Born on June 28, 1971 in Lavelanet (Ariège), Fabien Barthez celebrates his 54th birthday this Saturday! The “Divine Bald” is one of the legendary players of the French team (87 selections), since it is obviously the last emblematic bulwark of the 1998 world champions and European champions 2000. Always with Zinedine Zidane, as well as Lilian Thuram, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet, “Fabulous Fab” Germany.
Fabien Barthez is also an idol at OM after winning the 1993 Champions League but, it is true, it is at AS Monaco that he is a real legend. “Fabien Barthez or the instinct of the last rampart”writes the club of the rock in an article this Saturday, to pay a superb tribute to his former porter from 1995 to 2000.
“A captain and a club legend!” But before becoming it, Fabien Barthez had a complicated first season in 1995-1996 when he was handicapped by injuries, the porter playing only 21 championship games. It was not until 1996-1997 that he became a basic man of Jean Tigana. An exercise that sees AS Monaco being crowned French champion for the sixth time in its history. Captain of the team, he played 36 Ligue 1 matches (Total highest behind Sylvain Legwinski) and only won 29 goals ”can we read.
Fabien Barthez Captain Double Champion of France
A year after his arrival in the Principality, Fabien Barthez, 25, therefore recovered the captain's armband and the ASM made a beautiful French champion with Franck Dumas, Martin Djetou, Emmanuel Petit and Ali Benarbia in leaders as well as Victor Ikpeba, Sonny Anderson and Thierry Henry in offensive cracks. Barthez is also from the superb team of Claude Puel who won the French D1 three years later, in 2000, this time with Rafael Marquez, Willy Sagnol, Sabri Lamouchi, still Djetou, Marcelo Gallardo, Ludovic Giuly and David Trezeguet.
In the best-of proposed by Ligue 1 and AS Monaco for the 54th anniversary of the “Divine Chauve”, there are superb stops by Barthez but also decisive passes of which he had the secret. Gaucher guardian, he distinguished himself by his powerful reminders of the right hand in order to initiate counterattacks. Alen Boskic took advantage of it at the Vélodrome stadium during an OM-Saint-Etienne, beating Joseph-Antoine Bell. Just like Sonny Anderson when FC Nantes came when Mickaël Landreau had deserted his goal.
