Nicolas Anelka

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Nicolas Anelka
Personal information
Full name Nicolas Anelka
Date of birth March 14, 1979 (1979-03-14) (age 28)
Place of birth    Versailles, France
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Bolton Wanderers
Number 39
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1995–1997
1997–1999
1999–2000
2000–2002
2001–2002
2002–2005
2005–2006
2006–		 Paris Saint-Germain
Arsenal
Real Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain
→ Liverpool (loan)
Manchester City
Fenerbahçe
Bolton Wanderers		 10 0(1)
65 (23)
19 0(2)
39 (10)
20 0(4)
89 (38)
39 (14)
49 (19)   
National team2
1998– France 43 (11)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 11:22, 16 December 2007 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 13 October 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Nicolas Anelka (born March 14, 1979 in Versailles, France)[1] is a French footballer who plays in the forward position. After winning the 1998-99 PFA Young Player of the Year award and making his name at Arsenal, he has changed clubs several times. Currently, he plays for Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League.

Contents

Anelka is the son of two parents from Martinique, Marguerite and Jean-Philippe, who emigrated to Metropolitan France in 1979. Anelka is sometimes named 'Abdul-Salam Bilal'[2] by his friends, since he converted to Islam. He married in 1 April 2007.

Anelka started his career at Paris Saint-Germain as a youth player and was said to have great potential.

In February 1997, at the age of 17, he joined English Premier League club Arsenal for a fee of £500,000,[3] under newly appointed manager Arsène Wenger. Anelka scored his first goal for Arsenal against Manchester United in a 3-2 home win.[4] His first team opportunities were limited in the 1996-97 season, but in the 1997-98 season he broke into the first team, after a long-term injury to striker Ian Wright. Anelka was a key player in Arsenal's "Double" win, of both Premier League championship and FA Cup trophy that season. Anelka scored the second goal in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Newcastle United in that season's FA Cup final.

A player with exceptional pace and finishing ability, he won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award in the 1998-99 season, but Arsenal failed to defend their Premiership title and made little progress in the UEFA Champions League and Anelka wanted a better salary, taking into consideration he was not a beginner anymore.

He was eventually transferred to Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer of 1999, for £22.3m.[5] In all he made 90 appearances for Arsenal (including 17 as a substitute), scoring 28 goals and establishing himself as a top class striker.

Anelka spent just one season at Real Madrid, and played in the side that won the UEFA Champions League final, beating Valencia 3-0. However, his form was remarkably lower than it had been at Arsenal – scoring four goals in 29 appearances – and his difficulties to mix with his new teammates (with the exception of good friend Steve McManaman) as well as to cope with media attention led to him leaving in the summer of 2000.

Anelka signed a professional contract at Paris Saint-Germain, a return to the club which he used to play as a youth player, in a transfer deal worth £20 million.

After one season at Paris St-Germain, Anelka returned to the English Premiership, signing a one-year loan deal with Liverpool. He failed to hold down a regular first team place and manager Gérard Houllier decided not to offer him a permanent deal after the end of the season. Nevertheless, he placed 96th in the 100 Players Who Shook The Kop.

Anelka opted to join newly promoted Manchester City and the £12 million fee paid by manager Kevin Keegan was a club record. Manchester City was the first club Anelka wore the #39 shirt for. He has since worn it for Fenerbahçe, Bolton and the French national team.

In his three seasons at Manchester City, although scoring freely, the addition of Anelka to the club's squad hardly made a drastic difference to its playing fortunes. They finished ninth in 2002-03 season, 16th in 2003-04 season and midway through the 2004-05 season they were looking set for a mid-table finish at best. There was increasing speculation as to whether Anelka was going to be transferred to a bigger club.

In January 2005, the speculation ended when Manchester City announced that Anelka had completed a £7 million transfer to Turkish team Fenerbahçe.[6] Anelka helped the Turkish club win the league title in 2005. In August of that same year, there was considerable speculation in the press that Anelka was being courted by Newcastle United for a return to English football, although the transfer never came about. Anelka stayed on at the Turkish club where he played with them in the UEFA Champions League, but they finished bottom of their group. They also fell short in the title race in 2006, as rivals Galatasaray won the title on the season's final day.

During the summer transfer window of 2006, press reports once again linked Anelka with a return to English football. Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp was allegedly willing to either pay £8.2 million to bring the striker to Fratton Park, or take him on a season long loan.[citation needed]

On 25 August 2006, Bolton Wanderers's manager Sam Allardyce announced that he had signed Anelka on a four year deal for a club record of £8 m.[7] Anelka made his debut for Bolton against Watford on 9 September 2006.[8]

Anelka took time to settle in at Bolton, and took until 25 November 2006 to score his first league goal for the club. Ironically this came in the form of a brace against Arsenal, the club that introduced him to the Premiership. In this game against Arsenal at the Reebok Stadium, he managed to score a goal in both the first and second halves of the game. The first goal,was quite remarkable, winning November's Goal of the Month award on Match of the Day.

Anelka celebrates his goals by making a butterfly sign — interlocking his two hands and creating a flicking movement. On 30 December 2006 Anelka revealed to English newspaper The Daily Mail that the celebration was "something between me and my friends in France";[9] it is thus assumed a celebration he wishes to keep personal. He finished the 2006-07 season as Bolton's top scorer with 11 goals, leading Sky Sports Premier League Analyst Mark Erickson to include him in his team of the year.

During January 2007, Anelka stated that he would be willing to leave Bolton Wanderers for a return to former club Arsenal.[10] However, Anelka pledged his future to Bolton Wanderers in July 2007, following talks with manager Sammy Lee.[11] Anelka later said he would reluctantly consider leaving the club if Bolton's poor start to the 2007-08 season continues.[12] However, Anelka signed a new four year contract with Bolton Wanderers on 30 August, which would expire in 2011.[13] Speculation linking him with top clubs continued throughout the start of the 2007/2008 season and Anelka continued to enhance his reputation with a consistent run of goalscoring form, capped with the winning goal in a 1-0 win over reigning league champions Manchester United at the Reebok Stadium in November.

At junior level, Anelka played for the French junior team in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. Anelka had made his senior team debut for France in a goalless draw with Sweden on April 22, 1998. He was part of France's victory in Euro 2000 and played the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup squads. However, in 2002, he was left out of the 2002 World Cup. After France's disastrous defense of their title in Japan & Korea, manager Roger Lemerre was replaced by Jacques Santini. Anelka was not called up for international duty between 2002 and 2005, after a fallout with Santini, when he refused to participate to a friendly match, due to an injury. However he enjoyed a revival of sorts, as Santini's replacement Raymond Domenech recalled him to the squad for a round of friendly matches in November 2005, culminating in him scoring his first international goal for over three years in a 3-2 win over Costa Rica on the island of Martinique. As of June 2006, he has won 38 caps for France, scoring ten goals.

But once again, he was not selected for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and even when striker Djibril Cissé was forced out of the tournament due to injury, Olympique Lyonnais' striker Sidney Govou was called up as Cissé's replacement rather than Anelka. He declared he felt this decision as a "real shame. I was completely available and ready to play in this World Cup. I think I could have helped France."

Anelka came on as a substitute in the European Championshp qualifier against Lithuania on 24 March 2007, and scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory. Following his performance, Anelka was praised by Raymond Domenech: "It is the Nicolas I like to see... when he shows these qualities, he is a candidate for a permanent place. "[14] He also scored in the 2-0 victory against Ukraine on 2 June 2007.

He plays with number 39 for both club and country.

As of 26 August 2007.[1][15]
Club Season Premiership FA Cup League Cup Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Bolton Wanderers 2007-08 13 8 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 17 9
2006-07 35 11 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 11 39 12
Club Season Prem League Turkish Cup --------- Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Fenerbahçe 2006-07 0 0 0 0 - - 2 0 0 0 2 0
2005-06 25 10 6 2 - - 6 0 0 0 37 12
2004-05 14 4 2 0 - - 2 0 0 0 18 4
Club Season Premiership FA Cup League Cup Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Manchester City 2004-05 19 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 7
2003-04 32 17 4 4 2 0 5 4 0 0 43 25
2002-03 38 14 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 41 14
Liverpool Loan 2001-02 20 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 5
Club Season Ligue 1 French Cup Ligue Cup Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Paris Saint-Germain 2001-02 12 2 0 0 0 0 7 3 0 0 19 5
2000-01 27 8 0 0 1 0 9 5 0 0 37 13
Club Season Primera Div Spanish Cup --------- Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Real Madrid 1999-00 19 2 0 0 - - 9 2 11 4 39 8
Club Season Premiership FA Cup League Cup Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Arsenal F.C. 1998-99 35 17 5 0 0 0 5 1 1 1 46 19
1997-98 26 6 9 3 3 0 2 0 0 0 40 9
1996-97 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Club Season Ligue 1 French Cup Ligue Cup Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Paris Saint-Germain 1996-97 8 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 9 1
1995-96 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 320 106 32 10 10 2 48 15 13 5 423 138

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 10 October 1998 Moscow, Russia Flag of Russia Russia 1-0 3-2 Euro 2000 qualification
2. 10 February 1999 London, England Flag of England England 1-0 2-0 Friendly match
3. 10 February 1999 London, England Flag of England England 2-0 2-0 Friendly match
4. 6 June 2000 Casablanca, Morocco Flag of Morocco Morocco 4-1 5-1 Friendly match
5. 16 August 2000 Marseille, France FIFA XI 5-0 5-1 Exhibition match
6. 30 May 2001 Daegu, Korea Flag of South Korea Korea Republic 3-0 5-0 2001 Confederations Cup
7. 9 November 2005 Fort-de-France, France Flag of Costa Rica Costa Rica 1-2 3-2 Friendly match
8. 11 October 2006 Sochaux, France Flag of the Faroe Islands Faroe Islands 3-0 5-0 Euro 2008 qualification
9. 24 March 2007 Kaunas, Lithuania Flag of Lithuania Lithuania 1-0 1-0 Euro 2008 qualification
10. 2 June 2007 Saint-Denis, France Flag of Ukraine Ukraine 2-0 2-0 Euro 2008 qualification
11. 13 October 2007 Torshavn, Faroe Islands Flag of the Faroe Islands Faroe Islands 1-0 6-0 Euro 2008 qualification

Winner
Runner Up

  1. ^ Cite error 8; No text given.
  2. ^ The Muslims of France. IslamOnline. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
  3. ^ ArseWEB - number 9 Nicolas Anelka. arseweb. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
  4. ^ 39 Nicolas Anelka. ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
  5. ^ Nicolas Anelka. Football-heroes. Retrieved on 2007-08-24.
  6. ^ "Anelka completes Fenerbahce move", BBC Sport, 2005-01-31. Retrieved on 2007-07-30. 
  7. ^ "Bolton sign Anelka in record deal", BBC Sport, 2006-08-25. Retrieved on 2007-07-09. 
  8. ^ "Allardyce buoyed by Anelka debut", BBC Sport, 2006-09-11. Retrieved on 2007-07-09. 
  9. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=425470&in_page_id=1779
  10. ^ "Anelka's Wenger admiration", Sky Sports, 2007-01-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-09. 
  11. ^ "Anelka makes commitment to Bolton", BBC Sport, 2007-07-09. Retrieved on 2007-07-09. 
  12. ^ "Bolton form may mean Anelka exit", BBC Sport, 2007-08-25. Retrieved on 2007-08-25. 
  13. ^ "Anelka signs new deal with Bolton", BBC Sport, 2007-08-30. Retrieved on 2007-08-30. 
  14. ^ http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/2753
  15. ^ Nicolas ANELKA. Yahoo! Sport. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.


Preceded by
Michael Owen		 PFA Young Player of the Year
1999		 Succeeded by
Harry Kewell
v • d • e
Bolton Wanderers F.C. – current squad

2 Hunt • 3 Samuel • 4 Nolan • 5 Méïté • 6 Speed • 7 Stelios • 8 Campo • 9 Helguson • 10 Wilhelmsson • 11 Gardner • 12 Walker • 14 Davies • 15 Cid • 16 Andranik • 17 Guthrie • 18 Alonso • 19 McCann • 20 Vaz Té • 21 Diouf • 22 Jääskeläinen • 23 Džemaili • 24 J. O'Brien • 26 Al Habsi • 27 Braaten • 28 Michalík • 29 Harsányi • 31 A. O'Brien • 37 Sinclair • 38 Sissons • 39 Anelka • 43 Woolfe • 46 Jamieson • Manager: Megson
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Anelka"
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