page_title: Lilian Thuram
section_title: Style of play
hierarchical_section_title: Lilian Thuram / Style of play
caption_attribution_description: English: Lilian Thuram shirt displayed at the "Only a Game" exhibition at the World Museum, Liverpool. [1]
context_page_description: Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien is a French retired professional football defender and the most capped player in the history of the France national team with 142 appearances between 1994 and 2008.
  Thuram played at the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, including ten in Serie A with both Parma and Juventus. With France, Thuram was a key player for the team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, his side also won UEFA Euro 2000, and was in the runner-up squad for the 2006 World Cup. A quick, powerful and versatile player, he was capable of playing both as a centre-back or as a right-back, and was competent both offensively and defensively. Despite his physical and aggressive playing style, Thuram has been described as a "studious" figure off the pitch; in 2010, he became a UNICEF ambassador, and has stood out for his initiatives to fight against racism.
context_section_description: Thuram was an extremely dominant, consistent, athletic and attentive footballer, who was considered by pundits to be one of the best defenders in the world in his prime. As a defender, he was known for his strength, pace, stamina and his outstanding physical, tactical, and technical attributes, as well as his elegance, intelligence, ability to read the game, his heavy marking of opponents, and his aggressive tackling, which made him difficult to beat in one on one situations; he also excelled in the air. As a full-back, he was known for his ability to make attacking runs up the flank and contribute to his team's offensive play after winning back the ball. A large, powerful and versatile player, who was equally competent offensively as he was defensively, he could play on either flank or in the centre, due to his ability with either foot, often alternating between playing as a centre-back or as a right-back, and was even deployed in midfield on occasion. In spite of his physical and tenacious playing style, he was also known to be a fair player.
caption: Thuram's signed Barça shirt, on display at the World Museum in Liverpool, 2008
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