Steed Malbranque

Steed Claude Malbranque (born 6 January 1980) is a former professional footballer.

Born in Belgium, he represented France at international level.

He was a trainee at Lyon youth academy between 1995 and 1997, during which time he won the Under-15 championship twice, the Under-17 Cup and the reserve team championship.

He also captained the French Under-18 side.

He made his professional debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Montpellier on 21 February 1998 aged 18.

He went on to play a total of 96 games for the club, which included 12 appearances and two goals in the Champions League and seven appearances in the UEFA Cup.

Malbranque started his professional career with Olympique Lyonnais, before moving to England in 2001, where he had spells with Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland.

Malbranque was an unused substitute in the final as Lyon won the 2001 French Coupe de la Ligue.

During his time at the club, there was a chance to join English club Arsenal after impressing in a Champions League tie at Highbury and the following tie, a 3–0 victory over Bayern Munich at Stade de Gerland.

He rejected the move as he felt he was not ready to play in the Premier League.

He eventually made his move to the Premier League in 2001, joining Fulham for a fee believed to be £4.5 million, making his debut in a 3–2 defeat at Old Trafford against Manchester United.

He went on to score 10 goals in his first season.

As a result, making an impressive display in his first season at Fulham, Malbranque was described by Christian Damiano, who has kept track of Malbranque's development since he was 13-year-old, as "the number 10 position that Zidane excels at Fulham".

He became a firm favourite during his five years at the club, playing a total of 211 games and scoring 44 goals, including six appearances and three goals in Fulham's short-lived UEFA Cup campaign in the 2002–03 season.

He was the top scorer that season with 13 goals that helped save Fulham from relegation.

He was offered the chance to play for Belgium towards the end of the campaign, having not represented the full France side; however, he turned it down with the hope that he would eventually break into the full French squad.

He scored in Fulham's 3–1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in October 2003.

On 13 May 2006, after extensive contract talks with the club failed, Malbranque was placed on the transfer list at Fulham after he declared his intention to leave at the end of his contract.

There was rumoured interest from Reading, Middlesbrough, West Ham United, Manchester City, Everton and Newcastle United, but he opted to sign for Tottenham Hotspur on the deadline day of the transfer window (31 August) for a fee believed to be £2 million, despite an injury that would keep him out for approximately 10 weeks.

Malbranque made his debut for Tottenham Hotspur almost 10 weeks after signing for the club on 8 November at White Hart Lane playing 63 minutes in a League Cup 3–1 victory over Port Vale.

He had been unable to play earlier than that after a non-essential groin operation.

He scored his first goal for Spurs in an emphatic 5–1 victory over Charlton Athletic at White Hart Lane on 9 December.

Malbranque became a fan favourite at Tottenham because of his strong work ethic.

During the same month, Malbranque would sign a new four-year contract to keep him at Craven Cottage until 2007.

Malbranque finished the 2007–08 season in the top five in the Premier League for tackles made and tackles per minute, demonstrating his work ethic and tackling ability.

He scored Tottenham's 150th goal in European competition with his goal in the second leg of the UEFA Cup last 16 against Sporting Braga on 14 March 2007 at White Hart Lane.

On 12 April 2007, during the second leg of the UEFA Cup quarter-final against defending champions Sevilla, Malbranque famously scored an anomalous own goal.

A Sevilla corner was met with a header from Christian Poulsen.

The ball appeared to be going wide of the goal until Malbranque took a wild lash at the ball to clear it and keep it in play.

The ball was sliced backwards into Spurs' own net.

The match ended in a 2–2 draw, but Sevilla went through to the next round on 4–3 aggregate.

He started for Spurs as they won the 2008 Football League Cup Final against Chelsea.

Malbranque followed teammates Pascal Chimbonda and Teemu Tainio to Sunderland.

Malbranque signed a four-year contract on 30 July 2008.

He went on to score his first goal for the club with the first goal in Sunderland's 4–1 victory over Hull City at the KC Stadium.

Malbranque enjoyed his best form in a Sunderland shirt during the 2009–10 season, proving fruitful on the left wing as opposed to the right.

He returned to France in 2011 for a short spell with Saint-Étienne.

In 2012, he joined Lyon for the second time.

He principally played as a winger or attacking midfielder.

During his second spell at Lyon he also played as a central midfielder.