Antoine Sibierski

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Antoine Sibierski
Personnel
Surname Antoine Sibierski
birthday 5th August 1974
place of birth Lille ,  France
position Midfield , storm
Juniors
Years station
Lille OSC
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1992-1996 Lille OSC 97 (17)
1996-1998 AJ Auxerre 42 0(8)
1998-2000 FC Nantes 50 (17)
2000-2003 RC Lens 89 (23)
2003-2006 Manchester City 92 (11)
2006-2007 Newcastle United 26 0(3)
2007-2009 Wigan Athletic 33 0(4)
2008 →  Norwich City  (loan) 15 0(2)
1 Only league games are given.

Antoine Sibierski (born August 5, 1974 in Lille , France ) is a former French football player . Although he usually played the role of playmaker in the central midfield position, Sibierski could also be used as a striker - both in the front row and as a "lagging striker".

Athletic career

Lille OSC

Sibierski began his footballing career in his home country at Lille OSC and developed into a key player in the team during the four-year professional period between 1992 and 1996. At the age of 18 he made his debut on October 17, 1992 against Sporting Toulon and with his 97 appearances in Division 1 and 17 goals, he was an important creative element of the team as the number 10 player in attacking midfield. In the summer of 1996 he crowned his achievements at the end of his career station in Lille with the Olympic participation in Atlanta . Previously, on June 9, 1996, he had signed a four-year contract with the reigning French champion AJ Auxerre , thus underpinning his ambitions. Although FC Metz and RC Lens had bid for Sibierski's services for a long time , the prospect of participating in the Champions League played an important role in the choice of club.

AJ Auxerre

In the team supervised by Guy Roux , Sibierski should succeed Corentin Martins, who had migrated to Deportivo La Coruña , and was able to prove himself in the new team in the 1996/97 season. He moved with the AJ Auxerre up to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and was eliminated there against Borussia Dortmund . In September 1997, he tested positive for nandrolone during a doping control . However, he appealed against the six-month ban and in February 1998 he was acquitted because of scientific doubts. At the end of the season, the club management sold him to FC Nantes .

FC Nantes

In Nantes, Sibierski found his strength back, especially in his second year, winning the French Cup in 2000 - he scored both goals for his Canaris in the final against Calais RUFC  - and also scored four goals in the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup six games; in the third round his club failed at Arsenal . In addition, he clearly surpassed his best performance of the season to date with 13 league goals this season.

RC Lens

Sibierski then moved to RC Lens , who had won the French championship two years earlier and had narrowly failed in the UEFA Cup semi-finals at Arsenal FC. His three-year career in Lens started disappointingly, as relegation could only just be avoided in the first season. The development turned positive only a year later and Sibierski won the French runner-up with his team. During his time in Lens, Sibierski became the team captain.

Manchester City

For a transfer fee of one million euros, Kevin Keegan signed Sibierski in August 2003 as a potential successor to Eyal Berkovic who was willing to emigrate - but who ultimately stayed with the club until 2004. He scored his first goal for City on his debut against Charlton Athletic , but in the period that followed, the signings of Steve McManaman and Claudio Reyna would put additional pressure on Sibierski. He was therefore primarily a substitute and was in the starting line-up in only 18 of 33 games - he scored five goals. In the 2005/06 season he fought for a long time to renew his contract. He had played his way back to the regular formation in the previous season, but has now again acted as a substitute in 12 of 24 games. Nevertheless, Sibierski finally agreed with the club on a one-year contract extension until summer 2007.

Newcastle United

Regardless of this, Manchester City's management negotiated with RC Lens in the run-up to the 2006/07 season to sign the highly regarded midfielder Olivier Thomert in a swap deal with Sibierski, before Newcastle United on the last day of the transfer period on August 31, 2006 - only two hours and twenty minutes before the deadline - Sibierski signed. In the following of the “Magpies” this personality was initially viewed with skepticism, as the purchases from Michael Owen , Scott Parker and Emre from the previous season meant that more high-profile commitments could now be expected.

In his first game for Newcastle United, he scored straight away in a UEFA Cup first- round encounter against Levadia Tallinn . In the English championship he came on September 17, 2006 against West Ham United to his debut and let his first league goal follow in a 1-0 win against Portsmouth FC . Especially his four goals in seven games on the European stage silenced the initial doubters and Sibierski became more and more an important part of the team. Since the "Magpies" had to struggle with serious injury problems, he was particularly convincing with his versatility, which he demonstrated by storming alongside Obafemi Martins or in the 4-5-1 system, depending on the tactical direction attacking midfielder.

Despite this positive development, however, the players and club could not agree on a contract extension, as Sibierski insisted on a two-year contract, but the club management only offered an extension for another season.

Wigan Athletic

Sibierski finally moved to Wigan Athletic on June 4, 2007 , where he received the desired two-year contract. There he introduced himself well into the new team in the first three championship games with one goal each. He played his last league game on February 28, 2009 against Chelsea .

successes

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Doping scandal shakes France rhein-zeitung.de October 23, 1997
  2. ↑ DOPAGE. Arribagé et Guérin suspendus, Sibierski blanchi. liberation.fr February 26, 1998
  3. ^ "Man City land Sibierski" (BBC Sport)
  4. ↑ "Man City brush Charlton aside" (BBC Sport)
  5. ^ "Sibierski happy to please the Magpies" (icNewcastle)
  6. ↑ "Wigan sign Bramble and Sibierski" (BBC Sport)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Sibierski, Antoine
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH 5th August 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH Lille