Julien Alex Thomas Faubert (born 1 August 1983) is a French 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

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. Born in France, he played in one match for the France national team, in which he scored, before switching allegiance to the Martinique national team in 2014. Faubert started his footballing career in France with

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

before moving to

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 ...

. In 2007, he moved to England to play for West Ham. In 2009, he spent a short period on loan with

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

before returning to West Ham for the beginning of the 2009–10 season. He has also played football in Turkey (for Elazığspor), Scotland (for Kilmarnock F.C.), Finland (for FC Inter Turku) and Indonesia (for Borneo F.C.) He is nicknamed "Le

TGV The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

" or "The Express Train" in France.

Club career

Cannes and Bordeaux

Born in

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

, Faubert enrolled in the

academy in 1998 and began his career as a right back or left back, but with his crossing ability quickly became a right winger as well as playing in a midfield role. He made his Cannes first team debut in the 2002–03 season. He steadily earned notoriety as an important member of the squad and eventually caught the eye of several

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 ...

sides.

signed him in 2004, with whom he played in 96 league matches, as well as in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

West Ham United

On 23 June 2007, it was reported in French sports newspaper ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

'' that Faubert was on the verge of a €6.5 million (£4.3 million) transfer to Rangers. On 1 July, however, he was signed by

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

for £6.1 million on a five-year contract. He suffered a ruptured

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

during a pre-season friendly on 17 July against Czech side Sigma Olomouc, which was expected to take six months to heal. As part of his comeback, Faubert turned out for the reserves against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

's reserve team in January 2008. He finally made his first team debut for the Hammers as a late substitute against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

Boleyn Ground Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium in Upton Park, London, Upton Park, east London, England. It was the home of West Ham United F.C., West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic ...

on 12 January 2008. His first season in English football was marked by continuing injury and he made only eight appearances in the league and

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

On loan to Real Madrid

Faubert was given permission to speak to

on 30 January 2009, with the move being completed on 31 January when he signed on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

until the end of the 2008–09 season for a reported fee of £1.5 million with an option for Real to purchase him on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. Faubert made his Real Madrid debut on 7 February 2009 in a 1–0 win against

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

. During his loan with Real Madrid, he missed training when he mistakenly thought he had the day off. His loan spell finished with only two appearances.

Return to West Ham

Faubert enjoyed a fine start to the 2009–10 season, helping the Hammers to victories over

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

and Millwall and an impressive goalless draw at

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. The 2009–10 season saw a change in fortunes for the Frenchman. He turned in several impressive performances, particularly in the second half of the season. He set up Carlton Cole with a measured cross for the second goal in a 2–0 win against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

. Faubert scored his first goal for the club on his 50th league game for the claret and blue against Hull City on 20 February 2010. He also added an assist in that game, producing a through ball, which Carlton Cole latched on to and dispatched accordingly. His sublime cross set up

Ilan Ilan may refer to: Organization *ILAN, Israeli umbrella organization for the treatment of disabled children Given name *Ilan (name), a Hebrew/Israeli name *Ilan Bakhar, a retired Israeli footballer *Ilan Araújo Dall'Igna, a Brazilian footballer ...

for an equalising goal against Everton on 4 April 2010. ''The Hammers'' were experiencing a poor run of form at the time. Faubert capped an accomplished season by winning the best 'Performance Of The Season' for his match-winning display against Hull. He was also awarded the SBOBET Player of the Month for August. The 2010–11 season proved less successful for Faubert. He started the season playing on the right wing, reverting to right-back. On the last day of the summer 2011 transfer window, the Hammers recruited Blackburn Rovers full-back Lars Jacobsen who was preferred throughout the majority of the season. After the turn of the year, Faubert was in and out of the side. He did not help his chances of being selected when he left the stadium after learning he was not in the squad to face Birmingham City. At the start of the 2011–12 season, Faubert was expected to leave the club after their relegation to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

. A tight hamstring ruled him out of the opening two games of the season but he made his first appearance on 16 August in an away match against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. Faubert came on as a 72-minute substitute, providing the assist for Scott Parker's goal to make it 4–0. During the rest of the season, he was West Ham's first choice right back and played a full part in West Ham's subsequent promotion. In May 2012, Faubert was released by West Ham due to the expiry of his contract. He played 121 games in all competitions for West Ham, scoring twice.

Elazığspor

On 27 June 2012, Faubert was officially signed by Elazığspor of the Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

on a three-year contract.

Return to Bordeaux

After being released by Elazığspor, Faubert signed for his old club Bordeaux as a free agent on the transfer deadline day in January 2013, signing a contract that would keep him there until the end of the 2012–13 season. He was given squad number 22 due to his old number 18 was occupied by Jaroslav Plašil. Prior the move, Faubert asked his old club to train to maintain his fitness. Faubert made his first appearance at Bordeaux, coming on as a late substitute, as Bordeaux won 2–0 against

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 ...

. On 4 December 2013, Faubert scored in a 1–0 win over

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 7,115 as of 2020, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guin ...

Kilmarnock

After a trial period with St Johnstone during February 2016, Faubert signed for

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

until the end of the 2015–16 season. On 23 May 2016, he was one of six players released at the end of their contract.

Inter Turku

Faubert signed for Finnish Veikkausliiga side FC Inter Turku on a one-year contract on 17 January 2017.

Borneo

In January 2018, Faubert signed for

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n club

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

in time for the 2018 Liga 1 season. In July 2018, Faubert was released by Borneo.

Étoile Fréjus Saint-Raphaël

In June 2019, Faubert accepted the role of player-assistant manager of

Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a Association football, football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system be ...

club Étoile Fréjus Saint-Raphaël. He departed the role in January 2020.

International career

Faubert made his debut for

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 ...

on 16 August 2006 against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. He wore the number 10 shirt, the first player to do so for France since the retirement of

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

. He marked his first match by scoring in the final minute of the game to ensure France won 2–1. Despite never receiving another call-up since then, Faubert has frequently stated his desire to return to the international scene with France. In an interview with ''L'Équipe'' published on 24 December 2009, Faubert said that he was approached by the

Algerian Football Federation The Algerian Football Federation (AFF); () is the governing body of Association football, football in Algeria. Formed in 1962 and was based in the capital Algiers. It has jurisdiction on the Algerian football league system and is in charge of th ...

(FAF) about representing the country due to his wife being

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

n. He said he would consider the option if he fails to get recalled by ''Les Bleus''. Two days later, however, Algerian head coach Rabah Saadane denied that the FAF had made any contact with Faubert. In October 2014, Faubert made his international debut for

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. Playing a 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification game against

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

, Faubert scored in a 1–1 draw, netting two braces in the following matches against

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

and

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

Personal life

Faubert is of Martiniquais descent and is married to a woman of

n descent. He is a devout

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, having converted to his wife's faith. He has the word "

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

" tattooed on his forearm.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals for France

:''Scores and results list France's goal tally first.''

International goals for Martinique

:''Scores and results list Martinique's goal tally first.''

Honours

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 ...

: 2006–07 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

: 2012–13 West Ham United * Football League Championship play-offs:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

References

External links