Frank Lebœuf

Franck Alain James Leboeuf born 22 January 1968 typically anglicised as Frank Leboeuf is a French actor sports commentator and former footballer who played as a centreback With the France national team Leboeuf won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 European Championship as well as a number of domestic trophies most famously during his five years at Chelsea Since the conclusion of his playing career Leboeuf has transitioned to acting appearing in stage and film productions Leboeuf was born in Marseille and raised in SaintCyrsurMer He was introduced to football by his father a former Rennes coach who trained children in the sport After starting his career in 1986 in the lower divisions of the French leagues Leboeuf moved to Laval in 1988 In 1991 he moved to Strasbourg and played there until 1996 when he made a switch to English club Chelsea for 25m He played over 200 games for the club and scored 24 goals mainly from penalties and set pieces With Chelsea he won two FA Cups one League Cup and one Cup Winners Cup He left in 2001 for club Marseille before finishing out his career in Qatar Despite his numerous accolades Leboeuf never won a firstdivision title in Europe or the UEFA Champions League For France Leboeuf was capped 50 times scoring four goals His first two came on 6 September 1995 in a Euro 96 qualifier at home to Azerbaijan contributing to a 100 win that remains Frances record Although he was mainly a substitute in the 1998 World Cup Played 3 Started 2 DNP 4 he stepped in for red carded Laurent Blanc to play in the final a 30 win against Brazil a match in which he manmarked the highly rated striker Ronaldo In a Euro 2000 qualifier on 9 June 1999 Leboeuf scored the only goal from the penalty spot with five minutes to go as world champions France struggled away to amateurs Andorra He received a winners medal at the finals in Belgium and the Netherlands though Blanc and Marcel Desailly were the preferred defensive partnership including in the final He scored a late winner against cohosts South Korea on 26 May ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup 32 Holders France were eliminated in the group stage in a shock and he retired from the team A cultured centreback Leboeuf was noted for his long range passing ability and also for his consistent penaltytaking throughout his career He took 15 penalties in competitive games for Chelsea missing just 2 times In 2001 whilst still playing football for Chelsea Leboeuf had made his first acting appearance in the film Taking Sides Following his retirement from competitive football Leboeuf spent two years living in Los Angeles During this time he played for amateur team Hollywood United alongside celebrity teammates such as Vinnie Jones Steve Jones and Anthony LaPaglia Leboeuf studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute in West Hollywood keeping a low profile and won his first acting work as a TV commentator for a pay cheque totalling 100 which he keeps as a memento Source Article Frank Leboeuf from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30