Benjamin Pavard
Benjamin Jacques Marcel Pavard (born 28 March 1996) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right back for club Bayern Munich and the France national team. Although usually deployed as a right-back, he is also capable of playing as a centre-back. He began his career at Lille in Ligue 1 and transferred to VfB Stuttgart in 2016, where he won the 2. Bundesliga in his first season. In January 2019 he agreed a move to Bayern Munich, which was completed after Stuttgart's relegation at the end of the season. In 2020, he completed  an historic sextuple by winning the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Champions League, DFL-Supercup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. Pavard made his international debut for France in November 2017, and won the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, also featuring at UEFA Euro 2020. Club career. Early career. Born in Maubeuge, Nord, near the Belgian border, Pavard first played with his hometown club in Jeumont, where former France international striker Jean-Pierre Papin also began his career. Pavard joined Lille's academy at the age of nine. He made his Ligue 1 debut on  31 January 2015 against FC Nantes, playing the full game in a 1–1 away draw. Pavard made 21 league appearances across two seasons for Lille, before leaving the club in 2016. VfB Stuttgart. On 30 August 2016, Pavard moved to VfB Stuttgart, signing a four-year contract. He made his debut in the 2. Bundesliga on 3 October, scoring in a 4–0 home win over SpVgg Greuther Fürth. He played 21 games and his team ended the season as league champions. Pavard made his Bundesliga debut on 19 August in a 2–0 loss at Hertha BSC. He scored his first  goal in the Bundesliga with a delightful back header on 29 October in a 3–0 win over SC Freiburg at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. He extended his contract with Stuttgart on 20 December 2017 until 30 June 2021. He was one of only four players to feature in every single second of the 2017–18 Bundesliga season. He played in several positions, namely right-back, centre-back, defensive midfielder and right wing, but after the appointment of Tayfun Korkut as manager in January 2018 he was exclusively a centre back; the team conceded 10 goals in their last 14 games as  they went from near the relegation places to finish 7th, only just missing out on a UEFA Europa League place. In 2018–19, Pavard was again a regular as Stuttgart fought relegation all season, which was confirmed with defeat to 1. FC Union Berlin in a playoff. Bayern Munich. On 9 January 2019, Bayern Munich confirmed Pavard would join the club for the 2019–20 season, signing a five-year contract lasting until 30 June 2024. He made his competitive debut on 3 August in a 2–0 defeat in the 2019 DFL-Supercup against Borussia Dortmund, as an 80th-minute substitute for  Thiago Alcântara. On 31 August, he scored his first goal for the club to equalise in a 6–1 home win over Mainz 05. On 11 February 2021, Pavard scored Bayern's only goal in a 1–0 win against Tigres UANL in the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup Final, as the club won its sixth trophy in a year. International career. On 6 November 2017, Pavard was selected by France's head coach Didier Deschamps for the friendly matches against Wales and Germany. He made his debut against the Welsh on 10 November in a 2–0 win at the Stade de  France, replacing Christophe Jallet at half time. On 17 May 2018, he was called up to the 23-man French squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 16 June, Pavard made his World Cup debut in a 2–1 victory over Australia. On 30 June, Pavard scored his first international goal, a half-volley from outside the penalty area, in a 4–3 victory over Argentina in the World Cup's round of 16. The goal was later voted as goal of the tournament and nominated for the Puskas Award of the year. He also became the first French  defender to score a goal in the World Cup since Lilian Thuram scored against Croatia in the 1998 semi-final. Pavard won the World Cup, after starting all of France's games except for their last group match against Denmark. At UEFA Euro 2020, Pavard suffered a head injury in France's opening 1–0 win over Germany, but continued playing. He said after the game that he felt "a little knocked out for 10 to 15 seconds". This appeared to break UEFA's protocol that a player showing signs of concussion should be withdrawn from the match, whether or not  he or the manager agreed with it. After analysing reports by the French team's doctors, UEFA concluded that Pavard never lost consciousness and it was right for him to play on. In 2021, Pavard was not called up to the national team by Deschamps for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar qualifiers due to injury. Honours. VfB Stuttgart Bayern Munich France Individual Orders