Micoud calls time on playing career
Thursday, September 18, 2008
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Without a club since the summer, former France, FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Werder Bremen playmaker Johan Micoud has announced his retirement from football at the age of 35.
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International career
Without a club since his contract with Bordeaux expired in the summer, the UEFA EURO 2000™ winner has decided to hang up his boots. "At the end of last season, I already felt I didn't have the same motivation anymore," he said. Capped 17 times by Les Bleus, for whom he scored one international goal, Micoud rose through the ranks at AS Cannes before turning out for Bordeaux from 1996 to 2000, winning the Ligue 1 title in 1998/99.
Wine business
Following his initial stint at the Stade Chaban-Delmas, he spent two years in Italy with Parma FC before moving to the Bundesliga where he picked up the nickname Le Chef (the boss) as well as the 2003/04 German league and cup double. A return to Bordeaux followed in 2006. "For me, football is about sharing a win with your mates," he said. "Nothing else is bigger. My favourite memory is of winning a six-a-side tournament with [AS] Vallauris (his first amateur team) and beating Etoile Filante Bastiase in the final. It was magical to share that with all my school friends. It was the same when we won the title with Bordeaux." Micoud will now concentrate on starting a wine business with current Bordeaux defender Mathieu Chalmé.