Florent Malouda
Florent Johan Malouda is a French football coach and former professional player who played as a left winger. Born in French Guiana, he represented both France and French Guiana at the international level. Malouda was regarded as one of best wingers in the Premier League during the late 2000s and he is also one of the greatest wingers in Chelsea history.
Malouda spent most of his career at Lyon and Chelsea, winning four consecutive Ligue 1 titles with the former and the UEFA Champions League in 2012 with the latter, among other honours. Malouda represented the France national football team on 80 occasions from 2004 to 2012, including in two FIFA World Cups and two European Championships. He was part of the French team which reached the 2006 World Cup final. In 2017, he played for his home region French Guiana.
Club career
Châteauroux
Malouda was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. He attracted the interest of scouts from French club Châteauroux and he soon moved to Paris to join the club. Despite the difficulties of living far away from his family home in French Guiana, Malouda was able to continue his studies and play professional football. He played 57 games for Châteauroux, making his senior debut at the age of 16 in Ligue 2.Guingamp
Malouda was then signed by top division side Guingamp following Châteauroux's inability to secure a Ligue 1 berth. It was in Guingamp where his talent was showcased in French top-flight football. Under the tutelage of coach Guy Lacombe, Malouda demonstrated his ability and formed a combination with Didier Drogba, whom he would also accompany later in his career at Chelsea.Lyon
Malouda's performances began to catch the attention of French club Lyon who, after claiming their second consecutive title during the 2002–03 season, decided to sign Malouda. In an outstanding Lyon team containing Juninho, Michael Essien, Grégory Coupet and Mahamadou Diarra, Malouda established himself on the left side of Lyon's attack, forming great link-ups with all of Lyon's strikers. His performances for Lyon finally earned him a call-up to the France national team.The highlights of Malouda's career at Lyon were a man of the match display against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League and his ten goals which led Lyon to their sixth consecutive Ligue 1 title, both during the 2006–07 season. He also won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year that season, edging teammate Juninho, Lille's Kader Keïta, Toulouse's Johan Elmander and Lens' Seydou Keita to the accolade.
Malouda made public his wish to leave Lyon at the end of the 2006–07 season, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid showing interest in the winger. On 29 June 2007, Malouda told Lyon-based newspaper Le Progres that he has his heart set on a move to Chelsea, confirming that Chelsea had lodged a €17 million bid for him. Malouda later repeated this comment in an interview with the Daily Star. On 5 July 2007, Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon told Sky Sports News that Chelsea had been in discussions with Lyon regarding Malouda's transfer and were hoping to tie up the deal before Chelsea's pre-season tour of the United States.
Chelsea
2007–08
On 8 July 2007, Lyon club president Jean-Michel Aulas announced that the club had accepted an undisclosed bid, rumoured to be around £13 million, from Chelsea for Malouda. Chelsea later officially revealed that Malouda would be traveling to London on 9 July for a medical and to discuss personal terms. Malouda had looked set to join Liverpool until their Premier League rivals Chelsea intervened. At 7 pm on the same day, Malouda officially signed a three-year contract with the club. He was handed the number 15 shirt. Chelsea manager José Mourinho described Malouda as a mature and proven player who was up to the challenge of adapting to the fast pace of English football, and hinted that Malouda would be fielded in tandem with Dutch winger Arjen Robben.Malouda made his debut for Chelsea against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Community Shield on 5 August 2007 in a 1–1 draw; despite Chelsea going on to lose on penalties, he scored in what was an impressive display. Malouda started against Birmingham City on 12 August on the left wing and scored Chelsea's second goal in a 3–2 victory, before being replaced by Steve Sidwell in the 83rd minute, with the win cementing Chelsea's place in the history books by overtaking Liverpool's record of 63-straight home games unbeaten.
On 19 August, Malouda won a penalty awarded by referee Rob Styles in a Premier League match against Liverpool. Replays of the incident indicated Malouda had backed into Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher after trying to leave the ball for the unmarked Didier Drogba. The penalty kick was given and Frank Lampard scored. Referee Rob Styles was dropped from the next weekend Premier League games as a result of this incident and some other contentious decisions during the game. Malouda scored against Schalke 04 in his first Champions League match for Chelsea, squeezing the ball through keeper Manuel Neuer's legs after turning his marker Rafinha. On 23 January, Malouda set up Joe Cole with a long pass to score against Everton in the League Cup; Chelsea won the tie 3–1 on aggregate. On 5 May 2008, Malouda scored his second Premier League goal in the penultimate game of the season against Newcastle United, converting a Frank Lampard through-ball. Malouda ended his first season in English football with two goals and one assist in the league.
2008–09
Malouda scored his first two goals in the Luiz Felipe Scolari era against French outfit Bordeaux in the Champions League group stages on 16 September 2008, and in the League Cup third round tie against Portsmouth. Both games went on to be 4–0 victories for Chelsea. His first league goal of the season was against Middlesbrough in a 5–0 win. The Frenchman scored the crucial second goal in a 2–0 win against Newcastle, scoring from Frank Lampard's pass. He then scored the equaliser against Arsenal in what would be a 2–1 victory for Chelsea in their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium. On 6 May in a Champions League semi final against Barcelona, Malouda was disallowed a potential penalty by the controversial referee, who disallowed numerous other Chelsea appeals for a penalty. He scored the fourth goal in a famous 4–1 victory over Arsenal which was their biggest defeat in the league at home for 38 years. The game marked his 50th Premier League match for the Blues.In the 2009 FA Cup Final against Everton, he played a pivotal role in Chelsea's 2–1 win setting up Didier Drogba's equaliser but was then later denied a goal when his 36-yard strike hit the underside of the crossbar, despite replays showing it crossed the line. Malouda's impressive form in the last half of the season prompted interest from big teams such as Barcelona and Milan. On 23 June 2009, however, Malouda signed a new four-year deal with Chelsea which would keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2013.
2009–10
After the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti in the 2009–10 season, Malouda found himself playing in a more central role on the left of Ancelotti's preferred diamond formation in midfield. On 12 September 2009 against Stoke City he grabbed the winner on the 94th minute to get Chelsea all three points. On 3 November 2009, Malouda made his 100th appearance for Chelsea in a Champions League match against Atlético Madrid. On 26 December 2009, Malouda was sent off for the first time in the season for tackling Stephen Carr in a league game against Birmingham City at St Andrew's.In a Premier League match against West Ham United, Malouda was voted Man of the Match, delivering 16 crosses, two of which were turned into goals and scoring one. Malouda scored a brace against Portsmouth on 24 March, a match Chelsea won 5–0. On 27 March, Malouda scored two more goals against Aston Villa in the match which Chelsea won 7–1.
File:Florent Malouda 4634.jpg|thumb|left|Malouda in action against Spartak Moscow in the Champions League
In Chelsea's most important fixture of the 2009–10 Premier League campaign against title rivals Manchester United, Malouda played a pivotal role in setting up the first goal of the match. By evading Antonio Valencia and Darren Fletcher en route to the penalty area, Malouda was able to deliver a low cross to Joe Cole, who redirected the ball with his back heel past goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. Chelsea would go on to win the game 2–1.
Malouda was designated for the first time as Premier League's Player of the Month in March 2010. He scored the second goal for Chelsea in a 3–0 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final for the second successive year on 10 April 2010. Malouda scored 12 goals and 8 assists in the league, 15 goals and 15 assists in all competitions, during the 2009–10 season. He finished joint 12th top scorer in the Premier League that season with Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov.
2010–11
Malouda began the 2010–11 Premier League season for Chelsea by scoring the first goal of their Premier League campaign against West Bromwich Albion, and later getting another in a record 6–0 opening day win. He scored his third goal of the season in another 6–0 demolition of Wigan Athletic. Malouda scored his fourth goal of the season against Stoke City in a 2–0 win. He continued this prolific form against Blackpool, scoring 2 more goals to take his goal tally to six only five games into the season.On 24 January 2011, Malouda scored in the 41st minute against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium in a 4–0 victory for Chelsea in a game in which he completed the full 90 minutes. On 20 April 2011 he scored 2 goals in the game against Birmingham City at Stamford Bridge, starting in a 3–1 win. As of May 2011, he had scored 41 goals in 179 matches in all competitions since making his debut back in 2007. Florent is also widely known for his hairstyle changes. During the 2010–11 Premier League season he was Chelsea's top league goalscorer, with a total of 13 goals, ahead of the likes of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.