| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stéphane Pierre Yves Guivarc'h[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1970-09-06)6 September 1970 (age 55)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Concarneau, France | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| US Trégunc | |||
| 1984–1989 | Brest | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–1991 | Brest | 14 | (1) |
| 1991–1995 | Guingamp | 110 | (68) |
| 1995–1996 | Auxerre | 23 | (3) |
| 1996–1997 | Rennes | 36 | (22) |
| 1997–1998 | Auxerre | 32 | (21) |
| 1998 | Newcastle United | 4 | (1) |
| 1998–1999 | Rangers | 14 | (5) |
| 1999–2001 | Auxerre | 60 | (25) |
| 2001–2002 | Guingamp | 11 | (1) |
| Total | 304 | (147) | |
| International career | |||
| 1997–1999 | France | 14 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Stéphane Pierre Yves Guivarc'h (born 6 September 1970) is a French former professionalfootballer who played asstriker. He featured in theFrance squad that won the1998 FIFA World Cup on home soil.
His early career was spent in France with the Breton clubsStade Brestois andEn Avant Guingamp before moving toAJ Auxerre, where he won Division 1 in 1996. He returned to Brittany withStade Rennais with whom he wonLigue 1's Golden Boot. At a second spell at Auxerre he retained the Golden Boot in Division 1 and also won the Golden Boot for the1997–98 UEFA Cup. That summer he started in theWorld Cup Final.
Guivarc'h left France forNewcastle United of the Premier League after the World Cup but left after three months having failed to make an impact at St James' Park. He finished the season atRangers of theScottish Premier League with medals in the league andScottish League Cup, of which he scored in the final. He then returned to Auxerre before retiring after the 2001–02 season with En Avant Guingamp.
Guivarc'h was born inConcarneau, Finistère.[4]
Guivarc'h's career started at the Breton clubStade Brestois in 1989. In 1991, he moved to another club in the region,En Avant Guingamp, where his goalscoring rate was better than one every two games (68 in 110 league games), prompting a move toAJ Auxerre in 1995. He played for the club as they won a double of Ligue 1 and Coupe de France in 1995–96, under managerGuy Roux, but only scored three goals in 23 league appearances. After a season at Auxerre, he returned to a third Breton club,Stade Rennais for a single season, where he won theLigue 1 Golden Boot for 22 goals in 36 appearances.[citation needed]
Guivarc'h's Golden Boot-winning season prompted a return to Auxerre only one year after leaving them. He retained the Division 1 Golden Boot, rewarded for 21 goals in 32 league appearances.[citation needed]
Guivarc'h scored nine times as he helped Auxerre win the1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup to earn a spot in the1997–98 UEFA Cup where he netted seven times to earn its Golden Boot. The first goal came in the First Round's First leg againstDeportivo La Coruña of Spain in a 2–1 win. The second leg was goalless. In the second round againstOFI of Greece, he scored twice in the home leg in a 3–1 victory (Antoine Sibierski got the other goal) and once in the second in a 3–2 defeat (5–4 on aggregate). In the third round's second leg againstTwente Enschede of the Netherlands, he scored an 82nd-minute penalty in the 2–0 victory at home to send Auxerre through 3–0 on aggregate.[citation needed]
In the quarter-finals againstLazio of Italy, Auxerre lost the first leg 1–0 away. In the second leg Guivarc'h struck twice in a 2–2 draw which meant that Lazio advanced 3–2 on aggregate.[citation needed]
Guivarc'h was signed for Newcastle United by their managerKenny Dalglish in the 1998 close season.[5] He played only four league games,[6] despite scoring on his debut against Liverpool,[7] and then was sold toRangers for £3.5m on 6 November 1998 by new managerRuud Gullit.[8][9]
At Rangers he won the treble underDick Advocaat: theScottish Premier League,Scottish Cup andScottish League Cup. Two days after signing, he scored two goals away at St Johnstone after coming on as a substitute in a 7–0 win.[10] He also scored two away atHeart of Midlothian in a 3–2 win. He scored Rangers' first in the League Cup final versusSt Johnstone, which they won 2–1.[11]
After only one season at Rangers he joined Auxerre for a third spell, then for his final season as a professional returned to Guingamp once more. During his two spells at the Breton club he scored 69 goals, a club record.[citation needed]
Guivarc'h made 14 appearances forFrance between 1997 and 1999; his only international goal came on his debut, in a 2–1 home victory in a friendly againstSouth Africa on 11 October 1997.[12][13][citation needed] As a result of his domestic goalscoring record Guivarc'h was selected as the lone striker in theWorld Cup winningFrance team of 1998, with the tournament being held on home soil. Despite going scoreless throughout the competition, he played an important role in the team's victory by creating space with his movements and pressing defenders with his work-rate; his role in the team has been retroactively compared toOlivier Giroud's in France's2018 FIFA World Cup victory.[12][14][15] He was given the number 9 shirt by managerAimé Jacquet and appeared in six of France's seven matches throughout the tournament.[12][14][16] In the opening 3–0 victory over South Africa Guivarc'h was substituted forChristophe Dugarry in the 29th minute.[17] He did not play at all in the following 4–0 victory overSaudi Arabia.[18] He appeared as an 85th minute substitute forDavid Trezeguet in a 2–1 victory overDenmark in the final group stage match.[19]
In the round of 16 againstParaguay he was substituted on in the 76th minute for his Auxerre teammateBernard Diomède; France went on to win the match 1–0 after extra-time with aGolden goal fromLaurent Blanc.[20] Guivarc'h was yellow carded in the quarter-final againstItaly and substituted in the 65th minute along withChristian Karembeu forThierry Henry andDavid Trezeguet; France would win the match on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra-time.[21] In the semi-final versusCroatia Guivarc'h was again substituted for Trezeguet in the 68th minute as France won 2–1.[22]
Guivarc'h would start in thefinal againstBrazil and was substituted off in the 66th minute forChristophe Dugarry as France won 3–0.[23]
On 11 November 1999 Guivarc'h played his final international match, playing the opening 45 minutes in a 3–0 victory overCroatia in an international friendly.[24]
Guivarc'h was appointed aKnight of the Legion of Honour in 1998 after the World Cup victory.[1]
Since retirement as a player, Guivarc'h has returned to his hometown of Concarneau and become a swimming pool salesman. He is married and has three children.[25]
Despite the criticism, France's World Cup-winning managerAimé Jacquet supported Guivarc'h's performances for his ability to contribute as a pivot despite not scoring in the tournament. He remains incredulous that the striker is perceived as a flop.[26]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 October 1997 | Stade Félix-Bollaert,Lens, France |  South Africa | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | [27] |
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