Antoine Sibierski
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Antoine Sibierski | ||
| Date of birth | 5 August 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Lille, France | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1996 | Lille | 97 | (17) |
| 1996–1998 | Auxerre | 42 | (8) |
| 1998–2000 | Nantes | 50 | (17) |
| 2000–2003 | Lens | 89 | (23) |
| 2003–2006 | Manchester City | 92 | (11) |
| 2006–2007 | Newcastle United | 26 | (3) |
| 2007–2009 | Wigan Athletic | 33 | (4) |
| 2008 | → Norwich City (loan) | 15 | (2) |
| Total | 444 | (85) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Antoine Sibierski (born 5 August 1974) is a French former footballer who played as a midfielder for clubs including Manchester City and Newcastle United.
Born in Lille, Sibierski began his career at hometown club Lille OSC, where he moved up the ranks and played for four complete seasons in the first team before playing for AJ Auxerre and FC Nantes, where he won the 2000 French Cup, in the final of which Sibierski scored both of Nantes' goals. He then joined RC Lens, and eventually became club captain during his three-year stay.
Sibierski moved to Manchester City for a fee of £700,000 in August 2003, where he scored on his debut against Charlton Athletic.
He was a regular substitute for the team, having started only eighteen of the thirty-three games he participated in, during an all important first season in which he scored seven goals.
The 2005–06 season saw him fighting for a new contract at the club. Early on in the season he won a place up front due to the injury of Andrew Cole but was soon reverted to the bench. Antoine was subsequently released by the club that summer.
Newcastle United signed Sibierski on 31 August 2006 on a one-year contract, just two hours and twenty minutes before the close of the transfer window. Some fans considered the Frenchman's signing as a joke, considering the fans high expectations of signings from the previous season, in which Newcastle signed the likes of Michael Owen, Scott Parker and Emre.
He scored on his Newcastle debut in the UEFA cup first round tie against Levadia. His league debut for the club came at West Ham United on 17 September, and he scored his first domestic goal for Newcastle on 7 November against Watford in the League Cup. He scored his first league goal for the club in a 1–0 win over Portsmouth. Sibierski then went on to score his second league goal for the Magpies against Reading in a thrilling encounter in which the Magpies went on to win 3–2. His goal scoring form at the start of the season proved many doubters wrong, as Sibierski went on to be a key European figure. In Europe, Sibierski made 7 appearances and scored 4 essential goals against Levadia Tallinn, Fenerbahçe, Celta Vigo and Zulte-Waregem respectively.
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