François Clerc

François Jacques Clerc (born 18 April 1983) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right back.

François Clerc
Clerc with Saint-Étienne in 2013
Personal information
Full name François Jacques Clerc[1]
Date of birth (1983-04-18) 18 April 1983
Place of birth Bourg-en-Bresse, France
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Right back
Youth career
1992–1997 Bourg-Péronnas
1997–2001 Lyon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2005 Lyon B 67 (7)
2004–2005 → Toulouse (loan) 7 (0)
2005–2010 Lyon 78 (1)
2010–2012 Nice 61 (5)
2012–2016 Saint-Étienne 85 (3)
2016–2018 Gazélec Ajaccio 25 (2)
Total 323 (18)
National team
2005–2006 France U21 3 (0)
2006–2008 France 13 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Born in Bourg-en-Bresse, Clerc joined Olympique Lyonnais at the age of 14. After spending his first years as a senior with the reserves, he was loaned to Toulouse FC with which he first appeared in Ligue 1, making his debut in the competition on 14 August 2004 in a 4–1 away win against RC Strasbourg.

Returned to L'OL for the 2005–06 season, Clerc went on to become and important first-team member as the club won three national championships in a row, contributing with 62 league appearances combined in that timeframe. He battled with Anthony Réveillère for first-choice status during his tenure, appeared in 20 UEFA Champions League games[2] but was also banned for four matches and fined €150,000 by the French Professional Football League, after he incurred in an illegal transfer agreement to Olympique de Marseille in 2006.[3]

In the fall of 2010, free agent Clerc joined OGC Nice also in the top division after convincing manager Éric Roy his knee injury problems were a thing of the past.[4][5] He scored a career-best four goals in his second year with the Côte d'Azur side, but they could only rank 13th.

On 9 July 2012, Clerc signed a three-year contract with AS Saint-Étienne.[6] He scored his first and only goal of the campaign on 17 March 2013, helping the hosts come from behind for a 2–2 draw against Paris-Saint Germain FC.[7]

After two seasons with Gazélec Ajaccio in Ligue 2, the 35-year-old Clerc announced his retirement.[8][9]

International career

Clerc earned his first cap for France on 11 October 2006, in a 5–0 win over Faroe Islands for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers.[10] He was selected by coach Raymond Domenech for the finals in Austria and Switzerland, replacing longtime incumbent Willy Sagnol for the last and decisive group stage clash against Italy, which ended in a 0–2 loss and exit.[11]

Honours

Lyon

Saint-Étienne

References
  1. "Entreprise Francois Clerc Patrimoine à Bordeaux (33000)" [Company Francois Clerc Patrimoine in Bordeaux (33000)]. Figaro Entreprises (in French). 7 December 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
    "Francois Clerc". BFM Business (in French). NextInteractive. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  2. "Lyon: Clerc frappe à la porte" [Lyon: Clerc knocks on the door] (in French). FIFA. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  3. "Contractual problem costs Clerc". UEFA. 26 September 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  4. "Roy: "De grandes chances que Clerc soit avec nous"" [Roy: «There is a big possibility that Clerc will be with us»] (in French). RMC. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  5. "François Clerc va signer à Nice" [François Clerc will sign with Nice] (in French). OGC Nice. 21 September 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  6. Chochois, Alexandre (9 July 2012). "Saint-Etienne: François Clerc (Nice) pour trois ans (off.)" [Saint-Etienne: François Clerc (Nice) for three years (off.)] (in French). Foot National. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  7. "Saint-Etienne-PSG (2–2): le film du match" [Saint-Etienne-PSG (2–2): game film]. Le Parisien (in French). 17 March 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  8. "EXCLU VIDEO – Clerc annonce sa retraite" [VIDEO EXCLU – Clerc announces retirement] (in French). SFR. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  9. Monegier, Tom (23 May 2018). "Officiel: François Clerc prend sa retraite" [Official: François Clerc calls it quits] (in French). Foot Mercato. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  10. Bordier, Julien (12 October 2006). "La France corrige les Iles Féroé" [France punish Faroe Islands]. L'Express (in French). Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  11. Spiro, Matthew (18 June 2008). "France sunk as Italy grab lifeline". UEFA. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
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