Florent Malouda
Florent Malouda was born on June 13th 1980 in Cayenne, French Guiana. It was on the streets of Cayenne where the youngster's love of football developed, Malouda playing street football against his peers and learning the skills that would eventually land him a starring role with a top Premier League team.
Malouda made the difficult decision to move to Paris to join Chateauroux after scouts recognised his talent. He made his debut for the club at the tender age of 16. In total he played 57 times for the club before attracting the attention of Guingamp. Malouda's new club played in the top division of French football, Ligue 1, making them a difficult proposition to turn down, and he scored on 15 occasions whilst striking up a lethal partnership with future Chelsea legend Didier Drogba.
A move to Lyon was secured in 2003. It was here that the young Malouda really established himself as a talented left-sided winger. His ten goals during the 2006-2007 season helped the club towards the Ligue 1 title.
With global attention now focused on Malouda, it was only a matter of time before the big boys of European football came knocking, and it was Chelsea, under the leadership of Jose Mourinho, who won his signature. After excelling in pre-season, Malouda made his full Blues debut in the 2007 FA Community Shield. He scored during this game, and carried that confidence into the full season.
It was during the 2008-2009 season, however, that Malouda really shone for Chelsea. Highlights included scoring against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final, notching up a number of crucial Premier League goals, and providing the assist for former Guingamp team-mate Drogba in the victorious FA Cup final.
The following season saw this progression continue, as Malouda scored 15 goals and provided the same number of assists. During the 2010-2011 season, meanwhile, he ended the campaign as Chelsea's top league goalscorer.
The 2011-2012 season saw Chelsea make history as they won the Champions League and the FA Cup. Malouda collected his third FA Cup winners medal and then came off the bench in the Champions League final, the Blues beating Bayern Munich on penalties.
There were signs, however, that Malouda was starting to become dissatisfied at Stamford Bridge, with a plethora of new attacking arrivals pushing him to the fringes of the squad. During the 2012-2013 season, the player was ordered to train away from the first team squad, and subsequently left for Turkish side Trabzonspor in summer 2013.
On the international stage, Malouda has enjoyed modest success. Making his debut back in 2004, Malouda was a key player in the 2006 World Cup, but found himself on the losing side in the final, with Italy defeating France on spot kicks. The 2010 World Cup saw Malouda score France's only goal of the entire tournament in a terribly disappointing campaign. Malouda has won 80 caps for France, scoring nine times.
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