BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Gaël Clichy ; born 26 July 1985 is a French footballer who plays for Manchester City and the France national football team. He is predominantly left footed, he primarily plays as a left back that is also capable of playing as an offensive-minded wingback. Clichy is described as a player who possesses "almost unrivaled stamina" that is "quick in the tackle and willing to drive forward". He was a member of Arsenal's famous Invincibles team before leaving the club in 2011.
Clichy was born in the city of Toulouse and began his football career playing for a host of amateur clubs in the Haute-Garonne département such as JS Cugnaux, AS Muret, and Tournefeuille. In 2001, he moved to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region to play for professional club Cannes. Clichy made his professional debut for the club in the 2002–03 season while the club was playing in the Championnat National, the third level of French football. After three seasons with Cannes, in 2003, he was convinced by manager and countryman Arsène Wenger to join Arsenal in England.
In Clichy's first season with the club, he was a member of the team, dubbed the Invincibles, that went undefeated in the league season. As a result of the title, at 18 years and 10 months, Clichy became the youngest player to win a Premier League medal. After three seasons of backing up Ashley Cole, in the 2006–07 season, Clichy took over the starters' role permanently. In the 2007–08 season, he appeared in all 38 league matches. His performances during the season earned him an appearance on the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Team of the Year. Aside from the 2003–04 league title, he has also won the Community Shield and FA Cup in 2004 and 2005, respectively, with Arsenal.
Clichy is a former French youth international and has represented his nation at every level for which he was eligible. Prior to playing for the senior team, he played on the under-17 team that finished runners-up to Switzerland at the 2002 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. Clichy made his senior international debut in September 2008 in a 2010 World Cup qualification match against Serbia. He made his first major international tournament appearance for France at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Clichy made one appearance in the competition against South Africain the final grouClichy was born and raised in Toulouse, in southwestern France. His mother, Jacqueline, is a medical nurse, while his father, Claude, ofMartiniquais heritage, was an educator in the city. While Clichy was beginning his football career, his father often served as a part-time coach and referee. At the age of 15 while playing for Cannes, Clichy nearly died. After climbing over a metal fence while crossing a ground at the club's facility, a ring he was wearing got caught in the fence, which resulted in the skin and tissue from the fourth finger of his right hand being completely torn off. During the seven-hour operation to repair the finger, Clichy's heart stopped beating due to a problem with his lungs. It restarted after 15 seconds. The doctor who led the operation described Clichy's survival as "a miracle", while the player himself admitted that the ordeal changed his attitude towards life stating "It made me realise that life can go quick. You could leave tomorrow so you have to enjoy it to the maximum so you don't regret anything the next day. You can look forward to the future but not too far ahead".Personal life
Club career
Early career
"Gael Clichy was a serious boy, a worker who put into practice what we asked of him. He worked hard. I enjoyed his behavior and his state of mind. He was always very aggressive in his play and he was very fast. He's a boy who, at the time of his visit to Cannes, knew what he wanted to be and he had his head on his shoulders."
Clichy began his football career at the age of five playing for his hometown club AS Hersoise. He, initially, was a predominantly right-footed player, but through decisive coaching from his father, Clichy's left foot eventually became his primary. One such example of his father's coaching came during a regional youth cup match, which his father was refereeing. The younger Clichy was informed by his father that if he scored a goal with his right foot, he would disallow it. Following this, Clichy was able to developed his left foot "to the point where he eventually forgot his right foot". After five seasons with Hersoise, Clichy joined JS Cugnaux, a local club based in nearby Cugnaux. He spent only one year at the club before moving to AS Muret. In 1998, Clichy joined ATournefeuille and began attending secondary at the Collège Léonard de Vinci. During his stint at Tournefeuille, he was selected to attend the Pôle Espoirs de Castelmaurou, a regional academy located in the Midi-Pyrénées region that trained players similarly to the Clairefontaine academy in Île-de-France. Clichy spent three years at the center training there during the weekdays and playing with Tournefeuille on the weekends. In 2000, after developing at both Tournefeuille and Castelmaurou, Clichy was linked to a host of professional clubs, most notably Auxerre, Bordeaux, and Toulouse who were seeking to obtain his services. The young player ultimately decided to move to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region to play for professional club Cannes.
Clichy arrived to Cannes in 2000 while the club was playing in Ligue 2, the second division of French football. While at the club, Clichy primarily played as a central midfielder and was supervised by former French international and Saint-Étienne player Christian Lopez. He began his career with the club playing in its youth academy alongside Julien Faubert. During the latter part of the 2001–02 season, Clichy spent time playing on the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France amateur 2, the fifth level of French football. In the following season, with the club now playing in the Championnat National, the third level of French football, he was promoted to the senior team on a permanent basis by Lopez, who was now managing the club. Clichy later played underRobert Buigues following the sacking of Lopez and appeared in 15 matches with the team assisting on two goals.
Arsenal
2003–2006
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger had noticed Clichy's talents when the player first arrived to Cannes at the age of 16. Following the 2002–03 season, Wenger contacted Clichy directly in an attempt to sign the player. In June 2003, the Arsenal manager visited the Clichy household in Tournefeuille and offered him a professional contract with the club. Wenger informed Clichy that "you'll play", which was enough to convince both the player and his family.[5]
As promised by Wenger, Clichy began the season on the club's senior team primarily as the backup to England international Ashley Cole. He made his club debut on 28 October 2003 alongside fellow débutant Cesc Fàbregas in a Football League Cup encounter with Rotherham United. Arsenal won the tie 9–8 on penalties. On 22 November, Clichy made his league debut in a 3–0 win over Birmingham City. Following an injury to Cole in December, Clichy appeared in nine straight matches; six of them as a starter. On 24 February 2004, he made his UEFA Champions League in the first leg of the team's 3–2 knockout round victory over Spanish club Celta de Vigo. Clichy finished the campaign appearing in seven more matches. On 9 May 2004, he appeared as a substitute in Arsenal's 1–0 league win over Fulham. A week later, Clichy appeared on the bench in the team's final league match of the season; a 2–1 win over Leicester City. The victory assured Arsenal an undefeated league season, which resulted in the club becoming the second first division team in English football history to finish a league season unbeaten. As a result of the title, at 18 years and 10 months, Clichy became the youngest player to win a Premier League medal.
Clichy remained second-choice to Cole for the 2004–05 season. Wenger did install the young defender as first-choice for FA Cup matches. Clichy appeared as a starter for every round until Arsenal reached the semi-finals when he was replaced by Cole. The club ultimately won the competition defeating Manchester United 5–4 on penalties to give Clichy his first domestic cup honour. In the Premier League, Clichy appeared in 15 matches, seven as a starter. In the UEFA Champions League, he only made two appearances; a 5–1 group stage victory over Norwegian club Rosenborg and a 3–1 knockout round defeat to German outfit Bayern Munich. Clichy's season ultimately ended prematurely in April due to a recurring foot injury. In the2005–06 season, Clichy was handed an opportunity to earn a regular place in the starting line-up after Cole suffered a fractured foot in October 2005. The injury seemed to signify that Clichy would earn some valuable first-team action during Cole's time out, however, after appearing six straight matches as a starter, Clichy suffered a similar injury in November, which ruled him out for four months. He returned to the team on 25 April 2006 in a Champions League semi-final tie against Spanish outfit Villarreal coming on as a substitute for the injured Mathieu Flamini. In the late stages of the match, Clichy was adjudged to have committed a foul in the box on striker José Mari, which resulted in a penalty, which was saved by Jens Lehmann. Had Mari converted, the game would have gone to extra time. After appearing in a 3–0 win over Sunderland in the league the following week, Clichy suffered a re-occurrence of his foot injury. The relapse resulted in the player missing the 2006 Champions League final, sitting on the bench for the whole match. Arsenal lost the match 2–1 to Barcelona. In August 2006, Cole departed the club for rivals Chelsea. The transfer paved the way for Clichy to take over as the permanent starter. In three seasons as Cole's understudy, Clichy made a total of 24 league appearances for Arsenal and 57 overall.
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