Robert Pires

**Robert Emmanuel Pires** is a footballer who played for **Hashtag United** (men).

## Career

### As a Player

#### Pre-HTU

Reims Sainte-Anne (youth)
Between July 1980 to June 1989, Pires was attached at youth level to Reims Sainte-Anne; a club that would later rename their stadium in his honour.

Reims
In July 1989, Pires switched to Reims' academy. During their 1991–92 campaign in Division 3, the midfielder was promoted into their first-team squad - making 5 appearances and scoring 2 goals.

Metz
July 1992 saw Pires head off to Metz of Division 1. In his first season, he would predominantly feature for their B team in Division 3 - netting 5 times across 23 games. His senior debut for *Les Grenats* arrived on 1 April 1993 in a two-goal win on home soil against Lyon, which preceded a second start on 9 April at Toulon. In the following campaign, which he concluded with 25 appearances, Pires scored his first goal for the club on 23 September 1993 in a 3–0 road win at Marseille. After appearing against Monaco for his first game of the 1994–95 season, the midfielder netted his opening goal of it on 22 September away to Rennes. In October, Pires notched in back-to-back matches against Bordeaux and Saint-Étienne. He did likewise across November and December versus Strasbourg and Bastia.

After wrapping up 1994–95 with goals against Caen, Lens and Sochaux, Pires would add to his tally in the subsequent 1995–96 after converting 13 goals in all competitions; notably scoring league braces away to Cannes and Paris Saint-Germain and in a semi-final victory over Guingamp in the Coupe de la Ligue, which Metz would go on to win via penalties - as Pires scored his attempt. He would also appear for them in the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup. 12 goals followed for Pires in the 1996–97 season, as he opened his Division 1 account with a hat-trick on 27 August 1996 in a 3–1 win over Strasbourg at home; further strikes occurred against Auxerre (brace), Marseille, Strasbourg, Nancy, Montpellier (cup), Guingamp, Rennes and Bastia.

Pires would again hit the 13 goal mark in 1997–98, as each goal arrived in seperate fixtures - though the midfielder would net in 3 straight August appearances versus Châteauroux, Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, prior converting in 4 consecutive games across November and December against Toulouse, Bordeaux, Châteauroux and Paris Saint-Germain. Pires would depart at the conclusion of the season, having scored 47 goals in 196 appearances.

Marseille
Marseille completed the signing of Pires ahead of the 1998–99 season. He debuted in a two-goal home win over Nantes in Division 1 on 7 August 1998, before scoring his first 2 goals for *Les Phocéens* on 29 September in a 4–0 second leg win at the Stade Vélodrome versus Sigma Olomouc in the UEFA Cup first round. He would net again in that competition in a round of 16 first leg at Monaco, en route to the club losing the final 3–0 to Parma at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. In league action, Pires would score singular goals versus Bastia, Lorient, Strasbourg and Nantes - which he split with an 18 December brace versus Le Havre. He finished his first season with 47 appearances.

In 1999–00, his last season with Marseille, Pires would make 46 appearances and score on 5 occassions. He scored Division 1 goals versus Strasbourg and Troyes, a Coupe de France strike versus Segré and UEFA Champions League goals against Sturm Graz and Chelsea. Pires would leave in the off-season, securing a move to the homeland of that aforementioned club.

Arsenal
In July 2000, Pires was revealed as a new signing by Premier League side Arsenal. His debut came on 19 August in a defeat on the road at Sunderland, as he replaced Freddie Ljungberg after 66 miuntes at the Stadium of Light. In October, Pires scored his first goals for *The Gunners* in a UEFA Champions League first group stage 1–1 draw out at Lazio, prior to netting again days later in the league versus West Ham United away from home. He would net further in the league against Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Derby County as they placed 2nd. They would also lose the FA Cup final to Liverpool in his first season, after he had scored en route to the finale versus Queens Park Rangers, Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur.

2001–02 would prove more successful for *The Gunners*, as Pires scored 13 goals in 45 games as the club secured a domestic double with the Premier League and FA Cup; though meant that he missed the latter final. 2002–03 would start with success in the Community Shield versus Liverpool (though he missed the match) and would conclude with triumph over Southampton to retain the FA Cup; as he scored the final's only goal at the Millennium Stadium. In the league, as they came 2nd, Pires notably netted a brace over Fulham on 1 February 2003 and a hat-trick versus Southampton on 7 May. 2003–04 saw Arsenal go the league season undefeated - becoming the first side to do so in English men's top-flight football since Preston North End in 1888–89.

In the 'invincible' season of 2003–04, Pires would score 14 Premier League goals for the second straight campaign - noteworthily scoring in streaks of 3 twice, initially in November against Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City and then across February and March versus Charlton Athletic, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers. He would also strike in 3 straight UEFA Champions League appearances with Inter Milan, Lokomotiv Moscow and Celta Vigo. Pires netted 14 league goals for the third time in a row in 2004–05, notably adding braces against Aston Villa and Everton. By the season's end, *The Gunners* had won the Community Shield (without Pires) and FA Cup (Pires scoring en route versus Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers) - both at the expense of Manchester United.

The 2005–06 season would turn out to be Pires' last with Arsenal, as they ended it without a trophy. A UEFA Champions League trip to Ajax saw the Frenchman net his first goal of the campaign, which was followed by further 2005 goals against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and versus Thun in the Champions League. Pires opened 2006 with an FA Cup double over Cardiff City, which preceded other goals across the season's second half against Middlesbrough, West Ham United, Charlton Athletic, West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic. The season would conclude with a Champions League final loss to Barcelona. In that match, Pires was subbed off after 18 minutes due to Jens Lehmann's red card - a decision that he later stated "killed him" and his team's chances.

Villarreal
In July 2006, Pires would officially complete a move to La Liga with Villarreal. He would appear for his first 2 appearances during that month home and away against Maribor in the Intertoto Cup third round. However, a serious knee injury sustained in a friendly match with Cádiz would see Pires' league debut delayed until an 18 March 2007 win over Real Sociedad; replacing Matías Fernández on 58 minutes. Next time out, on 31 March, the midfielder netted his first goal for *El Submarino Amarillo* in a 3–3 road draw with Real Betis. In his following league appearance, Pires was sent off in a defeat at home to Atlético Madrid; returning on 22 April with a goal in a victory at El Madrigal to Barcelona. He ended his La Liga season with 11 appearances and 3 goals; having netted the last on 13 May at Osasuna.

41 appearances would come Pires' way in the subsequent 2007–08 season, as well as goals against Real Zaragoza, Valencia and Espanyol in La Liga and versus Las Palmas in the Copa del Rey. In his penultimate campaign with them, 2008–09, the midfielder converted versus Athletic Club, Getafe and Real Madrid - though actually opened his account for the season on 21 October 2008 in the UEFA Champions League against Aalborg in October. 2009–10 would see Pires score 4 in La Liga (Xerez, Tenerife and, home and away, Sevilla), 2 in the Champions League (brace, Lazio) and 1 in the Copa del Rey (Puertollano) across 37 games. He would depart at the season's conclusion.

Aston Villa
Having spent time training with Arsene Wenger's Arsenal to keep fitness levels up, Pires would make a return to the Premier League in November 2010 with Aston Villa under Gérard Houllier. He made his bow for *The Villans* on 21 November at Ewood Park versus Blackburn Rovers, coming off the bench to take the place of Stephen Ireland after 68 minutes. Pires would score his one and only Villa goal against the same opponents on 29 January 2011, as they eliminated *Rovers* from the FA Cup fourth round. He appeared for the final time on 30 April as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat at The Hawthorns to West Bromwich Albion.

Goa
In early September 2014, Pires made a return to football - after 3 years away - by joining Goa of the inaugural Indian Super League. He debuted in a home loss to Chennaiyin on 15 October. Afer more appearances versus NorthEast United, Atlético de Kolkata, Kerala Blasters, Mumbai City and Delhi Dynamos, Pires netted his only goal for the *Gaurs* in his antepenultimate appearance against Delhi Dynamos on 13 November. The midfielder would participate further versus Mumbai City and ATK, before leaving the Indian outfit at the end of the campaign.

France
After representing his nation at youth level around 1996, including at the Olympics, Pires made his France senior debut on 31 August 1996 in a friendly match with Mexico at the Parc des Princes. In his second cap, the midfielder scored his first goal in a friendly at the same venue on 9 October versus Turkey, which preceded a second goal for his country - again at that stadium - in a 2–1 exhibition triumph over the Netherlands on 26 February 1997. In the following year, Pires made 3 appearances at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in his homeland; as they won the competition after defeating Brazil in the final at Stade de France - though he wouldn't feature past the round of 16. He notched his third goal for France away at Russia on 10 October 1999.

After netting his next 2 goals in home and away friendlies with Croatia on 13 November 1999 and 28 May 2000 and 1 in an encounter with FIFA XI, Pies would represent his nation across the next two years at both UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup - as *Les Bleus* came out as champions in both, with Pires netting at the latter against Mexico (group stage) and Brazil (semi-final). He would then score friendly goals versus Denmark, Algeria and Egypt, prior to netting consecutively against Japan, New Zealand and Turkey as they won the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. In the years in between those two Confederation Cup triumphs, Pires missed the 2002 FIFA World Cup due to injury. Pires stopped featuring for his national team in 2004 after winning 79 caps, predominantly due to a dispute with manager Raymond Domenech.

Retirement
On 25 February 2016, Pires officially announced his retirement from professional football.

#### HTU

2018–19
Ahead of the 2018 Wembley Cup, Pires was selected by HTU as the club's 'legend' players. He would start the semi-final defeat to Rebel on 25 September 2018 under manager Jay Devereux at Wembley Stadium in front of 34,562 fans.

### As a Staff Member

Around 2016, Pires was coaching at Arsenal.

## Personal Life

Pires was born in Reims, France to a Spanish mother and a Portuguese father. In 2003, he and wife Nathalie divorced following a 6-year marriage. Soon after, Pires met Jessica Lemarie and the two would eventually marry and have two children in Naia (b. 2005) and Theo (b. 2007).

## HTU Statistics

Breakdown

'*Other Cups' includes competitions like the FA Trophy, the FA Vase and friendly tournaments. See also: HTUwiki:DataIssues.*

Appearance (1)
Hashtag United  v  Rebel

## External Links

* Wikipedia
* Soccerbase
* Soccerway
* World Football
* National Football Teams

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Fédération Française de Football" .
2. ↑ "Pires plans to prove Arsenal wrong" , 7 April 2009.
3. ↑ "Pires’ blistering attack on French coach" , 29 October 2004.
4. ↑ "Former Arsenal and France midfielder Robert Pires retires from football" , 25 February 2016.
5. ↑ "Jeff Reine-Adelaide reveals he’s learning from Arsenal legend Robert Pires" , 15 Sptember 2016.
6. ↑ "Lympo Welcomes the Unstoppable Robert Pires to Our Family!" , 2 June 2022.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Top facts about Robert Pires, Le Canard" , 2 May 2022.