Barthez Bids Adieu to Football
By: Bob | October 5th, 2006
The 2006 World Cup Final will go down in the record books as Fabien Barthez’s last game.
The French international announced today that he is retiring from football, a move somewhat necessitated by the fact that he hasn’t found a club to take him on after he left Olympique Marseille last season.
Barthez hit the scene in 1991 and seemingly has played forever, putting in time with Manchester United, Toulouse and Monaco. He won the Champions League with Marseilles in 1993 and the 1998 World Cup with France, but it is his time at Manchester United that I will always remember. Not because he was the best keeper in the world – although at one time he was one of the best – but because of his eccentricities and personality. He liked to take chances in goal and he made easy saves look difficult, and difficult saves easy. You either loved him or hated him, there was little room in between.
Below is a little montage of Barthez at his best and worst.
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Count me as one of the ones who loved him. (Although at one point in the World Cup, I agreed with a blogger who said — after he batted a ball into an awaiting body part of an opposing player rather than catching it — “Yo! Barthez! Ever hear of opposable thumbs?!”)
I’m sorry it ended with that World Cup game, and sorry he’ll always be remembered as a punch line in the Coup de Boule song.
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United States
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In his prime, Barthez was actually a very fine keeper. He made some amazing saves. Loved his save against Beckham at the exciting 2004 England v. France match. I think he’s one of the most memorable keepers of the sport and he’s one of the vets from the “golden generation” of the early 90s - early 2000s who I’ll miss very much.
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United States
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