Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly was born in Accra, Greater Accra Region, Ghana on September 7th, 1968 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 55, Marcel Desailly biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 55 years old, Marcel Desailly has this physical status:
Marcel Desailly was born as Odenke Abbey on 7 September 1968 in Accra, Ghana, the son of Ghanaian parents. He had his name changed when his mother married the head of the French Consulate in Accra, who adopted all of her children (the former professional footballer Seth Adonkor, seven years his elder, was a half-brother of his). The family relocated to France when Desailly was four years old. Following Adonkor's lead, he began his career at FC Nantes. There, as part of the famed FC Nantes youth programme, he played alongside a young Didier Deschamps, who became his closest friend. Desailly turned professional in 1986, two years after his half-brother had died in a car accident. In 1992, he moved to Olympique de Marseille, where he reunited with Deschamps, and won the UEFA Champions League the following year. In 1994, while playing for AC Milan, he again won the Cup (scoring in the final himself), being the first player to win the Cup in consecutive seasons with different clubs. During his time in Milan he won two Italian league titles, in 1994 and 1996. Although he preferred to be deployed as a sweeper or centre-back, roles which he played during his time in France, he found much success playing as a defensive midfielder for Milan, alongside Demetrio Albertini, due to the presence of several other established centre-backs at the club, such as Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and Filippo Galli.
Desailly then moved to the English club Chelsea in 1998 for £4.6 million, where he captained the side and played sweeper and centre-back until the end of the 2003–04 season. It was at Chelsea that Desailly formed a formidable partnership with Frank Leboeuf.
He picked up one major trophy in his six seasons with Chelsea, being on the winning side in their FA Cup triumph over Aston Villa in 2000.
Desailly was snapped up by Qatari outfit Al-Gharafa in 2004. He was appointed as the club captain and under the French coach Bruno Metsu they won the Qatar League in 2005. He then joined Qatar S.C., leading them to second place in the league before retiring from professional football.
In 2014, Desailly had met the Football Association of Malaysia and said he was ready and willing to coach the Malaysia national team. He also pointed that it was up to the football association whether to hire him or not.
International career
Desailly has often said that he feels totally French and while having ties with Ghana, never even considered playing for a country other than France. During an interview in Ghana, he stated that he did not have much choice about which country to play for as he was already established in the French national youth football team. This stance was restated in his autobiography, published in 2002. He made his international debut in 1993, but was not established as a first choice defender until 1996.
He was an important part of the French team which won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, albeit being sent off in the final match. Like other team members, he was appointed a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1998.
Two years later success continued, as France won Euro 2000. After the tournament, Desailly was made captain of the national team, following the retirement of Didier Deschamps. In 2001, he led France to victory in the Confederations Cup.
In April 2003, Desailly surpassed the record for the number of appearances for the French team, a number which eventually reached 116 when he announced his retirement from international football following 2004 UEFA European Football Championship. However, that record was broken during the 2006 FIFA World Cup by Lilian Thuram.
Post-playing career
Desailly's autobiography, Capitaine, was published in France by Stock in 2002.
Following retirement, Desailly became a pundit for BBC Sport predominantly giving his opinion from the touchline at both half time and full-time as opposed to residing in the studio with Alan Hansen, Alan Shearer and Martin O'Neill.
He worked for BBC Sport in the United Kingdom during the 2006 World Cup, as one of their Match of the Day analysts.
He also worked for BBC Sport at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and Euro 2008 and is a regular commentator for French television channel Canal Plus.
He also became a spokesperson for sports betting website Betclic.
In 2010 Desailly joined the ITV Sport team for their World Cup coverage from South Africa.
Desailly is a supporter of the 1GOAL Education for All campaign. He is also the UNICEF national Goodwill Ambassador for Ghana. He is the Lifetime Goodwill Ambassador for his personal Charity OrphanAid Africa, that helps abandoned children in Ghana. He is a member of the Laureus Sports for Good Foundation.
A mobile video game entitled Marcel Desailly Pro Soccer, developed by Gameloft was released for mobile phones in 2003. Desailly is an ICON in FIFA 21 Ultimate Team and FIFA 22 Ultimate Team with ratings of 87 (base), 88 (mid), 91 (prime), and 92 (Prime Icon Moments)in both games.