Christian Karembeu

Christian Lali Kake Karembeu (born 3 December 1970) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in New Caledonia, he played for the France national team. He is currently the sporting director for Olympiacos.

Karembeu represented Nantes, Sampdoria, Real Madrid, Middlesbrough, Olympiacos, Servette, and Bastia. He found much success on the international stage as well representing France, having been born in the overseas territory New Caledonia, and was a vital part of the squad that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup on home soil and featured in one match in France's victorious UEFA Euro 2000 campaign. He played youth football for Nouméa-based Gaïtcha FCN. At the age of 17, he moved to metropolitan France on a scholarship to study and play football. He was recruited as a youth player by FC Nantes and signed a professional contract with the club in 1990. He scored his only goal for France during 1996 UEFA Euro qualifying on 11 October 1995 during the 3–1 win against Romania. he usually played in a holding role in midfield, although he was also capable of playing in various other positions, including in a box-to-box role, as a right–sided midfielder, or even as a right-back. Regarding his playing style and role in France's victory in the 1998 World Cup final, Michael Cox of ESPN FC described him as "a peculiar hybrid of a wing-back and a box-to-box midfielder," who "shuttled up and down on the right of a very defensive three-man midfield."

Post-retirement career On 9 December 2005, Karembeu represented the Oceania Football Confederation at the draw for the 2006 World Cup which took place in Leipzig, Germany.

In May 2006 Karembeu became a scout for English Premiership side Portsmouth Football Club. In 2007, he was appointed as non-executive director of Birmingham International Holdings. He left after 2010 annual general meeting. However, in August 2009, Karembeu decided to join Arsenal's ever expanding scouting network.

In June 2013, Karembeu was handed an administrative role at Greek club Olympiacos along with former South African footballer Pierre Issa.

Commitment Karembeu is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.

Deeply involved in Peace and Sport's activities, Karembeu visited Haiti in August 2010 with Founder and President of Peace and Sport, Joel Bouzou, to strengthen the role of sport in the country's reconstruction efforts and attract the attention of the international community to urgent needs that prevail there. He went to meet sports instructors and young beneficiaries of the emergency program that the Haitian Olympic Committee has set up in survivor camps.

Personal life The great-grandfather of Karembeu, who came from New Caledonia, was one of a hundred Kanaks taken to Paris in 1931 for the Paris Colonial Exposition and exhibited there as "cannibals". Later the "cannibals" were swapped with Germany for some crocodiles. Karembeu refuses to sing France's national anthem, "La Marseillaise", due to the colonial past of the country.

Karembeu was married to Slovak model Adriana Sklenařiková, whom he met on an aeroplane. The couple split in March 2011 and divorced in December 2012. Their marriage was childless. In May 2017, Karembeu married Jackie Chamoun, a Lebanese skier, in Greece, followed by a wedding ceremony in Lebanon. The couple announced the birth of their daughter on 27 September 2017.

Following the 1998 World Cup, he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1998.

Television Karembeu is the host of French TV series Des Îles et des Hommes (Of Islands and Men), aired on Planète in 2010 and 2011, a travel programme visiting among six of the most beautiful islands of the world. He also became part of the ITV broadcast team for Euro 2016.

Career statistics Club

International

France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Karembeu goal

Honours Nantes UEFA Champions League: 1997–98, 1999–2000

Olympiacos Alpha Ethniki: 2001–02, 2002–03

France UNFP 20 Year Special Team Trophy: 2011 Olympiacos Golden Eleven

Orders Knight of the Legion of Honour: 1998