Blaise Matuidi

Blaise Matuidi was born on 9 April 1987 in Toulouse. He started playing football at the age of 3 with his friends. He then discovered club football at the age of 6 at US Fontenay. In his family, he is not considered the best player of his siblings, not very technical and small, he is nevertheless the one who gives the most on the pitch.

In the youth categories, he plays as a striker and is a fan of a certain Jay-Jay Okocha and Paris Saint-Germain. Courted by this club in his youth, he finally chose to join INF Clairefontaine where he did his pre-training. He then played as a midfielder and was spotted and recruited by ESTAC Troyes at 15.

He made his professional debut in the 2004/05 season, aged 17. But it was during the following season that he became a regular player in the Troyes team XI, in Ligue 1, he performed well and was already being called the new "Claude Makélélé" by the French press. His coach at the time, Jean-Marc Furlan, compared him to Jean Tigana for his sense of play.

First used as a central midfielder and defensive midfielder during the 2005/06 season, during the 2006/07 season he specialized in the defensive midfield position where he excelled, he was already an undisputed starter for his team and it was quite logical that he left Troyes for AS Saint-Etienne in 2007.

At Saint Etienne, the young midfielder confirmed his status as a great hope for French football. He quickly attracted the interest of foreign clubs such as Arsenal, but he decided to stay in France, becoming the captain of his team.

His good performances attracted the interest of foreign clubs, including Arsenal FC, who negotiated with the Saint-Etienne club to sign him and his teammate Mouhamadou Dabo25.

Blaise Matuidi was appointed captain of AS Saint-Étienne for the 2008-2009 season. He also reached the round of 16 of the Europa League during that season. But AS Saint-Etienne struggled to display a very good level and was mainly playing for its survival in the elite of French football.

The 2010/11 season marked an important period in his career, as the player continued to improve his performances, which caught the eye of the new coach of the French team, Laurent Blanc. Now a French international, the player is flourishing in his sporting life and finished as the best player in his team for the season.

After this great season, the player was approached by many clubs such as AS Roma, Arsenal again, Newcastle United and Liverpool, but it was ultimately Paris Saint-Germain who signed the player. Within this PSG team which was bought by Qatari funds, the club aimed to become the best French club without competition, but to everyone's surprise it was Montpellier HSC who won the French championship, one of the greatest feats in the history of this sport.

Alongside Clément Chantôme and Marco Verratti, Blaise Matuidi was in a protective and recuperative role, he took care of defensive tasks while his teammates in midfield had a role of play creation. Then after his return from injury, Thiago Motta took his place in the Parisian XI, the Franco-Italian trio delighted the French lawns.

Blaise Matuidi gradually became one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. Carlo Ancelotti, his coach at the time, would also describe him as one of the most important players at PSG and one of the best midfielders in the world. Whether in Ligue 1 or the Champions League, Blaise Matuidi displayed incredible consistency during his time at PSG and throughout his career. In 2015, he was voted best French player of the year, an exceptional distinction for a defensive midfielder. He finally left the club in 2017, without having won the Champions League but having dominated French football.

On August 18, 2017, he joined the legendary Juventus club, which was then one of the best clubs in the world, certainly composed of an aging team but which had significant experience at the highest level, a team composed of legends in the history of this sport.

He established himself directly in the midfield of the Old Lady's club in a position a little higher on the field. With Miralem Pjanić, Claudio Marchisio or Sami Khedira, the player was on cloud nine and was a major part of the football offered by Juventus Turin. He won 3 Italian championships during his 3 seasons in Italy.

And in 2020, Blaise Matuidi decided to join Inter Milan, in the USA, and be able to quietly end his career, something he would do in 2022, then aged 35.

Blaise Matuidi's international career is also remarkable, he is a major element of Didier Deschamps' French team. Capable of playing as a defensive midfielder or in a more off-centre role, he will make France happy in 2018 by playing in a hybrid defensive midfielder position placed on the left wing of the French team. His offensive and defensive work allowed him to repeat the efforts, and the one who was considered "not very technical" was nevertheless capable of incredible flashes of genius.

In 2016, he reached the Euro final with his country after having achieved XXL performances, notably against Ireland, Iceland and Portugal in the final despite the home defeat:

- Match against Ireland: 90 minutes played, 70 balls touched, 95% of successful passes, 3 key passes, 2 successful dribbles and 6 duels won.

- Match against Iceland: 90 minutes played, 98 balls touched, 94% of successful passes, 1 key pass, 3 successful dribbles, 9 duels won and 1 interception.

- Match against Portugal: 120 minutes played, 96 balls touched, 88% of successful passes, 1 key pass, 8 duels won and 2 interceptions.

Blaise Matuidi was this complete defensive player, quite good at recovering the ball, very good at keeping the ball and above all a player who gave 200% on the pitch. The consecration of his career came in 2018 when he won the World Cup, starting and positioned as a defensive left winger in Didier Deschamps' 4-2-3-1. Blaise Matuidi notably shone in the match against Belgium, one of the best matches of his career with the French team: 86 minutes played, 43 balls touched, 86% of successful passes, 2 key passes, 12 duels won and 3 interceptions. He finally retired from international football in 2019 after having played 84 times for his country.

- Member of the Ligue 1 All-Star Team at the UNFP Trophies in 2013 and 2016

- France Football French Player of the Year in 2015

- Knight of the Legion of Honor in 2018

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