BIOGRAPHY
William Eric Gallas born in Asnieres-sur-Seine, France, 17 August 1977 is a French footballer who plays for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Gallas began his career in France, before being signed by English club Chelsea in 2001. He transferred to rivals Arsenal as part of an exchange deal in 2006. While his career has been marked by both individual and team successes – including Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006 – he has also encountered controversy as a consequence of his on-field behaviour and friction with other personnel. In 2007, he was named Arsenal's captain, but was removed from the role during the 2008–09 season after criticising teammates in a media interview. Gallas left Arsenal at the end of the 2009–10 season, when his contract expired.
In August 2010, he signed for Tottenham on a one-year contract. He subsequently became the first player to have appeared for Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham.
Gallas was a part of the France U-18 European Championship winning side. He also played for the France U-20 team in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship along with fellow Frenchmen Willy Sagnol and Thierry Henry.
He is now a regular member for France, having formed Raymond Domenech's first-choice centre-back partnership with Lilian Thuram during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008. He made his full France debut in a 5–0 victory over Slovenia in a Euro 2004 qualifier on 12 October 2002, and was a member of the squad for the tournament's finals. He was in the 2003 Confederations Cup winning side, and more recently he was a member of the squad that reached the 2006 World Cup final. Following the World Cup, he criticised the Portugal team for diving, saying that when the French faced them in the semi-finals they needed to look out for their unfair style of play.
Gallas won his 50th cap for France in the 3–1 win against Italy on 6 September 2006 at the Stade de France in a Euro 2008 qualifying match.
Gallas is still eligible to represent Guadeloupe internationally as well, as they are not FIFA affiliated. His cousin, Ludovic Quistin, has represented Guadeloupe.
On 10 October, he scored for France against Faroe in the 53rd minute.
On 18 November he scored a goal against the Republic of Ireland in extra time of a World Cup playoff. The goal made the score 1–1, and 2–1 to France on aggregate. This meant that France qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The goal was controversial as it was scored after his teammate, Thierry Henry handled the ball twice.
On 30 May 2010, he scored the equalizer against Tunisia in the 63rd minute in a friendly.
WILLIAM GALLAS PROFILE
Full name: William Eric Gallas
Date of birth: 17 August 1977
Place of birth: Asnières-sur-Seine, France
Height: 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position: Defender
Club information
Current club: Tottenham Hotspur
Number: 13
Youth career
1987–1992 AVG Football
1992–1993 RCF Paris
1992–1994 INF Clairefontaine
Senior career
1995–1997 Caen 34 (0)
1997–2001 Marseille 85 (2)
2001–2006 Chelsea 159 (12)
2006–2010 Arsenal 101 (12)
2010– Tottenham Hotspur 20 (0)
National team
1997 France U20 3 (0)
1997–1998 France U21 11 (0)
2002– France 84 (5)