30/10/2006
William Gallas
1.81 m, 72 kg
17 August 1977 – Asnieres, France
Clubs
Caen (1995-97), Olympique Marseille (1997-2001), Chelsea (2001-06), Arsenal (2006- )
Season 2005-2006
Premier League: 34 matches, 5 goals
Champions League: 7 matches, 0 goals
2006 World Cup: 7 matches, 0 goals
William Gallas began his football career at Caen in France. The defender with a Guadeloupian background was promoted with Caen in 1996 to the French First Division where he attracted the attention of Olympique Marseilles, who brought him to the club in 1997. In 2001 Gallas was bought for 10 million euros by the English club Chelsea. In his first year Chelsea finished in sixth place but after a fourth and second place Chelsea became national champion of England for the first time in 50 years at the end of the 2004/2005 season. Together with John Terry, Gallas formed a fantastic defensive partnership at the club.
Due to his tremendous insight into the game and his sharpness in stopping top centre forwards such as Henry and Van Nistelrooy, Gallas kept his place in the team last season among all Mourinho's new purchases. Furthermore, Gallas scored 5 times for Chelsea, among which the winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur through a spectacular long-range shot in the 93rd minute. Gallas again became national champion with Chelsea with a large margin over Manchester United. Gallas has been playing for Arsenal since 1 September 2006.
Gallas played for the full 90 minutes in all of France's 7 matches during the 2006 World Cup. France surprisingly reached the final, but were then beaten on penalties by Italy.