Frank ribery

Biography
1983
Born April 7, 1983 in
Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-
de-Calais.
1986
At the age of two he was
thrown through the
windshield in a car crash
that resulted in scars on
the right side of his face
and his forehead. Franck
now regards the
horrendous accident as a
source of strength and
motivation. "I was a
fighter," he recalls.
2002
Converted to Islam
around the time he
married his Muslim
fiance Wahiba Belhami
who is of Algerian
descent (originally from
Nedroma, Tlemcen). He
adopted the Arabic name
Bilal.
May: Suffered relegation
from French National
league with US Boulogne
after finishing 17th in the
20-team season.
2004
May: Helped Brest to win
promotion the French
Ligue 2 after finishing
second in the National
League (Third level).
August 7: Made his
French Ligue 1 debut in
the Metz 1-0 win over
Nantes.
November 11: Scored his
first French Ligue 1 goal
in the 82nd minute of the
Metz 1-1 away draw at
Toulouse.
2005
January: Signed a
contract with Turkish
club Galatasaray, and
went on to help them
win the 2005 Turkish Cup
by scoring a key goal in a
1-0 victory in the semi-
final and scoring a goal
and assisting another in
a 5-1 win in the final
against rivals
Fenerbahce.
July 18: Hizya, his
daughter, is born.
2006
May: Voted France's
Young Player of the
Season for 2005/06
May 15: Previously
uncapped, he is selected
in the France squad for
the World Cup.
May 27: Made National
team debut in the France
1-0 victory over Mexico
at the Stade de France.
He began the match and
was substituted by David
Trezeguet in the 74th
minute.
June 27: Scored his first
international goal, a
crucial one, levelling
France at 1-1 with Spain
in the 41st minute of
their knockout round
match after calmly
rounding the Spanish
keeper, Iker Casillas.
Though Spain were the
favourites, France went
on to win that game 3-1
to book a quarter-final
slot against Brazil.
July 9: Member of the
French squad that lost
the FIFA World Cup final
against Italy 1-1 (3-5 PSO)
in Berlin's
Olympiastadion.
August 04: A few days
after pledging his future
to Olympique Marseille,
France midfielder Franck
Ribery said he wanted to
leave the French club.
"My wish is to leave
Marseille," he told
French Television.
August 10: Franck Ribery
has pledged his future to
Marseille, just days after
announcing he wanted to
leave the club. "I am a
Marseille player and I'm
happy to be here," he
said.
October 12: Included
among the 30 nominees
for the FIFA World Player
of the Year Award.
October 17: Included
among the 50 nominees
for the European
Footballer of the Year
Award.
November 18: Franck
Ribery will be out of
action until the new year
with a groin injury. The
Frenchman said he felt
pain for the first time
the day after Lyon
thrashed Marseille 4-1 in
Ligue 1 three weeks ago.
"I did not have enough
time to rest (after the
World Cup ended in July)
," he added.
2007
May 13: Lost the French
Cup final on penalty
kicks with Marseille
against Sochaux in the
Stade de France.
May 25: Set to join
Bayern Munich in the
summer, a source close
to the German club
revealed, in a deal
believed to be worth 15
millions euros.
June 7: Bayern Munich
officially anounced the
signing of Ribery on a
four year deal from
Marseille for a club
record fee of €25 million.
He was given the number
7 shirt, previously worn
by club legend Mehmet
Scholl, who had retired
the preceding season.
July 6: Ribery made his
first appearance against
FT Gern in a friendly. The
game ended 18-0 for
Bayern Munich and
Ribery scored 2 goals.
August 11: Made his
Bundesliga debut in the
FC Bayern's 3-0 home
defeat of Hansa Rostock.
He started the match
and was substituted in
the 79th minute by Jose
Sosa.
August 18: Scored on a
penalty kick his first
Bundesliga goal during
FC Bayern's 4-0 away
victory at Werder
Bremen.
2008
April 19: Helped Bayern
to a record 14th German
Cup title after defeating
Borussia Dortmund 2-1
after extra time in the
final in Berlin.
May 5: Won the German
Bundesliga with FC
Bayern, it was the 21st
German title for the
Bavarian side.
May 26: Voted Bundesliga
player of the year in a
poll of 268 league players
published in Kicker
newspaper. Ribery won
57.8 percent of the vote,
well ahead of Luca Toni
who came in second
place with 24.8 percent
and Diego Ribas with 8.5.
June 17: Lasted only ten
minutes of the European
Championship Group C
finale against Italy, lost
0-2, being carried off the
pitch after getting
caught in a tangle of legs
with Gianluca
Zambrotta. The exact
nature of the injury was
a rupture of the ligament
connecting the fibula to
the tibia in his lower left
leg.
June 19: Come through an
operation on his left leg
in Germany, two days
after he was forced out
of Les Bleus' final
European Championship
Group C game in Zurich
with a severely twisted
ankle. Bayern expect
Ribery's rehabilitation to
take seven to eight
weeks.
August 6: Became only
the second foreign player
to be named Footballer
of the Year in Germany
after claiming the prize
ahead of Michael Ballack
and Luca Toni.
September 24: Made a
happy return from injury
to help holders FC Bayern
M?nchen into the
German Cup last 16 with
a 2-0 win against 1. FC
Nuernberg.
FIFA World Cup™
Germany 2006 player's
profile
The Olympique Marseille
midfielder recently came
into national team
calculations and is now
on the shopping list of
several clubs across
Europe.
Extremely fast and
tricky, leading the
charge on the left flank.
Tottenham, Arsenal and
Turkey’s Galatasaray -
where he played in 2005 -
are among the clubs to
have been linked with
him.
Marseille is his sixth
career club and he is only
23.