Marcel Desailly
Desailly in 2011
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marcel David Desailly | ||
| Date of birth | 7 September 1968 | ||
| Place of birth | Accra, Ghana | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre Back / Defensive Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1992 | Nantes | 162 | (5) |
| 1992–1993 | Marseille | 47 | (1) |
| 1993–1998 | Milan | 137 | (5) |
| 1998–2004 | Chelsea | 158 | (6) |
| 2004–2005 | Al-Gharafa | 28 | (6) |
| 2005–2006 | Qatar SC | 7 | (0) |
| Total | 539 | (23) | |
| National team | |||
| 1993–2004 | France | 116 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Marcel David Desailly (French pronunciation: [maʁ.sɛl də.sɑˈji]; born Odenke Abbey, 7 September 1968) is a retired French footballer, who played mostly as a defender and was a member of the France international squads that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. During a successful career at club level, lasting from 1986 to 2006, Desailly won UEFA Champions League medals with both Marseille and Milan, and also played for Nantes and Chelsea, among others.
Marcel Desailly was born as Odenke Abbey on 7 September 1968 in Accra, Ghana, the son of Ghanaian parents. He had his name changed when his mother married the head of the French Consulate in Accra, who adopted all of her children (the former professional footballer Seth Adonkor, seven years his elder, was a half-brother of his). The family relocated to France when Desailly was four years old. Following Adonkor's lead, he began his career at FC Nantes. There, as part of the famed FC Nantes youth programme, he played alongside a young Didier Deschamps, who was a very good central back, who became his closest friend. Desailly turned professional in 1986, two years after his half-brother had died in a car accident. In 1992, he moved to Olympique de Marseille, where he reunited with Deschamps, and won the UEFA Champions League the following year. In 1994, while playing for A.C. Milan, he again won the Cup (scoring in the final himself), being the first player to win the Cup in consecutive seasons with different clubs. During his time in Milan he won two Italian league titles, in 1994 and 1996. Although he prefers to be a sweeper and central defender, he played as a defensive midfield for Milan.
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