Sylvain Wiltord

Club career Early career, Rennes and Bordeaux Wiltord joined Rennes from lower-league side CO Joinville in 1991. At Rennes, he emerged in the 1993–94 season with eight goals in 26 games.

In summer 1996, after Wiltord excelled for France at the 1996 Summer Olympics Spanish La Liga club Deportivo de La Coruña reached an agreement with Rennes for him to join from 1 July 1997. As part of the agreement a transfer fee of 300 million pesetas (€1.8 million) was paid to Rennes

He was ever-present in his first term at Bordeaux and went on to score 22 goals in the following 1998–99 season, where he won the golden boot as Bordeaux lifted the Ligue 1 championship. and his first goal followed against Coventry City on 16 September 2000. A highlight in his first season was scoring a first half hat-trick in a win against West Ham United. Arsenal reached the 2001 FA Cup Final which Wiltord started. He was substituted for Ray Parlour with Arsenal leading 1–0, however Liverpool ultimately came back and scored two late goals to win 2–1.

In the 2001–02 season Wiltord scored ten goals in the league as Arsenal finished as champions. He scored crucial winning goals along the way against Chelsea and Everton. The highlight of Wiltord's Arsenal career came at the end of that season; scoring the winning goal over Manchester United at Old Trafford, a 1–0 win which clinched the 2001–02 Premier League title as Arsenal achieved The Double on 8 May. Returning to Old Trafford the following season in the FA Cup, Wiltord netted again as Arsenal saw off United 2–0 in a year where they also won the Cup. Wiltord started the 2002 FA Cup Final and played as a substitute in the 2003 final.

Wiltord went on to form part of Arsenal's 2003–04 "Invincibles" season, though his appearances were less frequent towards the end of the campaign. During the season he made a total of 12 league appearances, which was enough to earn a title winners' medal. Altogether he played 175 times for the Gunners in all competitions, scoring a total of 49 goals.

Lyon When his contract with Arsenal expired in the summer of 2004, Wiltord trained for two weeks with Rennes and rejected a move to newly promoted Premier League team West Bromwich Albion. He was also reportedly keen on a move to Arsenal's rivals Tottenham Hotspur. On 31 August, he signed for Lyon on an initial two-year contract. Moving to Lyon, Wiltord found further success, winning three Ligue 1 titles and reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in successive seasons.

Rennes Wiltord signed for Rennes in August 2007 on a two-year contract and with an opportunity to join the coaching staff when he finished his professional career.

Marseille He joined Marseille on 15 January 2009 for the remainder of the Ligue 1 season. On 17 May 2009, he scored Marseille's only goal in a 3–1 loss to Lyon at home. He was released at the end of the 2008–09 season, and was considering a possible move to either America, UAE or perhaps retirement.

Metz On 30 January 2010, after training with Créteil, Wiltord signed with Metz until the end of the season.

Nantes On 18 July 2011, Wiltord came back from retirement and signed a contract at Nantes until the end of 2011–12. He announced his immediate retirement on 11 June 2012.

International career Wiltord made his debut for the France national team in a 2–0 victory over England on 10 February 1999 at Wembley Stadium. For France, he was capped 92 times, scoring 26 goals. His most memorable goal for Les Bleus was scored in dramatic fashion in the last seconds of the UEFA Euro 2000 Final against Italy to tie the match 1–1 and bring the game to extra-time. France then won the final from a golden goal scored by David Trezeguet.

Wiltord remained in the national squad for the 2002 World Cup, where France endured a shocking first round exit without a single win or scoring a single goal, the worst ever performance by a defending champion at the World Cup.

Wiltord also took part at UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal, having played seven games in the qualifying campaign with a return of six goals. However, a poor performance from Les Bleus saw a shocking quarter-final exit at the hands of eventual surprise winners Greece.

Wiltord also was a part of Raymond Domenech's France squad that played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup final against arch-rivals Italy. Wiltord scored France's first penalty in the ensuing penalty shootout following the 1–1 draw, but France lost the shootout 5–3.

Wiltord is France's 12th highest scorer with 26 goals netted for Les Bleus.

Media Wiltord was sponsored by sportswear company Nike 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 "Scopion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Edgar Davids, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".

Career statistics Club

International

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

Honours Bordeaux Division 1: 1998–99

Arsenal Premier League: 2001–02, 2003–04 2002–03; runner-up: 2000–01 FA Community Shield: 2002

Lyon Premier League Player of the Month: August 2002