David Laurent Sommeil (born 10 August 1974) is a Guadeloupean former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender. He played his entire career in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, beginning with

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

and later

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

and

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. He then played in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for both

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

that was separated by a loan spell back in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

with

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, before retiring in 2008 with

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

. He was capped eight times by the Guadeloupe national team and played in the

2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the ninth edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and was won by the United States over Mexico. It was contested in the United States from J ...

Career

Born in

Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; , , or simply , ) is the second most populous commune of Guadeloupe (after Les Abymes). Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a ''Subprefectu ...

, Guadeloupe, Sommeil started his career with non-league Saint-Lô before turning professional with

SM Caen Stade Malherbe Caen (; commonly known as SM Caen, Malherbe, or simply Caen) is a French professional football team, based in the city of Caen in Normandy, that competes in the Championnat National from 2025–26 after relegation from Ligue 2 i ...

, making his professional debut on 8 February 1994 against

Le Havre AC Le Havre Athletic Club () is a French professional association football club based in Le Havre, Normandy. The football club was founded in 1894 as a section of the sports club of the same name, founded in 1884. Le Havre plays in Ligue 1, the ...

. He subsequently played for

before coming to prominence with

, where he was capped by

at 'B' level. Sommeil was signed by

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regard ...

for

in January 2003, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract for a fee of £3 million. Despite an initial run of first team games and being the first Manchester City player to score a league goal at the

City of Manchester Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and commonly shortened as The Etihad, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53, ...

in the opening home game of the 2003–04 season, Sommeil lost his place in January and had limited playing for the next two seasons. In February 2004, he joined

Olympique Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French football. Founded in 1899, OM has ...

on loan, in a deal that brought

Daniel Van Buyten Daniel Van Buyten (; born 7 February 1978) is a Belgian former Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre back. Nicknamed "Big Dan", Van Buyten was known for his uncompromising style of p ...

to England on loan in exchange. He returned to City for the start of the 2004–05 season but was dogged by injuries during the season and only managed two appearances. Sommeil played in just 16 games in 2005–06, partly due to a fractured cheek bone, forcing him to wear a protective mask on his return, and also due to a three-game ban for a challenge on

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

Lee Young-Pyo Lee Young-pyo (; ; born 23 April 1977) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a right-footed left back. Lee was recognized for his speed and dribbling skills. His former manager Martin Jol once called him "the best left ...

. Out of contract in May 2006, after less than 50 games for City, he was one of ten players released by Manchester City, but made a quick return to the

when he signed a two-year contract with newly promoted

on 24 May 2006. Sommeil made just five league appearances for the club following his move from Manchester City. On 19 July 2007, Sommeil left Sheffield United and signed a two-year deal with

outfit

Valenciennes FC Valenciennes Football Club (; commonly known as Valenciennes, VA or VAFC) is a French professional football club based in Valenciennes. The club was founded in 1914 and currently play in Championnat National, the third tier of French footbal ...

. During a training session on 20 August 2008 with his club Valenciennes he suffered a suspected heart attack. The 34-year-old player collapsed during the session but his exact condition was not immediately known. After six days in a coma he regained consciousness but was still to recover his speech. By 9 October, Sommeil had regained the ability to speak and use both of his arms, and was able to walk again, his condition "improving".

Honours

Caen *

French Division 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Profes ...

: 1996 Bordeaux *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

: 2001–02

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sommeil, David 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Pointe-à-Pitre Guadeloupean men's footballers Men's association football defenders Stade Malherbe Caen players Stade Rennais FC players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players Olympique de Marseille players Manchester City F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Premier League players Valenciennes FC players Ligue 1 players Guadeloupe men's international footballers 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Guadeloupean expatriate men's footballers Guadeloupean expatriates in England Expatriate men's footballers in England