Mathieu Debuchy

The result meant that the players had achieved the club's first league championship since the 1953–54 season and the club's first double since the 1945–46 season.

The domestic cup and league title were the first two domestic honours of Debuchy's career.

Mathieu Debuchy (born 28 July 1985) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right-back.

After spending a decade in Lille's youth system, he was promoted to the senior team following the winter break of the 2003–04 season.

Debuchy was given the number 33 shirt and simultaneously made his professional debut and first start on 31 January 2004 in a league match against Metz.

He played the entire match as Lille recorded a 1–0 win.

Debuchy made five more appearances that season, which included two starts and three substitute appearances.

The following season, Debuchy switched to the number 2 and his playing time increased significantly.

He appeared in 19 matches and scored three goals.

His first professional goal came against Bordeaux.

Debuchy scored the goal in the first minute of the match.

Lille's solid form that season resulted in the club finishing second in the league and, as a result, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

Debuchy was also instrumental in Lille's run to the Round of 16 in 2004–05 UEFA Cup where the club was eliminated by rival French club Auxerre.

Debuchy became a fixture in the starting eleven during the 2005–06 season.

On 26 March 2006, he damaged knee ligaments in a league match against Strasbourg.

The injury required surgery ruling him out for six months.

As a result of the injury, Debuchy missed the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Debuchy started his senior career at Lille, where he won a Ligue 1 and Coupe de France double in the 2010–11 season.

He played in Ligue 1 for 10 seasons for Lille.

A week after suffering the injury, on 4 April, Lille officials awarded Debuchy a contract extension until 2010.

Debuchy made his debut for the France national team in October 2011.

Debuchy signed a contract extension on 28 February 2011, tying him down to the club until 2015.

That season he was instrumental in the team's advancement to the final of the Coupe de France appearing in all five matches the team contested.

In the final, Debuchy played the entire match as Lille defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1–0 at the Stade de France.

Lille were awarded a late penalty shortly after going 1-0 up; Debuchy took the penalty but it was saved by Grégory Coupet, however Lille still held on to win 1-0.

A week later, Lille clinched the Ligue 1 championship by drawing 2–2 away to Paris Saint-Germain, Debuchy providing the cross from which Moussa Sow netted Lille's second goal.

The following season started off with a 1–1 draw against Nancy on 6 August 2011, with Debuchy opening the scoring in the 47th minute.

He earned 27 caps, playing in the final tournaments of UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Debuchy was born in Fretin, Nord.

He began his career playing for his hometown club Union Sportive Fretin before joining Lille at the age of eight.

Debuchy was part of the Lille squad that dramatically fell 5–4 to Bordeaux on 12 February 2012, scoring Lille's third goal of the game as former teammate, Ludovic Obraniak netted the winner in the 90th minute.

The following weekend, Lille got back on track with a 1–0 defeat of Lorient, as Debuchy scored the only goal of the game.

Debuchy started and played the full 90 minutes in all six group games of the Champions League that season, as Lille finished bottom of their tight group and crashed out of Europe because of a 0–0 draw with Trabzonspor on the final matchday.

The campaign was hugely successful for Debuchy on a personal level as he made his breakthrough in the French squad as well as being named in the UNFP Team of the Year.

Following the season, Lille manager Rudi Garcia described Debuchy as a defender who "plays high and attacks but defensively is also very rigorous and he exudes confidence."

Garcia also revealed that the club had rejected a £4 million bid from Newcastle United.

He joined Newcastle United in January 2013 and stayed there for 18 months.

Seven months after their failed bid, English club Newcastle United signed Debuchy on a five-and-a-half-year contract on 4 January 2013, for an undisclosed fee reportedly in the region of £5.5 million.

Debuchy played for Arsenal from July 2014 to January 2018, including a loan spell to Bordeaux in 2016.

From January 2018 to August 2021, he played for Saint-Étienne.