Steve Marlet

Steve Marlet

Personal information
Date of birth	10 January 1974
Place of birth	Pithiviers, France
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Forward, Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1996	Red Star	137	(42)
1996–2000	Auxerre	107	(25)
2000–2001	Lyon	36	(13)
2001–2005	Fulham	54	(11)
2003–2005	→ Marseille (loan)	54	(16)
2005–2006	VfL Wolfsburg	21	(1)
2006–2007	Lorient	22	(1)
2009–2011	Aubervilliers	44	(13)
2011–2012	Red Star	20	(2)
Total		495	(124)
National team
2000–2004	France	23	(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Steve Marlet (born 10 January 1974 in Pithiviers) is a retired French footballer and coach, who played as a forward. He was capped 23 times and scored six goals for the French national team, winning the Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003 and featuring at Euro 2004.

Club career

Fulham

Marlet held the record for Fulham's biggest transfer fee until July 2008, as the newly promoted Premier League team paid £11.5 million to sign him in August 2001 from Olympique Lyonnais.^[1][2] His expectations was well received by France national team coach Roger Lemerre, suggesting "He will progress at Fulham".^[3] However, He only managed 11 goals in 54 games, as then-manager Jean Tigana was dismissed during the season. He played just one game in the 2003–04 season for Fulham, in which he scored. He was then loaned out to Olympique de Marseille on 27 August, with an option to sign permanently.^[4]

While on loan, Marlet partnered Didier Drogba up front as Marseille advanced through the 2003-04 UEFA Cup, before losing the final to Valencia.^[5]

Marlet's poor performances for Fulham led to chairman Mohammed Al Fayed taking Tigana to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for the high transfer fee. Tigana, who had ties to Lyon and had briefly been Marlet's agent, was accused of signing him for an exorbitant fee and taking a cut of the fee for himself. The charges were quickly dropped.^[6]

Wolfsburg and Lorient

On 21 August 2005, after his release from Fulham, Marlet signed a one-year deal with the option for a second year, at VfL Wolfsburg of the German Bundesliga. On his arrival, manager Thomas Strunz said "Steve Marlet is very well-known in international football, a player who is fast and versatile".^[7]

Marlet only scored one Bundesliga goal and was not given the second year of his contract. He trained for two weeks with Paris St. Germain before signing a one-year deal at FC Lorient, newly promoted to Ligue 1. He was attracted by the attacking style of manager Christian Gourcuff.^[8]

Later career

After being released by Lorient, he went on trial with Ipswich Town from 6 to 30 October 2007,^[9] Chicago Fire and Reims.^[6]

In July 2011, he joined FC Red Star Saint-Ouen in the third tier of French football, the Championnat National, where he spent the last season of his career.

Club statistics

League matches only

Club	Season	Apps	Goals
Red Star 93	1990–91	0	0
	1991–92	7	1
	1992–93	31	5
	1993–94	40	9
	1994–95	24	11
	1995–96	35	16
AJ Auxerre	1996–97	24	3
	1997–98	18	6
	1998–99	32	7
	1999–00	33	9
Olympique Lyon	2000–01	31	12
	2001–02	5	1
Fulham F.C.	2001/02	25	6
	2002–03	28	4
	2003–04	1	1
Olympique Marseille	2003–04	23	9
	2004–05	31	7
VfL Wolfsburg	2005–06	21	1
FC Lorient	2006–07	22	1

International career

International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	30 May 2001	Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu, South Korea	South Korea	1 – 0	5 – 0	2001 FIFA Confederations Cup
2.	22 March 2002	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Scotland	5 – 0	5 – 0	Friendly match
3.	12 October 2002	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Slovenia	2 – 0	5 – 0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
4.	12 October 2002	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Slovenia	3 – 0	5 – 0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
5.	20 August 2003	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Switzerland	2 – 0	2 – 0	Friendly match
6.	24 May 2004	Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France	Andorra	4 – 0	4 – 0	Friendly match

References

1. Simon Rice (23 September 2015). "The worst transfer deals in Premier League history". The Independent.
2. "MARLET JOINS FULHAM". Fulham Official Website. 28 August 2001. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
3. "Right thing to do, Steve". Fulham Official Website. 29 August 2001. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
4. "Round-up: Marlet moves to Marseille". Telegraph.co.uk. 27 August 2003.
5. "BBC SPORT - Football - Other European - Valencia 2-0 Marseille". bbc.co.uk.
6. WSC 270 Aug 09. "When Saturday Comes - Steve Marlet". wsc.co.uk.
7. "ESPN". go.com.
8. Patrick Haond. "Lorient land Marlet". Sky Sports.
9. "Steve Marlet - Player Profile - Sky Sports Football". SkySports.

External links

• Steve Marlet – French League Stats at LFP.fr (French)
• Sporting-Heroes.net photos and stats