- Joined
- May 27, 2001
- Messages
- 20,896
- Reaction score
- 530
The news broke from France last night that 31-year-old midfielder Steed Malbranque has announced his immediate retirement from professional football in order to be a full-time carer for his son, who has been diagnosed with cancer.
Born in Mouscron, Belgium, Malbranque was a graduate of the Olympique Lyonnais academy, winning honours at under-15 and under 17 level, before breaking into the reserve side, where he also achieved great success, winning the reserve team championship. He also captained the French Under 18′s during this time, before breaking into the Lyon first team and making his professional debut aged 18 in a 1-1 draw with Montpellier on February 21st, 1998.
He went on to make 96 appearances for the club, including 19 games in European competitions, impressing in fixtures against clubs like Bayern Munich and Arsenal, whom he rejected a move to as he didn’t feel ready to make the move to the Premiership, before eventually leaving the club in the summer of 2001 to join Fulham for a fee of around £4.5M.
He made his debut for Fulham against Manchester United at Old Trafford soon after, and had a hugely succesful first season, netting ten goals from midfield for the Cottagers. He would spend a further four years at Craven Cottage, in which time he made over 200 appearances for the club and became a firm favourite amongst fans. In his time at Fulham, he was offered the chance to represent Belgium at international level but turned it down as he harboured ambitions of breaking into the France team. He was called up into the France squad in February 2004, but never won a cap for Les Blues.
In 2006, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur on the August transfer deadline day for £2M after contract negotiations had stalled with Fulham, but due to injury was unable to make his debut until November of that year, in a Carling Cup win over Port Vale. He soon became a first team regular and again was popular amongst fans, due to his contributions both going forward and in defence, as well as his hard work ethic and his willingness to get involved in all areas of the pitch. He played a key part in Spurs’ UEFA Cup run that season, and unfortunately played a key part as they were knocked out in the Quarter Final, scoring a freak own goal as Sevilla won 4-3 on aggregate.
Malbranque tasted Carling Cup success in 2008, being in Tottenham’s starting XI as they beat Chelsea 2-1 in the first League Cup final to be held in the new Wembley. He would move on, however, that summer, joining Sunderland in July 2008, and again quickly became a fan’s favourite, playing a crucial role in the midfield of Steve Bruce’s side. His best form came in the 2009-10 season where his performances guided Sunderland to mid-table safety after the club had at one stage looked in a spot of bother after a run of poor results.
He would go on to make over 100 appearances for the club before leaving the Stadium of Light in the summer of 2011, agreeing to join French side AS Saint-Etienne at the beginning of August. Despite signing a four-year contract, Malbranque negotiated a termination of his contract at the end of last week following news of his son’s illness, and announced his retirement on Friday.
Former colleagues, players and fans have been paying tribute to the midfielder, whose actions have shown a refreshingly humain side to a breed whom are all too often accused of being in the game just to line their own pockets, and I think Steed sets a brilliant example to us all that we should always know what the truly important things in life are. He was a fantastic player, and is clearly an even better person, and father. I wish him and his family all the best in what must be a difficult time for them, and I sincerely hope this is a story that will have a happy ending.
Born in Mouscron, Belgium, Malbranque was a graduate of the Olympique Lyonnais academy, winning honours at under-15 and under 17 level, before breaking into the reserve side, where he also achieved great success, winning the reserve team championship. He also captained the French Under 18′s during this time, before breaking into the Lyon first team and making his professional debut aged 18 in a 1-1 draw with Montpellier on February 21st, 1998.
He went on to make 96 appearances for the club, including 19 games in European competitions, impressing in fixtures against clubs like Bayern Munich and Arsenal, whom he rejected a move to as he didn’t feel ready to make the move to the Premiership, before eventually leaving the club in the summer of 2001 to join Fulham for a fee of around £4.5M.
He made his debut for Fulham against Manchester United at Old Trafford soon after, and had a hugely succesful first season, netting ten goals from midfield for the Cottagers. He would spend a further four years at Craven Cottage, in which time he made over 200 appearances for the club and became a firm favourite amongst fans. In his time at Fulham, he was offered the chance to represent Belgium at international level but turned it down as he harboured ambitions of breaking into the France team. He was called up into the France squad in February 2004, but never won a cap for Les Blues.
In 2006, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur on the August transfer deadline day for £2M after contract negotiations had stalled with Fulham, but due to injury was unable to make his debut until November of that year, in a Carling Cup win over Port Vale. He soon became a first team regular and again was popular amongst fans, due to his contributions both going forward and in defence, as well as his hard work ethic and his willingness to get involved in all areas of the pitch. He played a key part in Spurs’ UEFA Cup run that season, and unfortunately played a key part as they were knocked out in the Quarter Final, scoring a freak own goal as Sevilla won 4-3 on aggregate.
Malbranque tasted Carling Cup success in 2008, being in Tottenham’s starting XI as they beat Chelsea 2-1 in the first League Cup final to be held in the new Wembley. He would move on, however, that summer, joining Sunderland in July 2008, and again quickly became a fan’s favourite, playing a crucial role in the midfield of Steve Bruce’s side. His best form came in the 2009-10 season where his performances guided Sunderland to mid-table safety after the club had at one stage looked in a spot of bother after a run of poor results.
He would go on to make over 100 appearances for the club before leaving the Stadium of Light in the summer of 2011, agreeing to join French side AS Saint-Etienne at the beginning of August. Despite signing a four-year contract, Malbranque negotiated a termination of his contract at the end of last week following news of his son’s illness, and announced his retirement on Friday.
Former colleagues, players and fans have been paying tribute to the midfielder, whose actions have shown a refreshingly humain side to a breed whom are all too often accused of being in the game just to line their own pockets, and I think Steed sets a brilliant example to us all that we should always know what the truly important things in life are. He was a fantastic player, and is clearly an even better person, and father. I wish him and his family all the best in what must be a difficult time for them, and I sincerely hope this is a story that will have a happy ending.
