Johan Micoud

Bordeaux Playing behind a strike partnership of Lilian Laslandes and Sylvain Wiltord, Micoud played a pivotal role as the club were crowned Ligue 1 champions in 1998–99, beating Olympique de Marseille to the title on the final day of the season.

The following season he helped the club to the UEFA Champions League's second group stage. He also reached two Coupe de la Ligue finals with Bordeaux, losing to RC Strasbourg in 1997 and Paris Saint-Germain in 1998.

Parma In the 2000 summer he moved abroad, initially joining Parma where he stayed for two seasons. Although Micoud and Parma won the Coppa Italia, he lost his starting place to Hidetoshi Nakata, and was forced out of the club, linked with moves to Aston Villa, Liverpool, Schalke 04 and Marseille.

Werder Bremen In August 2002, Micoud moved to Germany, signing for Werder Bremen. He made his debut for the club in a 3-1 win over 1. FC Nürnberg, scoring one of Bremen's goals.

Micoud was one of the key players in Bremen's surprise double win in 2004, and scored in the decisive game against Bayern Munich where Bremen secured the Bundesliga title. Micoud also scored in every round of the 2003–04 DFB-Pokal, except the final. He ended the season with ten goals and eight assists.

After the season, Micoud signed a new contract with Bremen until 2007, and was described by the club's sporting director Klaus Allofs as 'the best midfielder in the Bundesliga'. It had previously been speculated that Micoud could leave, as he criticised the club for allowing two other key players in Aílton and Mladen Krstajić to join Schalke. The following season saw Bremen finish third in the league.

In his final season with Bremen, Micoud scored five times in the Champions League, including winners against Udinese in the group stage and Juventus in the knockouts. He also scored eight goals and managed fourteen assists in the Bundesliga as Bremen finished runners-up.

Micoud left Bremen to return to former club Bordeaux in 2006, with Klaus Allofs stating that they would not have agreed to sell Micoud to any other club. A friendly match in Bremen's Weserstadion between the two teams was also organised, where Micoud scored the only goal for Bordeaux and was given a standing ovation by the Bremen fans.

Return to Bordeaux In June 2006, aged 32, rejoined Bordeaux, costing €three million. He quickly became a key player in the squad, scoring the winner in his first league match back at the club, at FC Lorient. Micoud helped Bordeaux win the 2007 League Cup and fight for the title the following season. In February 2008, Micoud scored his 50th Ligue 1 goal in a 6-0 win against AS Monaco, Bordeaux's record away win. In March, Micoud was involved in a controversy after being accused of diving to help win a penalty in a crucial game with third-placed Nancy, which Bordeaux would win 2-1. However, after two seasons, Laurent Blanc announced on 10 May 2008 that the player's contract would not be renewed, and he retired from the sport.

International career Despite being called up in the France national team on several occasions, Micoud never managed to secure a regular starting role, mainly due to the presence of Zidane who occupied the same position.

He was also selected for the FIFA World Cup campaign of 2002, and replaced the injured Zidane for the second game, a 0-0 draw with Uruguay.

Regardless of his consistently high level of performance at club level, Micoud found himself subsequently marginalised by the following national bosses. After the World Cup, he was not picked for France again for two years, before Jacques Santini selected him for a friendly against Holland in March 2004, recognising Micoud's form with Bremen.

Santini included Micoud in his preliminary squad for Euro 2004 but he did not make the final squad. Under Raymond Domenech Micoud did win a single call up for the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, and Micoud publicly criticised Domenech for ignoring his Bremen performances, suggesting that Domenech's refusal to pick him may be influenced by Micoud's star sign.

Career statistics Club

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

+ List of international goals scored by Johan MicoudNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 15 November 2000 BJK İnönü Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey 3–0 4–0 Friendly

Honours Bordeaux Division 1: 1998–99 Coupe de la Ligue: 2006–07

Parma Coppa Italia: 2001–02

Werder Bremen Bundesliga: 2003–04 DFB-Pokal: 2003–04

France UEFA European Championship: 2000

Individual kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06