Anthony Le Tallec
French footballer (born 1984)
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Anthony Le Tallec (born 3 October 1984) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward or an attacking midfielder for Liverpool, Sochaux, and Annecy FC.
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Le Tallec playing for Le Mans in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 3 October 1984[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Hennebont, France | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–2001 | Le Havre | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2008 | Liverpool | 17 | (1) |
| 2002–2003 | → Le Havre (loan) | 25 | (5) |
| 2004–2005 | → Saint-Étienne (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | → Sunderland (loan) | 27 | (3) |
| 2006–2007 | → Sochaux (loan) | 25 | (4) |
| 2007–2008 | → Le Mans (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Le Mans | 96 | (19) |
| 2010–2012 | Auxerre | 52 | (8) |
| 2012–2015 | Valenciennes | 71 | (20) |
| 2015–2017 | Atromitos | 53 | (13) |
| 2017 | Astra Giurgiu | 18 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | Orléans | 37 | (8) |
| 2019–2021 | Annecy | 17 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2001 | France U17 | 6 | (3) |
| 2005–2008 | France U21 | 4 | (5) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Liverpool
Born in Hennebont,[1] Le Tallec was signed from Le Havre AC by Liverpool in 2001, along with his cousin Florent Sinama Pongolle,[2] by manager Gérard Houllier. This was after impressive performances for France at the UEFA European Under-16 Championship and the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with the player being awarded the 'Silver Ball' as the second best player (behind his cousin) in the latter tournament as the national team emerged champions;[3] both players remained a further two years at Le Havre, loaned by the Reds.[2]
After making his Liverpool debut in a league match against Blackburn Rovers,[4] Le Tallec scored his first and only Liverpool goal in a UEFA Cup tie against NK Olimpija Ljubljana in October 2003.[5] After his return, he also featured in the club's victorious run in the UEFA Champions League, starting in the home leg of the quarter-final tie against Juventus FC[6] but failing to appear in the squad of 18 for the final itself.
For 2005–06, Le Tallec joined fellow Premier League side Sunderland on loan, in a bid to gain some more first-team football. He stated: "I am a competitor and I want to play all the time, but with Liverpool it was impossible. I chose to come to Sunderland because I need to play every week". In a disappointing season for the club, who finished bottom of the table, he was its top scorer with only five goals in all competitions; this included a goal on his debut against Manchester City and a header against Fulham, helping the Black Cats pick up their only home win.[7][8]
In May 2006, after Sunderland announced they would not be looking to retain his services, Le Tallec returned to Liverpool but was not given a squad number by boss Rafael Benítez. At the end of the month, he joined up with the French under-21s for the European Championship which took place in Portugal, only featuring in the final group match after the team had already secured qualification and being substituted after 61 minutes.[9]
Return to France
In August 2006, Le Tallec moved to FC Sochaux-Montbéliard on another loan deal. He won the Coupe de France scoring a late equaliser after coming off the bench in the final, which eventually led to a penalty shootout against Olympique de Marseille – a fellow Liverpool player out on loan, Djibril Cissé, netted two goals in the match for the opposition.[10]
On 31 August 2007, it was reported that Scottish Premier League club Heart of Midlothian were close to signing Le Tallec.[11] However, the player ended up moving to Ligue 1 team Le Mans Union Club 72, on loan for the entire season with a view to a permanent deal for approximately £1.1 million pounds.[12]
In July 2008, Le Mans decided to make the loan permanent, signing Le Tallec to a four-year contract.[13][14] On 27 June 2010, following their top flight relegation, he reached an agreement with fellow league club AJ Auxerre for a four-year deal, worth €3 million.[15]
Atromitos
On 19 July 2015, Le Tallec signed with Atromitos F.C. for two years.[16] He cited the possibility of playing in the UEFA Europa League as the main reason for his signature.[17]
Later years
On 3 July 2017, the 32-year-old Le Tallec joined FC Astra Giurgiu in the Romanian Liga I.[18] He returned to his country in the following transfer window, moving to Ligue 2's US Orléans.[19]
In September 2019, Le Tallec signed with Annecy FC.[20]
He retired from professional football in May 2021 after a twenty-year career.[21]
Personal life
Le Tallec's younger brother, Damien, is also a footballer. Another French youth international who was groomed at Le Havre, he started his professional career in Germany with Borussia Dortmund.[22]
In June 2023, Le Tallec was a witness to a mass stabbing attack in an Annecy park in which four children and an adult were injured.[23]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Le Havre (loan) | 2002–03[27] | Ligue 1 | 30 | 2 | — | 30 | 2 | |||||
| Liverpool | 2003–04 | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 1 | 23 | 1 |
| 2004–05[28] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 32 | 1 | ||
| AS Saint-Étienne (loan) | 2004–05[28] | Ligue 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 6 | 1 | |||||
| Sunderland (loan) | 2005–06 | Premier League | 27 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 31 | 5 | |
| Sochaux (loan) | 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 29 | 7 | ||
| Le Mans | 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 31 | 6 | |
| 2008–09 | 34 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 38 | 6 | |||
| 2009–10 | 36 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 39 | 10 | |||
| Total | 96 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 108 | 22 | |||
| Auxerre | 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| 2011–12 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 27 | 4 | |||
| 2012–13 | Ligue 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 4 | ||
| Total | 52 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 62 | 9 | ||
| Auxerre B | 2011–12 | CFA | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Valenciennes | 2012–13 | Ligue 1 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 5 | ||
| 2013–14 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 2 | |||
| 2014–15 | Ligue 2 | 34 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 37 | 13 | ||
| Total | 71 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 76 | 20 | |||
| Valenciennes B | 2013–14 | CFA 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | |||
| Atromitos | 2015–16 | Super League Greece | 27 | 7 | 8 | 1 | — | 3[e] | 0 | 38 | 8 | |
| 2016–17 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 53 | 13 | 12 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | 68 | 14 | |||
| Astra Giurgiu | 2017–18 | Liga I | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[e] | 1 | 24 | 2 | |
| Orléans | 2017–18 | Ligue 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2018–19 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 33 | 7 | |||
| 2019–20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 37 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 44 | 8 | |||
| Annecy | 2019–20 | National 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | National | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 12 | 2 | |||
| Total | 17 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 20 | 4 | ||||
| Career total | 453 | 83 | 41 | 8 | 21 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 534 | 97 | ||
- Includes FA Cup, Coupe de France, Greek Football Cup, Cupa României
- Includes Football League Cup, Coupe de la Ligue
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
