Antoine Sibierski

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Antoine Sibierski
Personal information
Date of birth (1974-08-05) 5 August 1974 (age 49)[1]
Place of birth Lille, France
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1996 Lille 89 (17)
1996–1998 Auxerre 58 (8)
1998–2000 Nantes 68 (27)
2000–2003 Lens 107 (25)
2003–2006 Manchester City 107 (15)
2006–2007 Newcastle United 39 (8)
2007–2009 Wigan Athletic 35 (5)
2008 → Norwich City (loan) 16 (2)
Total 519 (107)
International career
1996 France Olympic 3 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Antoine Sibierski (born 5 August 1974) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his career at hometown club Lille OSC, going on to play for AJ Auxerre, Nantes, with whom he won the Coupe de France twice, and RC Lens. He then moved to England and played for Manchester City, Newcastle United, with whom he won the UEFA Intertoto Cup, Wigan Athletic, and Norwich City. At international level, he made three appearances for France at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He is currently sporting director of his former club, RC Lens.

Club career

Early career

Born in

2000 French Cup, in the final of which Sibierski scored both of Nantes' goals.[2] He then joined RC Lens, and eventually became club captain
during his three-year stay.

Manchester City

Sibierski moved to Manchester City for a fee of £700,000 in August 2003,[3] where he scored on his debut against Charlton Athletic.[4]

He was a regular substitute for the team, having started only eighteen of the thirty-three games he participated in, during an all important first season in which he scored seven goals.

The

Andrew Cole
but was soon reverted to the bench. Antoine was subsequently released by the club that summer.

Newcastle United

Newcastle United signed Sibierski on 31 August 2006 on a one-year contract, just two hours and twenty minutes before the close of the transfer window.

He scored on his Newcastle debut in the UEFA cup first round tie against

Celta Vigo and Zulte-Waregem
respectively.

He quickly became a Newcastle favourite and an important member of the first team loved by the Newcastle faithful. Due to injuries on

UEFA Cup
on 15 February. Sibierski nut-megged a defender, took it round another, took it round the keeper and tapped home the last goal in a 3–1 win.

However, Newcastle were not willing to match Sibierski's wish of a new two-year contract at the club, instead offering just another one-year contract, which he rejected. Sibierski's agent Willie McKay stated that whilst negotiations were still ongoing, it looked increasingly likely that Sibierski would be leaving the club as his contract came to an end, especially with newly appointed manager Sam Allardyce bringing fresh ideas and tactics. Following his season with Newcastle, Sibierski described himself as a Newcastle fan. He is affectionately known among Newcastle United fans as 'Sib The Sexist' in homage to Tyneside's Silver Tongued Cavalier 'Sid The Sexist'.[5]

Wigan Athletic

Sibierski agreed a two-year deal with

JJB Stadium on 15 August against Middlesbrough, and a third for Wigan's third game in a row, completing a 3–0 victory over Sunderland
on 18 August. Subsequently, Sibierski suffered several injuries and his form slumped, as Wigan slipped from the top 4 to the relegation zone.

However, on 12 January 2008, Sibierski scored a crucial winner within seconds of coming off the bench against Derby County with a low drive into the bottom left corner of the net from 25 yards out. He then followed this up with another spectacular goal against Chelsea, in the FA Cup.

On 1 September 2008, Sibierski joined Norwich City on loan.[8] He scored what proved to be the winning goal on his debut against Plymouth Argyle on 13 September 2008 from a free-kick. However, after this he made little impact and returned to Wigan in January when his loan ended. He was released by Wigan at the end of the 2008–09 season, after not being offered a new contract.[9]

International career

Sibierski is of Polish descent through his paternal grandfather, who came to France from Poland to work in the mines.[10] He represented France at the 1996 Summer Olympics, making three appearances.[11]

Post-playing career

After finishing his playing career, Sibierski briefly became a football agent with his brother.[12] He is currently the Sporting Director of Ligue 1 club RC Lens.[13]

Personal life

Former Lille teammate Frédéric Dindeleux, who had been his friend since the age of eight, was best man at Sibierski's wedding to Isabelle.[14] The couple had three children together: two daughters and a son.[citation needed] Following the unfortunate passing of his 18-year-old elder daughter Sibylle on 1 February 2010, a charity "Fonds de Dotation Sibylle Sibierski" has been formed in her name with the support of football legends such as Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, former Arsenal captain and Manchester City midfielder Patrick Vieira, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and Kevin Keegan of England and Newcastle and more.[15][16]

Honours

Nantes

Newcastle United

Individual

  • Goal of the season for
    Wigan Athletic: against Chelsea, 26 January 2008[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Antoine Sibierski". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Calais robbed by cruel blow". BBC. 8 May 2000. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Man City land Sibierski". BBC Sport. 2 August 2003. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  4. ^ "Man City brush Charlton aside". BBC Sport. 17 August 2003. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  5. ^ Rayner, Stuart (20 August 2007). "Sibierski happy to please the Magpies". icNewcastle. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
  6. ^ "Wigan sign Bramble and Sibierski". BBC Sport. 4 June 2007. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2007.
  7. ^ "Everton 2-1 Wigan". BBC Sport. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  8. ^ "Sibierski joins on loan". Norwich City F.C. 1 September 2008. Archived from the original on 3 September 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  9. ^ "Sibierski keen to play on". Wigan Today. 9 June 2009. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  10. ^ "Conférence de presse : Antoine Sibierski". rclens.fr. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  11. ^ "jeux Olympiques États-Unis 1996". selectiona.free.fr.
  12. ^ "Sibierski arrête sa carrière". L'Équipe (in French). Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  13. ^ "Di Matteo - No news on Oscar - Yahoo Eurosport UK". Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  14. ^ "Sibierski rubs salt into friend's wounds". RTÉ Sport. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
  15. ^ "Fonds de dotation Sibylle Sibierski" (in French). Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Fonds de Dotation Sibylle Sibierski - YouTube". Retrieved 10 February 2021 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ hindleyite (8 March 2008). "Antoine Sibierski goal vs Chelsea 26-01-08". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.

External links

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