 Petit in 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Emmanuel Laurent Petit[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1970-09-22)22 September 1970 (age 55)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Dieppe, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1985 | Arques-la-Bataille | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1989 | Monaco | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1997 | Monaco | 222 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Arsenal | 85 | (9) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Barcelona | 23 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Chelsea | 55 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 385 | (16) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–2003 | France | 63 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Emmanuel Laurent Petit (French pronunciation:[emanɥɛllɔʁɑ̃pəti]; born 22 September 1970) is a French former professionalfootballer who played as adefensive midfielder at club level forArsenal,Barcelona,Monaco, andChelsea. He representedFrance at international level in twoFIFA World Cups and twoUEFA European Championships; he scored the third goal in France's 3–0 victory in the1998 FIFA World Cup Final and was also a member of the French squad that wonUEFA Euro 2000. He was known for his strong defensive abilities, including tackling, interceptions, and marking, as well as his passing range and ability to transition play from defense to attack. While his weak foot was a slight limitation, his overall performance was highly regarded.
Petit was born inDieppe, Seine-Maritime, and grew up in Arques-la-Bataille.[4][5]
Petit began his career at minor club ESArques-la-Bataille before being signed byArsène Wenger'sMonaco side at the age of 18. He made his debut soon after and played in the 1989Coupe de Francefinal. Petit became a regular at Monaco, playing as aleft-sided orcentral midfielder. In 1991, he won theCoupe de France with Monaco and also played in the 1992European Cup Winners' Cupfinal (which Monaco lost toWerder Bremen). In1996–97, his final season at Monaco, hecaptained his side to theLigue 1 title.[citation needed]
Petit joinedArsenal in June 1997 for £2.5 million, where he was reunited with his former Monaco manager Arsène Wenger. Wenger switched Petit from central midfielder todefensive midfielder, and partnered him with fellow FrenchmanPatrick Vieira. The French duo formed a midfield partnership which brought instant success, as Petit wonthe double with Arsenal in his very first season, clinching both thePremier League title and theFA Cup. Altogether, in the three seasons in his Arsenal career, Petit made 118 appearances and scored 11 goals, including a stunning drive from outside the area againstDerby County (which was also the winning goal), during the1997–98 season.[citation needed]
Petit moved toBarcelona (together with Arsenal teammateMarc Overmars) in the summer of 2000 for £7 million (€14 million). At Barcelona, he was moved back into defence and suffered a rash of niggling injuries. As a result, he failed to settle and could not hold down a regular place. In his biography, published in 2008, the midfielder gave his time at Barcelona a special chapter in which he exposed that coachLorenzo Serra Ferrer did not even know what position he played when he joined the team. His only goal for Barcelona came on 13 May 2001 at home toRayo Vallecano in a 5–1 win.[6]
After his first season at the Camp Nou, Petit was linked with moves back to England withManchester United, Tottenham andChelsea, joining the latter in 2001 in a £7.5 million transfer deal.[7][8] He initially was a first-team regular for theBlues in a largely disappointing first season and played in the2002 FA Cup final[9] which Chelsea lost to his old club, Arsenal. He scored his first goal for Chelsea in a 2–1 win over Derby on 30 March 2002.[10] His second season saw a significant improvement, as he formed an impressive midfield partnership withFrank Lampard as Chelsea impressed in the winner-takes-all final game of the season againstLiverpool as Chelsea secured the fourthUEFA Champions League berth. He also scored twice throughout the season: againstEverton in theLeague Cup,[11] and former club Arsenal in the league.[12] After a series of knee injuries, however, he spent much of the final season of his career on the sidelines, and he was released on afree transfer in the summer of 2004, his final appearance for the club coming againstBlackburn Rovers on 1 February 2004.[13]
After being released by Chelsea, Petit rejected the chance to sign forBolton Wanderers,[14][15] and he announced his retirement on 20 January 2005 after failing to fully recover following knee surgery.[16][17][18]
Playing for theFrance national team, Petit earned 63caps and scored six international goals in his career and won the1998 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2000. He scored twice in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the first from a powerful shot from just outside the box againstDenmark, which turned out to be the match winner, and a second in the final againstBrazil. The goal he scored in thefinal was particularly memorable, as he had embarked on an optimistic run across field before calmly slotting in the goal in the final minute of regular time. That same goal happened to be the 1,000th goal in the history of theFrench Football Federation and the lastFIFA World Cup Finals goal of the 20th century. France won the match 3–0. An earlier Petitcorner kick had set upZinedine Zidane's header for France's first goal.[19] Petit was also part of the2002 FIFA World Cup squad, though France failed to advance past the group stages and failed to score a single goal in three matches during their defence of the trophy.[20]
Petit retired from international football in September 2003.[21]
Although capable of playing as adefender, Petit usually played as adefensive midfielder throughout his career, and was known for his energy, work-rate, strength, tackling, aerial prowess, and positional intelligence in this position, as well as his elegance, his passing range, and his striking ability from distance with his left foot; as such, he was not only capable of breaking up attacks, but of dictating play in midfield, creating chances for teammates, and even scoring goals.[22][23][24][25][26]
Petit married French actressAgathe de La Fontaine,[27] in 2000, but they divorced in 2002 after having one child, Zoe.[28] He now shares his life with Maria Servello, with whom he had another child, Violet, in 2007. He has often appeared on French TV as a football analyst.
His brother Olivier was an amateur footballer when Petit was a teenager. While playing for his clubArques in 1988, Olivier collapsed and was rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead due to a blood clot of the brain.[29] In his biography, Petit explained that this event shocked him to such an extent that it almost made him quit football. He viewed his brother as a gifted young man who had good looks and did well in all his endeavours, whether it was football or education. At age 18, he was already facing the demanding rigors of the Monaco youth academy, and not so soon, he had lost his grandfather. His brother’s and grandfather’s loss happened in a bracket of two years and the passing of his brother almost became the final straw. Petit wore the number 17 shirt in club football throughout his career as 17 was his brother's age when he died.[30]
He starred as himself in a Christmas special episode of British police showThe Bill in 1998.[31] Petit has been an ambassador for theHomeless World Cup movement since the tournament was hosted byParis in 2011.[32]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Monaco | 1988–89 | Division 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 18 | 1 | ||
| 1989–90 | Division 1 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 7[c] | 0 | – | 36 | 0 | |||
| 1990–91 | Division 1 | 27 | 1 | 6 | 0 | – | 5[d] | 0 | – | 38 | 1 | |||
| 1991–92 | Division 1 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 7[c] | 0 | – | 39 | 0 | |||
| 1992–93 | Division 1 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 27 | 1 | ||||
| 1993–94 | Division 1 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 10[e] | 0 | – | 40 | 0 | |||
| 1994–95 | Division 1 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 1 | |||
| 1995–96 | Division 1 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | – | 27 | 1 | ||
| 1996–97 | Division 1 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7[d] | 0 | – | 40 | 0 | ||
| Total | 222 | 4 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 0 | – | 292 | 5 | |||
| Arsenal | 1997–98 | Premier League | 32 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | – | 44 | 2 | |
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 26 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 33 | 6 | |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 27 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10[g] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 41 | 3 | |
| Total | 85 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 118 | 11 | ||
| Barcelona | 2000–01 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 5 | 0 | – | 10[h] | 0 | – | 38 | 1 | ||
| Chelsea | 2001–02 | Premier League | 27 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | – | 38 | 1 | |
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 24 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | – | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2003–04 | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | – | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 55 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | – | 76 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 385 | 16 | 59 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 68 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 524 | 20 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 1990 | 1 | 0 |
| 1991 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 63 | 6 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 June 1998 | Stade de Gerland,Lyon, France |  Denmark | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup |
| 2 | 12 July 1998 | Stade de France,Saint-Denis, France |  Brazil | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup |
| 3 | 5 June 1999 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France |  Russia | 1–1 | 2–3 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 4 | 2 September 2000 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France |  England | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 6 October 2001 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France |  Algeria | 2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 6 | 13 February 2002 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France |  Romania | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
Monaco
Arsenal
France
France squads | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
