William Gallas

**William Éric Gallas** is a footballer who played for **Hashtag United** (men).

## Career

### Pre-HTU

Youth
Gallas played youth football in France, initially signing with AVG of Villeneuve-la-Garenne in 1987. In 1992, the defender would move to Racing Club. After a short stint training at the famed INF Clairefontaine training centre, Gallas joined Caen in 1994.

Caen
In mid-1994, Gallas signed with top-flight Caen. However, he would initially feature for the Division 1 side, instead scoring 1 goal in 8 appearances for their reserve team in Championnat de France Amateur as they finished atop Group D in 1994–95. In 1995–96, following Caen's relegation, Gallas made his senior bow for the club on 8 September 1995 during a home win over Niort; having come off the bench early in the first half to replace Stéphane Moreau. He made 19 appearances in all competitions that season as they won promotion back to the top division at the first attempt. His Division 1 debut arrived on 10 August 1996 as Caen lost at home to Lens. Gallas was sent off versus Bordeaux later in the campaign, which would be his last *Malherbe*.

Marseille
1997 saw Gallas move across Division 1 to join Marseille. Like with his previous club, the defender would initially appear for their reserves in the Championnat de France Amateur; featuring 5 times in 1997–98. His senior debut did, however, occur in the same season, as he made his bow in a 2–1 loss away to Auxerre on 17 April 1998. He also appeared in matches with Strasbourg and Le Havre to end 1997–98. Gallas netted his first goal for *Les Olympiens* on 19 October 1999 in a UEFA Champions League group stage win over reigning champions Manchester United. He left at the end of 2000–01, a season that saw him score against Troyes (he was sent off in the reverse fixture, which was his final game for them) and Guingamp, having appeared in 108 matches and netting thrice.

Chelsea
Ahead of the 2001–02 season, Gallas completed a transfer to England with Premiership side Chelsea. His first competitive appearance for *The Blues* came in a home draw with Newcastle United on 19 August 2001, having replaced John Terry early on. In March 2002, Gallas scored twice in a week as he netted in an FA Cup (a competition they would end as runners-up; losing to future team Arsenal) quarter-final win over Tottenham Hotspur on 9 March and in a league victory at home to Sunderland on 16 March. 2002–03 would see the defender score 4 goals in the Premiership, initially versus Manchester United prior to notching against Sunderland, Charlton Athletic and Manchester City - all of which occurred at Stamford Bridge.

Gallas scored in the UEFA Champions League group stage versus Sparta Prague in 2003–04, before netting against West Bromwich Albion and Fulham in the league in 2004–05 - which they ended with the Premiership title under new manager José Mourinho, as they also secured the Carling Cup. The Community Shield followed in the early stages of 2005–06, which would turn out to be his final campaign with Chelsea - ending it with league (which they won again) goals versus Fulham, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Manchester United. During his time with the club, Gallas was selected in the PFA Team of the Year on two occasions (2002–03 & 2005–06).

The start of 2006–07 would see Gallas and Chelsea involved in contract disputes, with a transfer out of the club eventually sealed in September 2006. Upon his departure, Chelsea released a statement that claimed the defender had threatened to score an own-goal in the club's league opener with Charlton Athletic and Manchester City. However, Gallas immediately denied those claims, stating: "I am surprised and shocked by these claims".

Arsenal
On 1 September 2006, Gallas headed to Arsenal as part of a swap deal that saw *The Blues* snap up Ashley Cole. After debuting in the Premiership against Middlesbrough, the defender scored his first Arsenal goal in a matchday three encounter at home to Sheffield United on 23 September. His other two goals in his first season with them came home and away against Liverpool, netting at the Emirates Stadium in November and at Anfield in March. Gallas was made captain for the 2007–08 campaign, a season which would see him notch yet another career goal versus Manchester United and also a goal against ex-club Chelsea; as well as striking against Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers.

2008–09 would see Gallas score a goal in each of the three competitions that Arsenal took part in, notably notching in both legs of UEFA Champions League qualifying versus Twente and in a North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on 29 October 2008; which finished 4–4 at the Emirates. It was a sour season for him with *The Gunners*, as he was stripped of the captaincy after a public interview which exposed poor morale amongst the squad. Gallas remained with them and began 2009–10 with 3 goals in a week in August 2009, as a goal in a Champions League qualifier away to Celtic was sandwiched in between league strikes versus Everton and Portsmouth. The end to his season was injury-hit, with the defender eventually departing at it's end as a free agent after the two parties failed to agree new terms.

Tottenham Hotspur
In mid-2010, Gallas headed across North London to rivals Tottenham Hotspur - soon becoming the first player to officially play for *The Lilywhites*, Chelsea and Arsenal. His first appearance for Harry Redknapp's side came at The Hawthorns on 11 September as they drew with West Bromwich Albion. He also featured 8 times as they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Overall, Gallas made 36 appearances in 2010–11 with Tottenham. 18 matches followed in 2011–12, prior to 24 games in 2012–13. He scored his sole goal for Spurs in that latter campaign, with it arriving in a home defeat in the Premier League to former club Chelsea on 20 October 2012.

Perth Glory
After leaving Tottenham Hotspur following the expiration of his contract in June 2013, Gallas sealed a move to Australia with A-League outfit Perth Glory; in doing so, he became the first Frenchman to play in the country's top division. Gallas remained for one season, making the first of 15 appearances for *The Glory* on 16 November during a home draw with Adelaide United. In his tenth match down under, the defender netted his one and only goal for the club in a draw on New Zealand soil against Wellington Phoenix on 9 March. Upon leaving Perth Glory, Gallas retired from professional football.

France
After representing his country at youth level, Gallas made his senior international debut on 12 October 2002 during a qualifier for UEFA Euro 2004 at home to Slovenia at the Stade de France. In 2003, he featured three times - including in the semi-final and final - as *Les Bleus* won the Confederations Cup on home soil. A year later, Gallas played in each match of France's four-game run at Euro 2004 in Portugal. His first international goal arrived on 17 August 2005 in a friendly match at the Stade de la Mosson versus Ivory Coast. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Gallas featured in all seven of his nation's matches as they went on to lose in the final to Italy. In his first cap afterwards, he scored his second France goal against Bosnia & Herzegovina away from home on 16 August 2006.

After three appearances at UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria/Switzerland as France were eliminated at the group stages, Gallas would score twice in qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup - firstly against the Faroe Islands on 10 October 2009, secondly in a controversial play-off win over the Republic of Ireland on 18 November 2009. There was further controversy at the tournament itself in South Africa, as the team were eliminated at the group stages having gone on strike after matchday two after manager Raymond Domenech had removed Nicolas Anelka from the squad following a disagreement between the two. His last cap won came on matchday three versus the hosts, while his fifth and final goal had came in a warm-up friendly to that tournament against Tunisia on 30 May 2010.

### HTU

2016–18
Gallas was added to HTU's squad for the 2017 Wembley Cup final against Tekkers Town on 7 October 2017, having officially agreed to join just hours before kick-off as a replacement for Rio Ferdinand; who had suffered a calf injury. He was substituted on in the 37th minute in place of Robbie Savage, in a match that *The Tags* would go on to win 6–1 at Wembley Stadium; after the match, Spencer Carmichael-Brown noted that Gallas had put in "an unbelievable performance" for his side.

### Post-HTU

Since retirement, Gallas had done media work; including for beIN Sports and for Arsenal's in-house channels.

## 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  Tekkers Town

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "William Gallas" .
2. ↑ "Henry lands PFA award" , 28 April 2003.
3. ↑ "Gerrard named player of the year" , 23 April 2006.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Gallas 'issued own-goal threat'" , 5 September 2006.
5. ↑ "Outspoken Gallas stripped of Arsenal captaincy" , 21 November 2008.
6. ↑ "Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger targets defensive signings" , 13 May 2010.
7. ↑ "Glory get Gallas" , 23 October 2013.
8. ↑ "Samir Nasri, William Gallas and Florent Malouda criticised in Raymond Domenech book" , 19 November 2012.
9. ↑ "North London derby time" , 1 October 2022.
10. ↑ "Preview: Arsenal v Tottenham" , 30 September 2022.