Lilian Thuram

Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (born 1 January 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender.

A quick, powerful and versatile player, he was capable of playing both as a centre-back or as a right-back, and was competent both offensively and defensively.

He began playing football professionally in his homeland with Monaco and played in the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, with notable stints in Serie A with both Parma and Juventus before finishing his career with Barcelona.

His family relocated to mainland France in 1981.

Thuram's football career began with Monaco in Ligue 1 in 1991.

Thuram started his professional career with Monaco in 1991.

He only made one appearance that season, but was officially promoted to the first team the following season, when he would go on to make 19 appearances.

With Monaco, he most notably won the Coupe de France in 1991, also reaching the final of the 1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup.

In total his whole spell at AS Monaco he only scored 11 goals.

He was inserted into the starting XI by the end of 1992 and would go on to make 155 league appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit, before transferring to Parma in the summer of 1996.

However, Thuram scored his only UEFA Champions League goal in his career for Monaco in a 4–1 victory over Spartak Moscow in the 1993–94 season.

Thuram was the most capped player in the history of the France national team with 142 appearances between 1994 and 2008 until Hugo Lloris surpassed the mark in 2022.

He made his national team debut in 1994, while at Monaco.

He then transferred to Parma (1996–2001) and then to Juventus (2001–2006) for £25 million, and eventually to Barcelona in 2006.

In July 1996, Thuram made a high-profile transfer to Italy to join Serie A club Parma.

In his first season, he made over 40 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring one goal, as Parma finished second in the 1996–97 Serie A to Juventus.

He maintained a starting position in defence throughout his time with Parma, making 163 Serie A appearances and scoring one league goal.

In all, he made over 200 appearances for the club, really making a name for himself, also earning caps for France.

With France, Thuram was a key player for the team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup; his side also won UEFA Euro 2000, and he helped them to runners-up at the 2006 World Cup.

While at Parma, along with eventual Juventus teammates Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro, Thuram won both the UEFA Cup and the Coppa Italia during the 1998–99 season, immediately followed by the 1999 Supercoppa Italiana.

After becoming world champion in 1998, Thuram was an integral part of France's triumph at UEFA Euro 2000, which led to the team being ranked by FIFA as number one from 2001–2002.

Following another impressive season in 2000–01, where Parma reached the Coppa Italia final, and finishing the Serie A season in fourth place, Thuram, along with teammate Gianluigi Buffon, transferred to Juventus.

His transfer cost the club 80 billion Italian lire (€41,316,552).

In the summer of 2001, Thuram made a transfer to Juventus, along with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Thuram formed defensive partnerships with the likes of Ciro Ferrara, Paolo Montero, Gianluca Pessotto, Mark Iuliano, Alessandro Birindelli, Igor Tudor, Gianluca Zambrotta, Nicola Legrottaglie, Fabio Cannavaro, Giorgio Chiellini, Federico Balzaretti and Jonathan Zebina during his five-year tenure with the club.

In his first season with the club, as a right back under Marcello Lippi, Thuram won the 2001–02 Serie A title, also reaching the final of the 2001–02 Coppa Italia.

Juventus started the following season by winning the 2002 Supercoppa Italiana, and defended their Serie A title, also reaching the UEFA Champions League final, where they were defeated by rivals Milan on penalties.

He also played in the 2002 World Cup, 2006 World Cup, Euro 1996, Euro 2004 and Euro 2008, in addition to winning the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Juventus won the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana the following season, reaching another Coppa Italia final, but finished in a disappointing 3rd place in Serie A, and failed to progress past the second round in the Champions League.

During the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons under coach Fabio Capello, Thuram, along with Fabio Cannavaro in the centre of defence, with Gianluigi Buffon in goal, Jonathan Zebina at right back and Gianluca Zambrotta at left back formed one of the most expensive, but also most feared, defences in Europe and Italy.

During these next two seasons with the club, Thuram won the Scudetto two more times with Juventus, although these consecutive league titles were later revoked due to Juventus' involvement in the 2006 Italian football scandal (calciopoli).

After five years with Juve, Thuram transferred to Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga, in the wake of the calciopoli scandal.

He managed over 200 total appearances for the club, with two goals.

On 24 July 2006, Thuram signed with Barcelona for €5 million after Juventus were relegated to Serie B due to the calciopoli scandal.

In Thuram's last season (2007–08), he was the third- or fourth-choice centre-back after Carles Puyol, Gabriel Milito and Rafael Márquez.

On 26 June 2008, he was reported as having signed a one-year contract with an option for another year with Paris Saint-Germain.

The deal, however, was cancelled shortly after because he was diagnosed with a heart defect that had caused the death of his brother.

On 2 August, he announced his final retirement from professional football due to his condition.

Thuram has been described as a "studious" figure off the pitch; in 2010, he became a UNICEF ambassador, and has stood out for his initiatives to fight against racism.

Thuram was born in Guadeloupe in the French West Indies.