François Clerc

François Clerc
Clerc with Saint-Étienne in 2013
Personal information
Full name François Clerc
Date of birth (1983-04-18) 18 April 1983
Place of birth Bourg-en-Bresse, France
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Right back
Club information
Current team
 Gazélec Ajaccio
Number 29
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– Gazélec Ajaccio 25 (2)
National team
2005–2006 France U21 3 (0)
2006–2008 France 13 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 May 2018

François Clerc (born 18 April 1983) is a French footballer who plays for Gazélec Ajaccio as a right back.

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[1] 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.[2]

In the summer of 2010, free agent Clerc joined OGC Nice also in the top division.[3] 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 deal with AS Saint-Étienne.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7]

Honours

Lyon
Saint-Étienne

References

  1. ↑ "Lyon: Clerc frappe à la porte" [Lyon: Clerc knocks on the door] (in French). FIFA. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  2. ↑ Contractual problem costs Clerc; UEFA, 26 September 2006
  3. ↑ Roy: «De grandes chances que Clerc soit avec nous» (Roy: «There is a big possibility that Clerc will be with us»); Radio Monte Carlo, 1 September 2010 (in French)
  4. ↑ Alexandre Chochois (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.
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. ↑ "La France corrige les Iles Féroé" [France punish Faroe Islands]. L'Express (in French). 12 October 2006. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "France sunk as Italy grab lifeline". UEFA. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
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