Louis Saha Biography

Louis Saha, born on 8 August 1978 in Paris, is a French former professional football player of Guadeloupean origin. He played as a striker for France national team and many clubs, with

being his last team.

Louis Saha started his career at Metz before joining Newcastle United on loan. Just before the start of the 2000-01 season, Saha moved to Fulham, where he proved himself as a regular forward, helping them get promoted to the Premier League in his first season with the club. His performances caught the eye of Manchester United, who eventually secured his signature for around £12,400,000 in the middle of the 2003-04 season.

Affected by a number of injuries while at Old Trafford, however, he experienced success as he won the Premier League twice and the UEFA Champions League in the 2007-08 season. He also scored six times on his way to winning the 2005-06 Carling Cup, including a goal in the final.

Everton signed him at Goodison Park after four-and-a-half years in Manchester. He played in the 2008-09 FA Cup Final with his new team, netting 25 seconds into the game, a goal that broke the record for the quickest goal ever scored in an FA Cup Final. During the later stages of his career, Saha played at Tottenham and

, before retiring from professional football with Lazio.

All You Need to Know About Louis Saha Biography

Saha played in various youth teams for France and was part of the team that won the 1997 European Under-19 Championship. He then debuted in the French national team on 18 February 2004 playing against Belgium. Before that, Saha played at the 2004 European Championship and the 2006 World Cup in

, where France reached the final. Saha was not available for the final as he received his second yellow card of the tournament in the semi-final against Portugal (0-1 win).

Louis Saha Information

In this section of

Louis Saha biography

, we will share some general information such as

Louis Saha nationality

to let you know him even more.

Louis Saha Bio

• Full Name: Louis Laurent Saha

• Nickname: Petit Louis

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Louis Saha Physical Stats

• Weight: 69 Kg

• Height: 1.85 m

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Black

Louis Saha Football Information

• Position: Striker

• Jersey Number: 9

• Professional Debut: 1997

Louis Saha Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 8 August 1978

• Birth Place: Paris, France

• Zodiac Sign: Leo

• Nationality: French

Stay tuned to this section of

Louis Saha biography

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Louis Saha childhood

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Louis Saha Early Life

Louis Saha began playing football in Soisy-sous-Montmorency in the Val-d'Oise. Following a brief spell with Racing, Saha joined INF Clairefontaine between 1992 and 1995, where he was teamed up with Nicolas Anelka and Philippe Christanval, among others.

Saha then moved to the FC Metz youth academy. Saha made his first appearance for the club on 8 August 1997 in the second round of the French league against Girondins de Bordeaux, scoring on his first ball (4-1 victory). Struggling at Metz, Louis Saha was loaned to Newcastle United for six months in January 1999.

Despite the fact that he was not part of the starting line-up, he played in twelve matches in all competitions and scored 2 goals. However, he was not included in Ruud Gullit's squad for the 1999 FA Cup final against Manchester United. He returned to

for six months before leaving for England in the summer of 2000.

Louis Saha Profile

Saha joined Jean Tigana's Fulham FC in the summer of 2000 for £2.1 million in the English first division. He played in the first matchday and scored the second goal against Crewe (2-0). He went on to score 35 times in all competitions (25 in the first division and 5 in the League Cup), finishing as the league's top scorer, and leading Fulham into the Premier League. He was named in the league's Team of the Year at the end of the season along with five teammates.

On his first Premier League game at Old Trafford, Saha scored twice against Manchester United (2-3). During his first month in the top flight, Saha was named player of the month. His scoring was less prolific in 2002-03, with seven goals in 28 games. During his final season at Fulham, he found the net 15 times in just 22 games before being transferred in the January 2004 transfer window.

Stay tuned to this section of

Louis Saha biography

because we want to share some information about his career with the Red Devils.

Manchester United

Following Saha's four seasons with the London club,

signed him in 2004 for £12.85m. Although

was unwilling to sell him, a deal was finally reached on 23 January 2004. Saha played his first match for Manchester United on 31 January in a 3-2 victory over

. He scored his first United goal in the 17th minute with a curling left-footed free-kick to a standing ovation at Old Trafford.

On his debut season, Saha was impressive, scoring seven goals in ten appearances and earning a call-up to the French national team. Nevertheless, he was not included in the 2004 FA Cup final against Millwall, as he had made an appearance for Fulham earlier in the season.

The 2004-05 season was plagued by a recurring injury. He suffered a knee injury in an international match against the Faroe Islands in September 2004, which kept him out of action for a month. After returning in November, he was again injured in the national team, which cost him almost two months of his season.

Saha suffered a relapse at the end of February 2005, leaving him out of action for another two months. He made just 11 appearances in total for United that season and scored two goals.

Over the summer, Saha sustained a hamstring injury which ruled him out for the first three months of the 2005-06 season. Saha eventually returned in November 2005 with a number of appearances in the English League Cup.

The French striker quickly regained the form of his first few months at the club, scoring six goals in the cup to replace Ruud van Nistelrooy in Wayne Rooney's attacking partnership, surprising many. In the League Cup final against

, Saha started and scored in the 4-0 victory.

Louis Saha scored after just seven minutes in the first match against Fulham in the 2006-07 season. Saha also scored the winning goal against Benfica in the

. He signed a contract extension until 2010 in December 2006. However, minor injuries prevented him from playing and Saha scored only one more goal in the second half of the season.

Nevertheless, he finished the season with 15 goals in all competitions, aided by his pre-Christmas form. As a result of his frequent injuries, the Daily Mail reported that Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson had said that the French striker might leave the club in the near future.

Louis Saha started 2007-08 on the bench against Sunderland and scored the winning goal on his first match of the season. Saha's penalty goal against

earned him a recall to the national team after a year without a cap. He subsequently continued to make appearances from the bench, but when Wayne Rooney was sidelined for a few weeks, Saha was paired with Carlos Tevez up front.

However, a thigh injury sidelined Saha for several weeks resulted in him missing key games at the end of the season. By May of 2008, Saha admitted that he felt his career at Manchester United was no longer secure. Although he wanted to stay, it was unclear whether his future would be at Old Trafford.

Everton

He joined Everton on 29 August 2008 on a permanent basis. He debuted in the Toffees' shirt on 22 September against

. His first goal came on 1 November against Fulham, the match ending 1-0. On 8 March 2009, he scored the goal that allowed Everton to go through to the FA Cup quarter-finals against Middlesbrough, something that had not happened since 1995.

During the

final against Chelsea on 30 May, he scored the quickest goal in the history of the FA Cup final, netting just 25 seconds after the kick-off whistle, with Chelsea winning the match 2-1. This goal was also the fastest ever goal at the new Wembley Stadium, breaking Giampaolo Pazzini's previous record, set in March 2007 in the England U-21-Italy U-21 match which ended 3-3.

His first goal of the season, in his second year in an Everton shirt, was scored on 15 August 2009 in the 6-1 loss to Arsenal. He kept scoring for seven consecutive games netting seven goals and ended the season with 15 goals in 40 appearances. He then signed a contract extension on 5 February 2010 for a further 2 years until 2012.

Saha scored 8 goals in 5 games in the 2010-2011 season, starting on 29 January 2011 against Chelsea and continuing on 5 February in the following home game where he scored no fewer than 4 goals in the 5-3 win over Blackpool. On 19 March after scoring on a free kick at Fulham he suffered an ankle injury that forced him to sit out the rest of the season. In January 2012 he was sold to Tottenham.

Stay tuned to this section of Louis Saha biography because we want to share some information about his Tottenham career.

Tottenham

Louis Saha signed a six-month contract with Tottenham on 31 January 2012, where he chose to wear the number 15 shirt. He played his first game for Spurs on 6 February, replacing Emmanuel Adebayor in the 0-0 draw against

. He netted his first brace in his new shirt on 11 February in the 5-0 win over Newcastle.

Despite regaining fitness in a Spurs shirt and eager to secure a new contract with the club, it was announced on 13 July that Tottenham will not extend Saha's contract.

Sunderland

Sunderland signed him on 16 August 2012 on a one-year contract. He started in his new shirt two days after signing his contract in the 0-0 draw against Arsenal. His contract with the club was terminated by mutual consent on 31 January 2013, with Louis Saha failing to score a single goal for his club in the 14 matches he played for them.

Lazio

As his contract with Sunderland was terminated by 19:00 on 31 January, it was possible for him to be signed as a free agent by Italian club Lazio despite the fact that the transfer window was closed; the signing was completed on 6 February 2013.

Louis Saha signed a six-month contract for €500,000 but could not be included in the UEFA list due to his expiry date. His first appearance in the Biancoceleste shirt and in the Italian league was on 9 February, coming on in the 90th minute in place of Álvaro González in the 1-1 draw between Lazio and Napoli. They won the Coppa Italia on 26 May 2013, beating Roma 1-0 in the final. His contract expired at the end of the season and he left the club.

On his 35th birthday on 8 August 2013, Louis Saha announced his retirement from playing football on the social network Twitter.

France National Team

The Paris-born Louis Saha joined the

youth national team at the age of 17 having previously spent three years learning to play football at INF Clairefontaine. At the European Championship in July 1997, he scored the golden goal in the final against Portugal.

His first senior national team cap came on 18 February 2004 in a friendly against

. In the 76th minute of the match, he scored his first goal for the French national team and helped them win 2-0. The suspension of Djibril Cissé enabled him to be selected for Euro 2004, during which he scored a goal.

Between 2004 and 2006, the French striker was called up to the national team regularly by Raymond Domenech, but he was not selected again until the end of February 2010 and the friendly match against Spain. Nevertheless, he had to withdraw from the squad due to injury. He made the squad for the 2006 World Cup but was suspended for the final match due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Following a poor performance from the French national team at the 2010 World Cup, he was recalled by new coach Laurent Blanc to start the Euro 2012 qualifiers on 26 August 2010. However, in the first match against Belarus (France lost 1-0), he had to give way to Kevin Gameiro ten minutes after coming on due to injury.

Coach Laurent Blanc unveiled the France squad for the friendly against Germany on 23 February 2012 and called up Louis Saha for the first time since September 2010 and the defeat against Belarus. Stay tuned to this section of Louis Saha biography because we want to share some information about his playing style.

Style of Play

Louis Saha is known as the 'opportunist' because of his ability in front of goal. A fast and very technical central striker, he had scored many goals during his career. Saha has a good nose for goal and is also good at headers. His career has been held back by injuries and by playing in teams where the wide competition has certainly not encouraged his development.

Reception

During the early days of his career, especially when he made a name for himself in Fulham, many football critics believed that Louis Saha is going to be one of the best strikers in the history of French football, however, numerous injuries prevented him from reaching his full potential.

Goal Celebration

As a forward player, Louis Saha has scored many goals during his career and we have seen some beautiful goals from him when he was a Manchester United player. The French striker however never had a signature goal celebration. We have seen him simply run towards the stands after scoring goals to share his joy and happiness with the supporters.

Louis Saha outside Football

As soon as he hung up his boots, Louis Saha became a "consultant-agent" for a sports management group named Stellar Group, in England. This experience gave him the idea to create in May 2014 a closed social network for professional sportsmen, called Axis Stars, whose co-founder is Patrice Arnera. The basic idea of this platform is to advise players and help them better understand and choose their contracts with companies. The company has high-profile celebrity endorsers such as Didier Drogba, Djibril Cissé, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Mikaël Silvestre.

The former Blues and Manchester United striker has been a consultant for RMC Sport since October 2020. RMC Sport (formerly SFR Sport) is a package of French television channels from Altice France dedicated to sports. They are available on satellite, cable, IPTV and web TV (OTT).

Stay tuned to this section of Louis Saha biography because we want to share some information about his personal life.

Louis Saha Personal Life

In this section of Louis Saha biography, we will take a look into his personal life and share some information about

Louis Saha religion

and

Louis Saha life story

.

Family, Children and Relationships

Saha's parents are originally from the island of Guadeloupe (a French region), from where his grandparents are still living at the present time. Saha has a younger sister and a younger brother.

Louis Saha is married and has two children, the second one being a daughter born in June 2011, when he was an Everton player. After his second child was born, Louis Saha wrote on his Twitter: "An unforgettable day. My little girl was born. The world had better watch out. Daddy is watching. You may dream of scoring 10,000 goals, but nothing can replace the joy of seeing the eyes and the smile of a newborn baby."

Philanthropy

Louis Saha is amongst the retired football players who are still actively involved in charity works. In July 2016, Saha appeared in a charity match organized by Samuel Eto’o for his foundation’s 10th anniversary. The match was played at Antalya Turkey and a host of star football players like Lionel Messi, Neymar, Carles Puyol, Kolo Touré, Michael Essien, Fabio Capello, Ronaldo, Eden Hazard, Andrés Iniesta, Deco, Eric Abidal and others were there alongside Eto’o and Louis Saha.

Legal Issues

At the time of writing this article, there are no reports of any legal issues or disputes regarding the French former football player on the media.

Louis Saha Career Statistics

In this section of Louis Saha biography, we take a look into his club and international career stats.

Club

Since the start of his career at Metz in the 1997-98 season to the day he hung up his boots at Lazio in the 2012-13 season, Louis Saha has played a total of 492 matches and scored 159 goals in all competitions for different clubs in France, England and Italy. The best days of his club career was definitely his 4 seasons with Fulham where he managed to score 63 goals in 142 matches in all competitions for the London club.

During his 5 seasons spell at Manchester United Louis Saha has scored 42 goals in 124 matches under Sir Alex Ferguson. If it wasn’t for his numerous injuries, we could’ve seen him scoring many more goals for the Red Devils.

International

Louis Saha has played in all ranks for the France national team. He has played a total of 35 matches for the youth ranks of the French national team, scoring 12 goals. He made his debut for the senior team on 18 February 2014, at the age of 25 years and 6 months under the coach Jacques Santini. During his international career with France, Saha has played a total of 20 matches and scored 4 goals.

Louis Saha Honors

During his playing days on the club level, Louis Saha managed to win the Football League First Division and UEFA Intertoto Cup with Fulham. After moving to Manchester United, he has won the Football League Cup, UEFA Champions League and the English Premier League on two occasions.

In 1997, Louis Saha has crowned champions of the UEFA European Under-18 Championship with France. In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, he was also runner-ups with his country after losing to Italy on penalties.

On the individual level, he was included in the First Division PFA Team of the Year and was once elected as the Premier League Player of the Month in August 2001.

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