Mikaël Silvestre participant in 2006 FIFA World Cup
Mikaël Samy Silvestre (born 9 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Silvestre began his career at Rennes in 1996, before moving to Italian club Inter Milan in 1998. He joined Manchester United in 1999, where he won five Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League in his final season at the club in 2008. He then joined Arsenal, followed by a move to German side Werder Bremen two years later. After a further two years in Germany, he moved to the United States to play for Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer, before signing for Indian Super League side Chennaiyin in 2014, where he retired at the end of the season.
Silvestre has also played for the France national team, earning 40 caps between 2001 and 2006. He represented France at two FIFA World Cups (2002 and 2006, winning a runners-up medal in the latter edition of the tournament), UEFA Euro 2004, and two conquests of the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003.International career
Silvestre was previously a member of French junior team at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. He earned his first senior cap for France on 27 February 2001 in a friendly against Germany that ended in a 1–0 win. He won the Confederations Cup both in 2001 and 2003 with France.
Silvestre also played one game in the French squad that made the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but did not play again for the national team after the tournament. He was recalled to the squad by Raymond Domenech for the 19 November 2008 friendly against Uruguay, but was an unused substitute. Raymond Domenech said he was in contention for a place at the 2010 World Cup, but he did not get a place. Silvestre was in the squad for a friendly against Romania in 2011, but again was an unused substitute.
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