Thuram has been portrayed as a "studious" figure off the field; in 2010, he was appointed as a UNICEF ambassador and has stood out for his efforts to combat bigotry.

Early life

Thuram was born in Guadeloupe, France's West Indies, and he was born in Thuram. In 1981, his family immigrated to mainland France.

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Club career

In 1991, Thuram's football career began with Monaco in Ligue 1. He then moved to Parma (1996-2001) and then to Juventus (2001-2006) for £25 million, then to Barcelona in 2006.

In 1991, Thuram began his career with Monaco. He only made one appearance this season, but he was formally signed to the first team the following season, when he would go on to make 19 appearances. He was inserted into the starting XI at the end of 1992 and would go on to make 155 league appearances for the Ligue 1 team before moving to Parma in 1996. When at Monaco, he made his national team debut in 1994. He won the Coupe de France in 1991, while also reaching the final of the 1991-1992 European Cup Winners' Cup in Monaco. In a 4–1 win over Spartak Moscow in the 1993–94 season, Thuram scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in his career in his career.

Thuram moved to Italy in July 1996 to join Serie A side Parma. In his first season, he played more than 40 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring one goal. Parma finished second in the 1996–97 Serie A to Juventus. He was in starting position in defense during his time with Parma, appearing in 163 Serie A appearances and scoring one league goal. He made more than 200 appearances for the club, building his name for himself by winning caps for France. Parma's second most memorable season in 2000-01, where Parma advanced to the Coppa Italia final, and Thuram, with teammate Gianluigi Buffon, have departed to Juventus. The transfer cost the club 80 billion Italian lires (€41,316,552). Thuram and his eventual Juventus teammates Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro both won the Coppa Italia in 1998 and 1999, as well as the 1999 Supercopa Italiana.

Thuram and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon were transferred to Juventus in the summer of 2001. Thuram formed defensive alliances with Ciro Ferrara, Paolo Montero, Gianluca Pessotto, Mark Iuliano, Alessandro Birindelli, Igor Tudor, Gianluca Pesso, Federico Balzaretti, and Jonathan Zebina during his five-year association with the club. Thuram claimed the 2001–02 Serie A championship, also qualifying for the 2001–02 Coppa Italia in his first season with the club as a right back under Marc introdusello Lippi. Juventus started the season by winning the 2002 Supercoppa Italiana and defending their Serie A crown, as well as the UEFA Champions League final, where they were defeated by Milan on penalties.

Juventus won the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana final, winning another Coppa Italia final, but in Serie A, they placed in a disappointing 3rd place and failed to advance to the second round. Fabio Capello, Thuram's coach, Tom Fabio Cannavaro in the center of defense, with Gianluigi Buffon in goal, Jonathan Zebina at right back, and Gianluca Zambrotta at left back, established one of Europe's most expensive, but also the most feared defenses. Thuram won the Scudetto two more times with Juventus, but these two league titles were later withdrawn due to Juventus' involvement in the 2006 Italian football scandal (calciopoli). In the aftermath of the calciopoli fiasco, Thuram, a five-year association, was moved to Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga. He made more than 200 appearances for the club, with two goals.

Thuram signed with Barcelona for €5 million on July 24, 2006, after Juventus was relegated to Serie B due to the calciopoli fiasco.

He was the third or fourth choice center-back for Thuram's last season (2007–08) after Carles Puyol, Gabriel Milito, and Rafael Márquez.

He was announced on June 26, 2008, he had signed a one-year deal with the option for a second year with Paris Saint-Germain. However, the contract was terminated soon after because he was diagnosed with a heart defect that had caused the death of his brother. He resigned from professional football due to his illness on August 2nd.

International career

Thuram was a key part of France's triumph at UEFA Euro 2000, which culminated in the team being ranked by FIFA as the top one from 2001-2002. In addition to winning the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, he also participated in the 2002 World Cup, 2006 World Cup, Euro 1996, Euro 2004, and Euro 2008. Thuram became France's third Frenchman to 100 caps after 1998 champions Didier Deschamps and Marcel Desailly defeated England 2-1 in France's 2–1 group victory over England at Euro 2004.

Thuram was selected in the French squad for the 1998 World Cup and played a major role in the entire tournament, most notable in the semi-finals against Croatia. Thuram continued to score a brace, his first international goals, and defeat Brazil 3–0 to win their first World Cup after being caught out of place and at fault for Croatia's opening goal. Thuram was named as the third most valuable player in the tournament when judging was given the bronze ball. He, Bixente Lizarazu, Laurent Blanc, and Marcel Desailly constituted the French defense's backbone, who conceded only two goals in seven games.

On August 17, 2005, France coach Raymond Domenech convinced Thuram to return to the French team, as Les Bleus failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup for the second time after a brief international break. France's transition to the final was planned thanks to Thuram's centre-back relationship with William Gallas. In the group stage match against South Korea in Leipzig on June 18, Thuram earned his 116th cap for France. In the game, he equalled Desailly's record number of caps, which he missed in the final group stage match, beating Togo in Cologne on June 23, 2006, winning his 117th cap. He was named man of the match in France's semi-finals against Portugal, coincidently the same distinction he had earned eight years earlier at the 1998 World Cup's semi-finals.

Thuram played against Romania in a group match on June 9th, becoming the first person to make 15 UEFA European Championship finals appearances. Zinedine Zidane, Lus Figo, and Karel Poborsk met the former record of 14 appearances. He appeared in one more game during the tournament, raising the number of his appearances to 16, which were then equaled by Edwin van der Sar from the Netherlands in the quarterfinals a few days later. Thuram was France's captain in the tournament. After France's 2–0 loss to Italy, he and Claude Makélélé announced his retirement from international football on June 17, 2008, alongside Claude Makélélé. He spent his time with the national team as France's Most Capable Player with 142 appearances.

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