Patrice Evra
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[edit] BiographyBorn in Dakar, Senegal, Patrice Evra was the youngest of eight children and the son of a Senegalese Ambassador. He was only three years of age when his family moved from Senegal to France. There he grew up in high-rise concrete blocks of Les Ulis in Paris, the same suburb in the south of the city where Thierry Henry lived. As a teenager he joined Paris Saint Germain's youth system were he started off as a pacy striker. Evra failed to get a professional contract but was spotted by a scout who offered a chance in Italy at lowly Sicilian Serie C side, Marsala. Playing up front, he scored six times in 27 games and was popular with locals who called him the Black Gazelle. After a season, proposed moves to Lazio and Roma collapsed due to squabbling agents. In 1999 he ended up at AC Monza in Serie B side, but the coach was not interested in the teenager and he rarely featured. A year later Evra returned to France to play for OGC Nice as a centre forward for the first few matches. An injury crisis meant he was forced to fill in at left-back for the last 15 minutes of a game against Laval. He did so well that coach, Sandro Salvioni, decided to prolong the experiment, though Evra was far from happy at switching. Despite a running row between the two that lasted the remainder of the season, Patrice shone in his new position, was named the division's best left-back and became a first team regular in their defence. After two season's at Nice in 2002 Monaco were impressed enough to bring Evra to the Stade Louis II where he became part of a young defensive back line along with Lucas Bernardi, Gael Givet and Julien Rodriguez. Under the guidance of Didier Deschamps, Monaco had an amazing run to the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2004. Though ultimately it ended in defeat to FC Porto, Evra was an outstanding performer in the club's unexpected success and earned a call-up for the French national side the following season. By 2005 he had the honour of becoming club captain aged just 23, however, Monaco's form that season was awful - crashing out of the Champion's League in the qualifying round and lying in the bottom half of Le Championat. Consequently his standing in the French team was affected with no further international appearances that season. No doubt Evra was concerned his World Cup place was under threat and quickly made it clear to the club he wished to leave in the January transfer window of 2006. After facing fierce competition United secured the move for Patrice Evra on 10th January 2006. Signing at the club just days after the capture of Nemanja Vidic, Evra's arrival signalled Ferguson's intention to shore up a United defence that had been weakened since the long term injury to Gabriel Heinze. Fergie was attracted to Evra's reputation as a committed, attack-minded player known for his veracity and pace. A quick and versatile defender, able to play at full-back or on the left wing, his lightning runs on the left wing and ball delivery became a major factor in Monaco's Champion's League run of 2004. Inter Milan also wanted to sign the defender, but had a £3.5m offer rejected by Monaco. Upon signing for United, Evra revealed that he had rejected both Arsenal and Liverpool for the chance to walk out at the Theatre of Dreams. "Liverpool and Arsenal are great clubs but United is a completely different story. Inter were also trying to get me in the transfer window but there was only one club for me". Sir Alex Ferguson said: "We have been looking at Evra for some time. He has improved every season, he's quick, a good football player, and the captain of Monaco. I have been looking at Patrice for quite a while. He has improved each year since he has been with Monaco. He is very quick, naturally left-footed and a good footballer. We cut the squad numbers quite dramatically at the start of the season and then with Gabriel Heinze being out for a year and Quinton Fortune missing as well, we needed to bring in a left-sided player". Evra made his debut against Manchester City and went on to feature in 14 games for the Reds in his debut season. In 2006-2007 fans inital fears that the young Frenchman was a poor signing were quickly quashed as he put in some fine performances and made the left back berth his own. His pace and crossing, as well as good positional sense and strong tackling gave the Reds an extra edge and the Frenchman also got goals against Everton and Roma. Evra did miss a few games with injury but otherwise with 36 appearances this was a great season for him and he even earned a place in the PFA Team of the Year.
==Statistics== [edit] Honors[edit] References[edit] Related Articles[edit] Recent Patrice Evra ArmchairGM Stories |
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