Graeme Le Saux
Encyclopedia
Graeme Pierre Le Saux is a retired English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 footballer of French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 ancestry who played for the Premier League clubs Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

, Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

 and Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

, and for the England national football team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

. Primarily a left back
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

, he was sometimes also played in midfield or on the left wing.

After beginning playing in Jersey, he moved to England and debuted for Chelsea in 1989. He left Chelsea in 1993 to join the Blackburn side being built by wealthy benefactor, Jack Walker
Jack Walker
Jack Walker was a British industrialist and businessman, from Blackburn, Lancashire. Walker invested tens of millions of pounds in Blackburn Rovers football club after amassing a personal fortune of £600 million...

, and was part of their 1994–95 Premier League winning team. In 1997 he returned to Chelsea, staying there for six seasons until moving to Southampton in 2003. He announced his retirement from football upon Southampton's relegation from the Premier League in 2005.

In his club playing career, he scored 20 goals from 403 club appearances. He was twice named in the Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the top four tiers of English football; the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two, whom are seen to be deserving of being named in a "Team of the Year".The award...

, in 1995 with Blackburn and in 1998 with Chelsea. His return to Chelsea in 1997 in a £5 million transfer made him the most expensive defender in English football. As an England international, he made 36 senior appearances from 1994 until 2000, including starting all four England games at the 1998 FIFA World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

 in France, and scoring one international goal, against Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

.

Chelsea

Le Saux started his career at St Paul's of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

 before moving to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

 in 1987 after being spotted playing in a local tournament by manager John Hollins
John Hollins
John William Hollins MBE is a retired English footballer and manager. He was initially a midfielder who, later in his career, became an effective centre back.Hollins' son, Chris Hollins is the main sport presenter on BBC Breakfast....

. He made his debut for the club two years later against Portsmouth
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

 and had become a regular by the 1990-91
1990-91 in English football
The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Arsenal won the league. Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager...

 season. His first stint at Chelsea ended in controversy, though. Angry at continually being substituted, he snapped when he was subbed again during a match with Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 and threw his shirt to the ground as he stormed past manager Ian Porterfield. He was sold to Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

 in March 1993 for £700,000.

Blackburn Rovers

Le Saux arrived at Blackburn as part of wealthy benefactor Jack Walker
Jack Walker
Jack Walker was a British industrialist and businessman, from Blackburn, Lancashire. Walker invested tens of millions of pounds in Blackburn Rovers football club after amassing a personal fortune of £600 million...

 and manager Kenny Dalglish
Kenny Dalglish
Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...

's plan to establish the club as one of the country's top sides, and joined an impressive side containing the likes of Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

 and Tim Flowers
Tim Flowers
Timothy David "Tim" Flowers is an English former football goalkeeper and the former manager of Conference North team Stafford Rangers.-Club career:...

. Blackburn finished 2nd in Le Saux's first season, and were crowned Premier League champions
FA Premier League 1994-95
-Promoted teams:Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest were promoted from the Football League First Division as winners and runners-up respectively. Leicester City won the 1993-94 playoff.-Controversial incidents:...

 a year later, with Le Saux a near ever-present. He missed the second half of the following season due to a broken ankle which also ruled him out of Euro 96
1996 UEFA European Football Championship
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by England, who won the right to host the tournament ahead of bids from Austria, Portugal and the Netherlands. It was the tenth European Football Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first to use the...

, but was still caught up in controversy after fighting with team-mate David Batty
David Batty
David Batty is an English retired professional footballer, who played as a defensive midfielder....

 during a UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 tie with FC Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and 9 of 19 Russian championships they are one of the country's most successful clubs. They have also won the Soviet Cup 10 times and the Russian Cup 3 times...

.

Return to Chelsea

In August 1997, Le Saux became the most expensive defender in English football when he returned to Chelsea in a £5 million deal. Always a regular when available, Le Saux's second spell with Chelsea was often interrupted by injury or suspension. He remained there for six seasons, and was an important part of the side which won the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 and Cup Winners' Cup
1998 Cup Winners' Cup Final
The 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match between Chelsea of England and VfB Stuttgart of Germany. The final was held at Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm. It was the 38th and penultimate UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final.-Match summary:...

 in 1998 and the FA Cup in 2000
FA Cup Final 2000
The 2000 FA Cup Final took place on 20 May 2000 and was the last to be played at the old Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Chelsea and Aston Villa, who had finished 5th and 6th respectively in the Premier League that season...

, though he missed two of those finals through injury.

Southampton

He was swapped in a part-exchange deal with Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 for Wayne Bridge
Wayne Bridge
Wayne Michael Bridge is an English footballer who plays as a left back for Manchester City.A graduate of the Southampton Academy where he made his debut in 1998, he has also played for Chelsea and Fulham during his Premiership career....

 in 2003. Le Saux played for another two seasons before announcing his retirement in May 2005 following Southampton's relegation from the Premiership
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...

. He scored two goals for Southampton, scoring once in the league against Norwich City and once in the League Cup against Bristol City.

International career

Le Saux was capped
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

 36 times for England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

. He made his first appearance in a friendly win over Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...

 and played at the 1998 World Cup, appearing in every game as England reached the second round. Le Saux's only international goal came against Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

 on 11 June 1995 in the Umbro Cup
Umbro Cup
The Umbro Cup was a minor international football competition, which took place in the summer of 1995 in England. The trophy was sponsored by the sports brand Umbro, and two of the participating teams had their kits manufactured by them....

, with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area
Penalty area
The penalty area , is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends to each side of the goal and in front of it. Within the penalty area is the penalty spot , which is from the goal line, directly in-line with the centre of the goal...

. It came 18th in a recent poll of the greatest ever England goals.

Homophobic abuse

Despite being straight
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...

 (he is married and has two children), Le Saux was dogged by rumours of homosexuality during his playing career. He attributed this to his lack of enthusiasm for the 'typical' footballer's lifestyle, his university background, and the fact that he read a left-wing broadsheet newspaper, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

. This led to abuse from opposition fans and even players. He became involved in a running series of taunts with Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....

 during a Chelsea game versus Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

 on 27 February 1999. In the game, Fowler repeatedly bent over and pointed his backside in Le Saux's direction, causing him to delay taking a free kick and be booked for time wasting. Unseen by the match officials, Le Saux later struck Fowler on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area. In an interview with The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

, Le Saux said, "More than anything in my career, that offended me. What [Fowler] did was wrong and he has never admitted that. He still talks as if it was a bit of a laugh."

After football

Following his retirement he worked as a pundit for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 on both their Match of the Day 2
Match of the Day 2
Match of the Day 2 is a football highlights programme shown on BBC Two in the United Kingdom...

television highlights show, and for their BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...

 station. He left the BBC's sport team on 31 March 2006 after losing his commentary seat for England's World Cup games to Mark Lawrenson
Mark Lawrenson
Mark Thomas Lawrenson is a former professional football player, a defender in the Liverpool and Irish football teams of the 1980s; he since became a radio, television and internet pundit for the BBC and Today FM. He was born in England, but played for the Republic of Ireland because his...

.

In other television appearances, in 2007 Le Saux was a finalist on the game show Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon
Gameshow Marathon (UK game show)
Gameshow Marathon is a British game show, broadcast from 17 September 2005 to 26 May 2007 on ITV .After a quick retrospective look at the history of the particular show, the show itself is recreated. This involved recreating the original set and using original opening programme titles, including...

; in 2009 he competed in series 4
Dancing on Ice (Series 4)
The fourth series of Dancing on Ice began on ITV on Sunday 11 January 2009. The series features legendary skaters Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill, presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and judges Karen Barber, Nicky Slater, Jason Gardiner, Ruthie Henshall and Robin Cousins.The...

 of the talent show Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...

, being voted off in the first round; and on 17 August 2010 he was profiled by the BBC's The One Show
The One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...

magazine programme.

In finance, Le Saux has reported and presented occasionally for BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...

's business news programme Working Lunch
Working Lunch
Working Lunch was a television programme broadcast on BBC Two which covered business, personal finance and consumer news between 1994 and 2010. The programme was first aired on 19 September 1994. It had a quirky, relaxed style, especially when compared to other BBC business shows such as World...

, while in 2006, he joined ABN AMRO
ABN AMRO
ABN AMRO Bank N.V. is a Dutch state-owned bank with headquarters in Amsterdam. It was re-established, in its current form, in 2009 following the acquisition and break up of ABN AMRO Group by a banking consortium consisting of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Santander and Fortis...

 Bank's UK private banking team in the role of Ambassador for their Sports Desk.

In September 2007, Le Saux published his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

 Left Field - A Footballer Apart.

Club

Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

  • FA Cup
    FA Cup
    The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

     winners: 2000
  • FA Cup
    FA Cup
    The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

     runners-up: 2002
    2002 FA Cup Final
    The 2002 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 2001–02 FA Cup competition. It was an all-London affair between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium on 4 May 2002...

  • League Cup
    Football League Cup
    The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

     winners: 1998
  • FA Charity Shield
    FA Community Shield
    The Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...

     winners: 2000
    2000 FA Charity Shield
    The 2000 FA Charity Shield was the 78th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played between Manchester United, who won the 1999–2000 Premier League, and Chelsea, who won the 1999–2000 FA...

  • Full Members Cup
    Full Members Cup
    The Full Members Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992....

      winners: 1990
  • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
    UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
    The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...

     winners: 1998
  • UEFA Super Cup winners: 1998
    1998 UEFA Super Cup
    The 1998 UEFA Super Cup was a match that was played on 28 August 1998 at Stade Louis II, Monaco, contested between Cup Winners' Cup holders Chelsea and Champions League winners Real Madrid. Chelsea won the match 1–0. Guus Hiddink manager of Real Madrid went on to manage Chelsea to win the...

  • Football League Second Division
    Football League Second Division
    From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

     champions: 1988–89
    1988-89 in English football
    The 1988–89 season was the 109th season of competitive football in England.-Hillsborough disaster:On 15 April, a crowd crush at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough killed 94 people and injured more than 300. A 95th Liverpool supporter died in hospital...



Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

  • Premier League champions: 1994–95
  • Premier League runners-up: 1993-94
  • FA Charity Shield
    FA Community Shield
    The Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...

     finalists: 1994
    1994 FA Charity Shield
    The 1994 FA Charity Shield was the 72nd FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions...

    , 1995
    1995 FA Charity Shield
    The 1995 FA Charity Shield was the 73rd FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 13 August 1995 at Wembley Stadium and contested by Blackburn Rovers, who had won the Premier League...


International

England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

  • Tournoi de France 1997: winners
  • Umbro Cup 1995
    Umbro Cup
    The Umbro Cup was a minor international football competition, which took place in the summer of 1995 in England. The trophy was sponsored by the sports brand Umbro, and two of the participating teams had their kits manufactured by them....

    : runners-up
  • 1998 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament
    1998 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament
    The King Hassan II International Cup Tournament was a minor international football competition, which took place in the spring of 1998 in Morocco....

    : runners-up

Individual

  • PFA Team of the Year
    PFA Team of the Year
    The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the top four tiers of English football; the Premier League, the Championship, League One and League Two, whom are seen to be deserving of being named in a "Team of the Year".The award...

    : 1995, 1998
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