Florent Malouda
Florent Johan Malouda (born 13 June 1980) is a football coach and former professional player who played as a midfielder. Born in French Guiana, he represented both France and French Guiana at international level. A left winger, he spent most of his career at Lyon and Chelsea, winning four consecutive Ligue 1 titles with the former and the UEFA Champions League in 2012 with the latter, among other honours. A France international from 2004 to 2012, Malouda represented Les Bleus on 80 occasions, including in two FIFA World Cups and two European Championships. He was part of the French team which reached the 2006 World Cup final. In 2017, he played for his home region French Guiana. Club career Châteauroux Malouda was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. He attracted the interest of scouts from French club Châteauroux and he soon moved to Paris to join the club. Despite the difficulties of living far away from his family home in French Guiana, Malouda was able to continue his studies and play professional football. He played 57 games for Châteauroux, making his senior debut at the age of 16 in Ligue 2. Guingamp Malouda was then signed by top division side Guingamp following Châteauroux's inability to secure a Ligue 1 berth. It was in Guingamp where his talent was showcased in French top-flight football. Under the tutelage of coach Guy Lacombe, Malouda demonstrated his ability and formed a combination with Didier Drogba, whom he would also accompany later in his career at Chelsea. Lyon Malouda's performances began to catch the attention of French club Lyon who, after claiming their second consecutive title during the 2002–03 season, decided to sign Malouda. In an outstanding Lyon team containing Juninho, Michael Essien, Grégory Coupet and Mahamadou Diarra, Malouda established himself on the left side of Lyon's attack, forming great link-ups with all of Lyon's strikers. His performances for Lyon finally earned him a call-up to the France national team. The highlights of Malouda's career at Lyon were a man of the match display against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League and his ten goals which led Lyon to their sixth consecutive Ligue 1 title, both during the 2006–07 season. He also won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year that season, edging teammate Juninho, Lille's Kader Keïta, Toulouse's Johan Elmander and Lens' Seydou Keita to the accolade. Malouda made public his wish to leave Lyon at the end of the 2006–07 season, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid showing interest in the winger. On 29 June 2007, Malouda told Lyon-based newspaper Le Progres that he has his heart set on a move to Chelsea, confirming that Chelsea had lodged a €17 million bid for him. Malouda later repeated this comment in an interview with the Daily Star. On 5 July 2007, Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon told Sky Sports News that Chelsea had been in discussions with Lyon regarding Malouda's transfer and were hoping to tie up the deal before Chelsea's pre-season tour of