Anthony Le Tallec

Anthony Le Tallec (born 3 October 1984) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward or an attacking midfielder for Liverpool, Sochaux, and Annecy FC.

Anthony Le Tallec
Le Tallec playing for Le Mans in 2009
Personal information
Date of birth (1984-10-03) 3 October 1984[1]
Place of birth Hennebont, France
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1992–2001 Le Havre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2008 Liverpool 17 (0)
2001–2003 → Le Havre (loan) 54 (7)
2005 → Saint-Étienne (loan) 7 (1)
2005–2006 → Sunderland (loan) 27 (4)
2006–2007 → Sochaux (loan) 25 (4)
2007–2008 → Le Mans (loan) 26 (5)
2008–2010 Le Mans 70 (14)
2010–2012 Auxerre 52 (8)
2011–2012 Auxerre B 2 (0)
2012–2015 Valenciennes 71 (20)
2014 Valenciennes B 2 (1)
2015–2017 Atromitos 53 (13)
2017 Astra Giurgiu 18 (1)
2018–2019 Orléans 37 (8)
2019–2021 Annecy 17 (2)
Total 478 (88)
International career
2001 France U17 6 (3)
2005–2008 France U21 4 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Liverpool

Born in Hennebont,[1] Le Tallec was signed from Le Havre AC by Liverpool in 2001, along with his cousin Florent Sinama Pongolle,[2] by manager Gérard Houllier. This was after impressive performances for France at the UEFA European Under-16 Championship and the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with the player being awarded the 'Silver Ball' as the second best player (behind his cousin) in the latter tournament as the national team emerged champions;[3] both players remained a further two years at Le Havre, loaned by the Reds.[2]

Le Tallec scored his first and only Liverpool goal in a UEFA Cup tie against NK Olimpija Ljubljana in October 2003.[4] After his return, he also featured in the club's victorious run in the UEFA Champions League, starting in the home leg of the quarter-final tie against Juventus F.C.[5] but failing to appear in the squad of 18 for the final itself.

For 2005–06, Le Tallec joined fellow Premier League side Sunderland on loan, in a bid to gain some more first-team football. He stated: "I am a competitor and I want to play all the time, but with Liverpool it was impossible. I chose to come to Sunderland because I need to play every week". In a disappointing season for the club, who finished bottom of the table, he was its top scorer with only six goals in all competitions; this included a header against Fulham, helping the Black Cats pick up their only home win.[6]

In May 2006, after Sunderland announced they would not be looking to retain his services, Le Tallec returned to Liverpool but was not given a squad number by boss Rafael Benítez. At the end of the month, he joined up with the French under-21s for the European Championship which took place in Portugal, only featuring in the final group match after the team had already secured qualification and being substituted after 61 minutes.[7]

Return to France

In August 2006, Le Tallec moved to FC Sochaux-Montbéliard on another loan deal. He won the Coupe de France scoring a late equaliser after coming off the bench in the final, which eventually led to a penalty shootout against Olympique de Marseille – a fellow Liverpool player out on loan, Djibril Cissé, netted two goals in the match for the opposition.[8]

On 31 August 2007, it was reported that Scottish Premier League club Heart of Midlothian were close to signing Le Tallec.[9] However, the player ended up moving to Ligue 1 team Le Mans Union Club 72, on loan for the entire season with a view to a permanent deal for approximately £1.1 million pounds.[10]

In July 2008, Le Mans decided to make the loan permanent, signing Le Tallec to a four-year contract.[11][12] On 27 June 2010, following their top flight relegation, he reached an agreement with fellow league club AJ Auxerre for a four-year deal, worth €3 million.[13]

Atromitos

On 19 July 2015, Le Tallec signed with Atromitos F.C. for two years.[14] He cited the possibility of playing in the UEFA Europa League as the main reason for his signature.[15]

Later years

On 3 July 2017, the 32-year-old Le Tallec joined FC Astra Giurgiu in the Romanian Liga I.[16] He returned to his country in the following transfer window, moving to Ligue 2's US Orléans.[17]

In September 2019, Le Tallec signed with Annecy FC.[18]

He retired from professional football in May 2021 after a twenty-year career.[19]

Personal life

Le Tallec's younger brother, Damien, is also a footballer. Another French youth international who was groomed at Le Havre, he started his professional career in Germany with Borussia Dortmund.[20]

In June 2023, Le Tallec was a witness to a mass stabbing attack in an Annecy park in which four children and an adult were injured.[21]

Career statistics
As of match played on 6 February 2021[22][23][24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool 2003–04 Premier League 13040204[lower-alpha 1]1231
2004–05 4000003[lower-alpha 2]070
2005–06 0000002[lower-alpha 2]020
Total 170402091321
Sunderland (loan) 2005–06 Premier League 27400——274
Sochaux (loan) 2006–07 Ligue 1 12400——124
Le Mans 2007–08 Ligue 1 26500——265
2008–09 34600——346
2009–10 3680021—389
Total 96190021009820
Auxerre 2010–11 Ligue 1 22110103[lower-alpha 2]0271
2011–12 2431021—274
2012–13 Ligue 2 640020—84
Total 528205130629
Auxerre B 2011–12 CFA 20———20
Valenciennes 2012–13 Ligue 1 20510——215
2013–14 1720010—182
2014–15 Ligue 2 34132010—3713
Total 71203020007620
Valenciennes B 2013–14 CFA 2 21———21
Atromitos 2015–16 Super League Greece 27781—3[lower-alpha 1]0388
2016–17 26640——306
Total 531312100306814
Astra Giurgiu 2017–18 Liga I 18120—4[lower-alpha 1]1242
Orléans 2017–18 Ligue 2 9100——91
2018–19 2673040—337
2019–20 2000——20
Total 378304000448
Annecy 2019–20 National 2 6121——82
2020–21 National 11111——122
Total 172320000204
Career total 4048029315219246787
  1. Appearances in UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Club

Liverpool

Sochaux

International

France U17

Individual

References
  1. "Anthony Le Tallec". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  2. Yau Tan, Choon (24 April 2009). "Bright future ahead for rising French cousins". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  3. Anthony Le Tallec – FIFA competition record (archived)
  4. "Liverpool overwhelm Olimpija". BBC Sport. 15 October 2003. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  5. "Liverpool 2–1 Juventus". BBC Sport. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  6. "Sunderland 2–1 Fulham". ESPN Soccernet. 4 May 2006. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  7. Harrold, Michael (28 May 2006). "Double celebration in Braga". UEFA. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  8. "Cissé's bid for glory thwarted by fellow red". Liverpool F.C. 12 May 2007. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  9. "Nade completes switch to Hearts". BBC Sport. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  10. "Anthony Le Tallec signe au MUC 72" [Anthony Le Tallec signs with MUC 72] (in French). Le Mans FC. 31 August 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  11. "Le Tallec exits Reds for Le Mans". BBC Sport. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  12. "Le Tallec leaves Liverpool for Le Mans". FIFA. 2 July 2008. Archived from the original on 3 July 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  13. "Le Tallec, 4 ans à Auxerre" [Le Tallec, 4 years with Auxerre]. L'Équipe (in French). 27 June 2010. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  14. "Le Tallec signs at Atromitos". SDNA. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  15. "Former prodigy Anthony Le Tallec signs for Atromitos". Gulf News. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  16. "Anthony Le Tallec a semnat cu Astra Giurgiu! Atacantul francez a fost fotbalistul lui Liverpool, cu care a cucerit Liga Campionilor" [Anthony Le Tallec signed with Astra Giurgiu! The French forward was a Liverpool footballer, with whom he won the Champions League]. Libertatea (in Romanian). 3 July 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  17. "Anthony Le Tallec signe finalement à Orléans!" [Anthony Le Tallec signs finally with Orléans!]. L'Équipe (in French). 5 January 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  18. "Transferts: Anthony Le Tallec au FC Annecy en National 2" [Transfers: Anthony Le Tallec to National 2's FC Annecy]. L'Équipe (in French). 2 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  19. "Interview | Anthony Le Tallec: I'm so proud to have played for LFC". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  20. "La galère de Le Tallec en Ukraine" [Le Tallec's ordeal in Ukraine] (in French). Sport. 22 March 2014. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  21. Sommerlad, Joe (8 June 2023). "Ex-Liverpool footballer witnessed knife attack in French Alps: 'I saw injured children on the ground'". The Independent.
  22. Anthony Le Tallec at Soccerway
  23. Anthony Le Tallec at ESPN FC
  24. Anthony Le Tallec at FootballDatabase.eu
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