FRANK RIBERY

                                                           FRANK RIBERY

Franck Ribéry (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃k ʁibeʁi]; born 7 April 1983) is a French football player who currently plays for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Ribéry primarily plays as a winger, preferably on the left side, and is known for "pace, energy, skill and precise passing."^[1]
Ribéry's career began in 1989 as a youth player for local hometown club Conti Boulogne. He left the club after seven years to join professional outfit Lille, but departed the club after three years after having difficulties adjusting. In 1999, Ribéry joined US Boulogne, where he played for two years. After spending two more years in the amateur divisions with two different clubs (Alès and Brest), in 2004, Ribéry earned a move to Ligue 1 club FC Metz. After six months with the club, Ribéry moved to Turkey in January 2005 joining Galatasaray and, after six months there, departed the club in controversial fashion to join Marseille in France. In 2007, Ribéry joined German club Bayern Munich for a then club-record fee of €25 million. Since joining Bayern, Ribéry has been recognised on the world stage as one of the best French players of his generation. The previous talisman of Les Bleus, Zinedine Zidane, has called Ribéry the "jewel of French football".^[2]
Ribéry is a French International having represented his nation at two FIFA World Cups and UEFA Euro 2008. At the 2006 World Cup, he scored his first international goal against Spain and played in the final match against Italy. Ribéry is a two-time winner of the French Player of the Year award and has also been named to the UEFA Team of the Year once.