Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 1 January 1972) is a French author,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and 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. Widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of his era, he was a quick, powerful and versatile player, capable of playing both as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

or as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, and was competent both offensively and defensively. He began playing football professionally in his homeland with

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

and played in the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, with notable stints in

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

with both

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

and

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

before finishing his career with

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. With France, Thuram was a key player for the team that won the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

; his side also won

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

, and he helped them to runners-up at the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams represe ...

. Thuram was the most

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

player in the history of the

France national team 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 ...

with 142 appearances between 1994 and 2008 until

Hugo Lloris Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (born 26 December 1986) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Lloris began his career wi ...

surpassed the mark in 2022. Thuram has been described as a "studious" figure off the pitch; in 2010, he became a

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

ambassador, and has stood out for his initiatives to fight against racism.

Early life

Thuram was born in

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 ...

in the

French West Indies The French West Indies or French Antilles (, ; ) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, including the islands of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Les Saintes, Ma ...

. His family relocated to mainland France in 1981.

Club career

Thuram's football career began with

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 ...

in 1991. He then transferred to

(1996–2001) and then to

(2001–2006) for £25 million, and eventually to

in 2006.

Monaco

Thuram started his professional career with

in 1991. He only made one appearance that season, but was officially promoted to the first team the following season, when he would go on to make 19 appearances. He was inserted into the starting XI by the end of 1992 and would go on to make 155 league appearances for the

outfit, before transferring to

in the summer of 1996. He made his national team debut in 1994, while at Monaco. With Monaco, he most notably won the Coupe de France in 1991, also reaching the final of the

1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1991–92 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Werder Bremen in the final against Monaco. Both were first-time finalists in the competition. Defending champions Manchester United were eliminated by Atlético Madrid in the second ...

. In total his whole spell at AS Monaco he only scored 11 goals. However, Thuram scored his only

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 ...

goal in his career for Monaco in a 4–1 victory over

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * ...

in the 1993–94 season.

Parma

In July 1996, Thuram made a high-profile transfer to Italy to join

club Parma. In his first season, he made over 40 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring one goal, as Parma finished second in the

1996–97 Serie A The 1996–97 Serie A title was won by Juventus FC, Juventus, under head coach Marcello Lippi. Cagliari Calcio, Cagliari, A.C. Perugia Calcio, Perugia, Hellas Verona F.C., Hellas Verona and A.C. Reggiana 1919, Reggiana were relegated. Teams Bol ...

. He maintained a starting position in defence throughout his time with Parma, making 163 Serie A appearances and scoring one league goal. In all, he made over 200 appearances for the club, really making a name for himself, also earning caps for France. Following another impressive season in 2000–01, where Parma reached the Coppa Italia final, and finishing the

season in fourth place, Thuram, along with teammate

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is ...

, transferred to Juventus. His transfer cost the club 80 billion

Italian lire The lira ( , ; : lire, , ) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually fo ...

(€41,316,552). While at Parma, along with eventual Juventus teammates Buffon and

Fabio Cannavaro Fabio Cannavaro (; born 13 September 1973) is an Italian professional association football, football coach and former player who last was the head coach of Croatian club GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb. He is regarded as one of the greatest De ...

, Thuram won both the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

and the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

during the 1998–99 season, immediately followed by the

1999 Supercoppa Italiana The 1999 Supercoppa Italiana was a match played by the 1998–99 Serie A winners AC Milan and 1998–99 Coppa Italia winners Parma. It took place on 21 August 1999 at the San Siro in Milan, Italy. Parma won the match 2–1 to earn their firs ...

Juventus

In the summer of 2001, Thuram made a transfer to Juventus, along with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Thuram formed defensive partnerships with the likes of

Ciro Ferrara Ciro Ferrara (; born 11 February 1967) is an Italian former footballer and manager. Ferrara spent his playing career as a defender, initially at Napoli and later on at Juventus, winning seven total Serie A titles as well as other domestic and ...

Paolo Montero Rónald Paolo Montero Iglesias (born 3 September 1971) is a Uruguayan football manager and former player, who played as a central defender or left-back. Montero began his career in Uruguay with Peñarol in 1990 before moving to Italian side Ata ...

Gianluca Pessotto Gianluca Pessotto (; born 11 August 1970) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. A former Italy international, he spent the majority of his club career with Juventus, where he won several domestic ...

Mark Iuliano Mark Iuliano (; born 12 August 1973) is an Italian football manager and a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Following his retirement he worked as a coach. Iuliano spent the bulk of his playing career with, Juventus, in ...

, Alessandro Birindelli,

Igor Tudor Igor Tudor (born 16 April 1978) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who currently manages Serie A club Juventus. Capable of playing either as a defender or defensive midfielder, Tudor spent most of his playing career a ...

Gianluca Zambrotta Gianluca Zambrotta (; born 19 February 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a full-back or as a wide midfielder, on both the left and right wings. Throughout his career, Zambrotta played for several different Ital ...

Nicola Legrottaglie Nicola Legrottaglie (; born 20 October 1976) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre back. In a senior career that lasted two full decades, he amassed Serie A totals of 259 matches and 22 goals over 12 seasons, repr ...

Giorgio Chiellini Giorgio Chiellini (; born 14 August 1984) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back or Defender (association football)#Full-back, left-back. Consi ...

, Federico Balzaretti and

Jonathan Zebina Jonathan Zebina (born 19 July 1978) is a French retired professional footballer. Having started his career as a striker, he played right-back for much of his career before being increasingly used as a centre-back. During his playing career, Zeb ...

during his five-year tenure with the club. In his first season with the club, as a right back under

Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional association football, football player and manager, who led the Italy national football team, Italy national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appoin ...

, Thuram won the

2001–02 Serie A The 2001–02 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 100th season of top-tier Italian football, the 70th in a round-robin tournament. It was composed by 18 teams, for the 14th consecutive time from season 1988–89. T ...

title, also reaching the final of the

2001–02 Coppa Italia The 2001–02 Coppa Italia was the 55th edition of the national domestic tournament, that begun on August 12, 2001 and ended on May 10, 2002. After losing in the finals the previous year, Parma won the 2001–02 Coppa Italia tournament for the 3rd ...

. Juventus started the following season by winning the

2002 Supercoppa Italiana The 2002 Supercoppa Italiana was a match contested by Juventus, the 2001–02 Serie A winner, and Parma, the 2001–02 Coppa Italia winner. It was the fifth appearance for Juventus (2 victories in 1995 and 1997) and the fourth for Parma (victory ...

, and defended their Serie A title, also reaching the

UEFA Champions League final The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of Europe ...

, where they were defeated by rivals

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

on penalties. Juventus won the

2003 Supercoppa Italiana The 2003 Supercoppa Italiana was a match contested by Juventus, the 2002–03 Serie A champions, and AC Milan, the 2002–03 Coppa Italia winner. It was the sixth appearance for Juventus (3 victories in 1995, 1997 and 2002) and the seventh for A ...

the following season, reaching another Coppa Italia final, but finished in a disappointing 3rd place in

, and failed to progress past the second round in the Champions League. During the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons under coach

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL, AS Roma, Roma, AC Milan and Juventus FC, Juventus. H ...

, Thuram, along with Fabio Cannavaro in the centre of defence, with

in goal,

at right back and

at left back formed one of the most expensive, but also most feared, defences in Europe and Italy. During these next two seasons with the club, Thuram won the ''

Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (; Italian for 'little shield') is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous ...

'' two more times with Juventus, although these consecutive league titles were later revoked due to Juventus' involvement in the

2006 Italian football scandal ''Calciopoli'' () was a sports scandal in Italy's top professional association football league Serie A, and to a lesser extent, Serie B. The scandal centered on the manipulation of referee appointments to favor certain clubs during the 2004-0 ...

(''calciopoli''). After five years with Juve, Thuram transferred to

in the Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, in the wake of the ''calciopoli'' scandal. He managed over 200 total appearances for the club, with two goals.

Barcelona

On 24 July 2006, Thuram signed with Barcelona for €5 million after Juventus were relegated to

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

due to the ''calciopoli'' scandal. In Thuram's last season ( 2007–08), he was the third- or fourth-choice centre-back after

Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played List of one-club men in association football, his entire career for FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Considered one of the grea ...

Gabriel Milito Gabriel Alejandro Milito (born 7 September 1980) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He is the current head coach of Liga MX club Guadalajara. Milito began and concluded his professional career at Ind ...

and

Rafael Márquez Rafael Márquez Álvarez (; born 13 February 1979) is a Mexican football coach and former player who played as a defender. He is currently the assistant coach of the Mexico national team. Nicknamed '' El Káiser'', he is regarded as the bes ...

. On 26 June 2008, he was reported as having signed a one-year contract with an option for another year with

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

. The deal, however, was cancelled shortly after because he was diagnosed with a heart defect that had caused the death of his brother. On 2 August, he announced his final retirement from professional football due to his condition.

International career

Italy vs France - FIFA World Cup 2006 final - Lilian Thuram and Zinedine Zidane

After becoming world champion in 1998, Thuram was an integral part of

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 ...

's triumph at

, which led to the team being ranked by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

as number one from 2001–2002. He also played in the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

and

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

, in addition to winning the

2003 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup football tournament was the sixth FIFA Confederations Cup, held in France in June 2003. France retained the title they had won in 2001, but the tournament was overshadowed by the death of Cameroon player Marc-Vivi ...

. In France's 2–1 group win over England at Euro 2004, Thuram became the third Frenchman to 100 caps, after fellow 1998 champions

Didier Deschamps Didier Claude Deschamps (; born 15 October 1968) is a French professional football manager and former player who has been managing the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, Engl ...

and

Marcel Desailly Marcel David Desailly (; 7 September 1968) is a French former professional Association football, footballer, who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. During a successful career at club level, lasting from 1986 to 2006, Desailly won se ...

1998 World Cup

Thuram was named in the French squad for the 1998 World Cup and played a key part in their entire tournament, most notably in the semi final against Croatia. After getting caught out of position and being at fault for

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

's opening goal, Thuram went on to score a brace, his only international goals, and give France a 2–1 win to take them to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

where the team defeated

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

3–0 to win their first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. Thuram was awarded the Bronze Ball as the third most valuable player in the tournament. He,

Bixente Lizarazu Bixente Jean Michel Lizarazu (, born 9 December 1969) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He rose through the ranks at Bordeaux, where he was part of a team that finished second in the French First Division in ...

Laurent Blanc Laurent Robert Blanc (; born 19 November 1965) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back and is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad Club (J ...

and

composed the backbone of the French defence that conceded only two goals in seven matches.

2006 World Cup

After a brief international retirement, France coach

Raymond Domenech Raymond Manuel Albert Domenech (born 24 January 1952) is a French football manager and former player. He managed the France national team from 2004 to 2010, reaching the 2006 FIFA World Cup final. He was dismissed after their elimination from ...

convinced Thuram to return to the French team on 17 August 2005, along with fellow "

Golden Generation In sport, a Golden Generation, or Golden Team is an exceptionally gifted group of players of similar age, whose achievements reach or are expected to reach a level of success beyond that which their team had previously achieved. The term was firs ...

" teammates

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 ...

and

Claude Makélélé Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973) is a French Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. He last managed Super League Greece club Astera ...

, as ''Les Bleus'' struggled to qualify for the

. Thuram's

centre 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 ...

partnership with

William Gallas William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French football coach and former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and Engl ...

was to be the foundation for France's progression to the final. Thuram earned his 116th cap for France in the group stage match against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

on 18 June 2006. In that game he equalled Desailly's record number of caps, which he broke in the final group stage match, a 2–0 win over

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

on 23 June 2006, winning his 117th cap. He was named the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in France's semi-final 1–0 victory against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, coincidentally the same distinction he had earned eight years earlier at the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup.

Euro 2008

On 9 June 2008, Thuram took the field against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

in a group match, and became the first player to make 15

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

finals appearances. The former record of 14 appearances was held by Zinedine Zidane,

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-t ...

and

Karel Poborský Karel Poborský (; born 30 March 1972) is a Czech former professional association football player. Poborský played as a winger, and was most noted for his technical ability and pace. Poborský began and finished his club career at Dynamo Če ...

. He played one more game during the tournament, raising the number of his appearances to 16, which record was then equaled a few days later by

Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch association football, football executive and former professional player who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He was most recently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, A ...

from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the quarter-finals. Thuram was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of France in the tournament. Along with

, he announced his retirement from international football on 17 June 2008, after France's 2–0 loss to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He finished his career with the national team as France's most capped player with 142 appearances. His record was broken by

in the quarter-finals of the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Style of play

Thuram was an extremely dominant, consistent, athletic and attentive footballer, who was considered by pundits to be one of the best defenders in the world in his prime. As a defender, he was known for his strength, pace, stamina and his outstanding physical, tactical, and technical attributes, as well as his elegance, intelligence, ability to read the game, his heavy marking of opponents, and his aggressive tackling, which made him difficult to beat in one on one situations; he also excelled in the air. As a full-back, he was known for his ability to make attacking runs up the flank and contribute to his team's offensive play after winning back the ball. A large, powerful and versatile player, who was equally competent offensively as he was defensively, he could play on either flank or in the centre, due to his ability with either foot, often alternating between playing as a

or as a

, and was even deployed in

midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...

on occasion. In spite of his physical and tenacious playing style, he was also known to be a fair player.

Personal life

He has two sons with his first wife Sandra,

Marcus Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...

(born 6 August 1997) and Khéphren (born 26 March 2001), and both became international footballers for France in the 2020s. He named his sons after Jamaican activist

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) (commonly known a ...

and Egyptian pharaoh Khephren, respectively. Thuram's cousin is

Yohann Thuram-Ulien Yohann Georges Thuram-Ulien (born 31 October 1988) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Born in metropolitan France, he represented Guadeloupe at international level. Cl ...

. From 2007 to 2013, Thuram was in a relationship with Karine Le Marchand, a French TV host. In August 2022 he married journalist Kareen Guiock, whom he met in 2015; they wed at the

Palace of Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau ( , ; ), located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. It served as a hunting lodge and summer residence for many of the List of French monarchs ...

Media

Thuram was sponsored by sportswear company

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

and appeared in Nike commercials. In a global Nike advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a " Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scorpion KO") directed by

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam ( ; born 22 November 1940) is an American-British filmmaker, comedian, collage film, collage animator, and actor. He gained stardom as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe alongside John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Pa ...

, appearing alongside football players such as

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, also prevalent in other Romance countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: Association footballe ...

Edgar Davids Edgar Steven Davids (; born 13 March 1973) is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer. Davids was nicknamed "The Pitbull" because of his marking ability, aggression, and hard tackling style of play. After beginning his care ...

Francesco Totti Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played solely for AS Roma, Roma and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. He was a technically gifted and creati ...

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

and

Hidetoshi Nakata is a Japanese former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Considered one of the best talents to come from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) country in the early late 1990s and early 2000s, Nakata became ...

, with former player

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French former professional footballer who is currently an actor. In his football career Eric Cantona was a physically strong, hard-working and tenacious player. He combined technical skill a ...

the tournament "referee".

Political engagement

Beyond his football career, Thuram has always shown political engagement, and has frequently spoken out against racism. In such, during the French riots in November 2005, Thuram took a position against future French president

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

, at the time the head of the conservative political party

UMP UMP may refer to: Science * Ultra metal-poor star, refers to a type of star with extremely low levels of heavier elements * Uniformly most powerful test, in statistical hypothesis testing * Uridine monophosphate, a nucleotide * Utility maximizat ...

and

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. Thuram was opposed to the verbal attacks against young people that the then-Minister made when he talked about the "scum", and he said that Nicolas Sarkozy never lived in a "

banlieue In France, a banlieue (; ) is a suburb of a large city, or all its suburbs taken collectively. Banlieues are divided into autonomous administrative entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80percent of the inhabitant ...

", areas of low-income housing surrounding French cities. On 6 September 2006, Thuram sparked controversy when he invited 80 people, who were expelled by French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy from a flat where they lived illegally, to the football match between France and Italy. He has also engaged in campaigns that favour the

Catalan language Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...

Northern Catalonia Northern Catalonia, North Catalonia or French Catalonia is the Catalan language, Catalan-speaking and cultural territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 in exchange for France's effective renu ...

. In November 2011, Thuram curated an exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly entitled "Human Zoos: The Invention of the Savage". It examined the

human zoos Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were a Colonialism, colonial practice of publicly displaying people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These ...

that traced the practice of using colonial subjects as exhibits in zoos and freak shows. The material in the exhibition runs from the parade of Brazil's Tupinamba "savages" for the royal entrance of King

Henry II of France Henry II (; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was List of French monarchs#House of Valois-Angoulême (1515–1589), King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I of France, Francis I and Claude of France, Claude, Du ...

in 1550 in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, to the last "living spectacle" of Congo villagers exhibited in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in 1958. In January 2013, Thuram took part in a march through Paris by supporters of the

Ayrault government The Ayrault government was the 35th and 36th governments in the Fifth Republic of France, and headed by Jean-Marc Ayrault. The first Ayrault government was formed on 16 May 2012 by the presidential decree of President of France, President Franç ...

's plan to legalise same-sex marriage. He had previously explained that he supported same-sex marriage in the name of equal rights (comparing the denial of equality for homosexuals to the denial of equal rights for women and for black people in earlier periods of history), and in the name of France's secular principles (''

laïcité (; 'secularism') is the constitutional principle of secularism in France. Article 1 of the French Constitution is commonly interpreted as the separation of civil society and religious society. It discourages religious involvement in governmen ...

''), rejecting religious arguments against civil marriage. He also expressed support for the right of same-sex couples to adopt children. He founded the Fondation Lilian Thuram, which aims to educate people about racism.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Thuram goal.''

Honours

Monaco *

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 ...

: 1990–91 Parma *

: 1998–99 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

: 1998–99 Juventus *

: 2001–02, 2002–03 *Supercoppa Italiana:

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Barcelona *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

France *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, runner-up:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Individual *Onze de Onze: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006 *

French Player of the Year __FORCETOC__ The French Player of the Year is an association football award presented annually by the French magazine '' France Football'' since 1959. Originally, only French players playing in France were eligible, but starting in 1996 French pl ...

: 1997 *

Guerin d'Oro The Guerin d'Oro ''(Golden Guerin)'' was an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine '' Guerin Sportivo'' to the best Serie A football player. The first winner of the award was Claudio Sala, while the last was Carlos Tevez. His ...

: 1997 * FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball: 1998 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1998, 2006 * ESM Team of the Year: 1998–99, 2002–03 *

UEFA European Championship Teams of the Tournament At the end of each UEFA European Championship tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game. Awards There are currently five post-tournament awards, a ...

: 2000 *

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural Histor ...

: 2004 *

FIFPro World XI The FIFPRO World 11 are the best association football men's and women's teams of the year. FIFPRO invites all professional men's and women's footballers to compose the teams. Initially known as the FIFPRO World 11, the award began in 2005 and c ...

: 2006 * Trophée d'honneur UNFP: 2009 * Équipe type spéciale 20 ans des trophées UNFP: 2011 Orders *

Knight of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

: 1998 *

Officer of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

: 2013

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thuram, Lilian 1972 births Living people Thuram family French people of Guadeloupean descent Black French sportspeople Guadeloupean men's footballers French men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Men's association football fullbacks RCP Fontainebleau players FC Melun players Entente Melun-Fontainebleau 77 players AS Monaco FC players Parma Calcio 1913 players Juventus FC players FC Barcelona players Ligue 1 players Serie A players La Liga players UEFA Europa League–winning players France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers Competitors at the 1993 Mediterranean Games UEFA Euro 1996 players 1998 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2000 players European champions for France 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players FIFA World Cup–winning players Mediterranean Games medalists in football Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for France UEFA European Championship–winning players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players FIFA Men's Century Club FIFA 100 French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Monaco French expatriate sportspeople in Italy French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Knights of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Legion of Honour French anti-racism activists French LGBTQ rights activists Sportspeople from Pointe-à-Pitre Association football people awarded knighthoods 20th-century French sportsmen