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Robert Pirès (born October 29 1973 in Reims, France) is a French international football player, of Portuguese and Spanish descent. He currently plays for Arsenal as a midfielder.
Pirès was a graduate of the FC Metz youth academy, making his senior debut in 1992. During his six seasons there, he scored over 40 goals, prompting a £5 million move to Olympique de Marseille in 1998.
At Marseille, Pirès had a mixed two-year stay. His first season saw him missed the French league title by a point, and his second season saw him suffer a spate of on- and off-field problems, which led him to boycott the club at the season's end.
He joined his current club, Arsenal, for £6 million in 2000 from Marseille. Though initially people criticized him for him saying that the English game was too violent, he silenced his critics after scoring a superb goal against S.S. Lazio in the 2000-2001 Champions League season.
In 2001-02 Pirès had one of his best seasons. He led the assist charts for the Premiership and was voted the FWA Player of the Year for helping Arsenal to the league title; this was despite not playing the last two months of the season after suffering a cruciate ligament injury. After a lengthy layoff, Pirès returned, and was a crucial part of Arsenal's quest for the Premiership title in the 2003-04 season (which they achieved unbeaten).
Pirès was part of France's 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winning squads (Pirès laid on the pass for David Trézéguet's winning goal in the final), but had to miss the 2002 World Cup due to the injury he sustained playing for Arsenal. He also played in 1996 Olympic Games and Euro 2004.
Clubs
- 1992-1998 FC Metz
- 1998-2000 Olympique Marseille
- 2000- Arsenal F.C.
Honors
- World Cup winner - 1998
- European Championship winner - 2000
- FA Cup winner (3) - 2002, 2003, 2005
- FA Premier league winner (2) - 2001/2002, 2003/2004
- Football Writers' Association Player of the Year - 2001/2002
External links
| Preceded by: Teddy Sheringham | Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 2002 | Succeeded by: Thierry Henry Template:End boxbg:Робер Пирес de:Robert Pires fr:Robert Pirès ja:ロベール・ピレス |