Olivier Giroud Biography

Today we are taking a look at one of the most underrated players in recent decades. The man who has won a World Cup, 4 FA Cups, a Europa League and a Ligue 1 trophy, not to mention him winning a Champions League title last season, Olivier Giroud.

Deadly in the air and graceful on the ball, Giroud has become somewhat of a polarizing figure for many fans of Arsenal and France but like his nickname (the Pheonix) would suggest, the Frenchman is always capable of bouncing back and scoring unbelievably beautiful goals which has prompted us to take an extensive look at Olivier Giroud lifestory and his career in this

Olivier Giroud biography

.

Olivier Giroud Biography

In this brief Olivier Giroud bio, we take a closer look at how this French striker became a World Cup champion, starting from his days at Grenoble in the mid to late 2000s to his time at Arsenal and his later career at Chelsea and now at AC Milan:

Olivier Giroud Information

So let’s start Olivier Giroud bio with a general information about his physical attributes and his position on the pitch:

Olivier Giroud Bio

• Full Name: Olivier Jonathan Giroud

• Nickname: The Phoenix

• Profession: footballer

Olivier Giroud Physical Stats

• Height: 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)

• Eye Color: Brown

• Hair Color: Brown

• Weight: 88 kg   

Olivier Giroud Football Information

• Positon: Center Forward

• Professional Debut: 2005

• Jersey Number: 9, 12

Olivier Giroud Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 30 September 1986

• Birth Place: Chambery, France

• Nationality: French

Olivier Giroud Early Life

Born in Chambery in the Rhone-Alps region of France,

Olivier Giroud date of birth

is 30 September 1986. Raised in Froges, a nearby village to Chambery which is close to Grenoble, Olivier comes from Italian descent from both his grandmothers’ side.

Olivier Giroud childhood

was all about football since he had an older brother (Romain) who also played football professionally, going as far as representing the Auxerre youth team in the lower French leagues. But as his older brother dropped football in order to pursue education and become a nutritionist, Olivier followed football with a passion and soon joined the local team of Olympique Club de Froges where he stayed for 6 years before subsequently joining the professional club, Grenoble, at the age of 13, where he would later make a name for himself as a footballer.

Olivier Giroud Profile

We will now take a look at Olivier Giroud’s career as a footballer in the different teams that he played throughout his career in this section of Olivier Giroud biography, starting with his time in the Grenoble

Football Career

Now let’s take a look at Olivier Giroud’s club career as well as his time with the French national team:

Grenoble

Olivier Giroud’s long road to becoming a world-class player started at

, a local club where he joined as a 13-year old. He played with the academy team for several years before signing his first professional contract at the age of 21, which is quite late for most players who reach the top level. Nevertheless, Giroud described the moment as him becoming aware of his abilities and a deciding moment in his career.

He was then put in Grenoble’s reserve team which was competing in the 5th level of French football and immediately made an impact, scoring 15 goals in 15 games, which subsequently earned him a call-up from the first team manager, Thierry Goudet. The following season (2006-07) saw Olivier promoted to a first-team player but his success was not immediate as he struggled with scoring goals, only managing 2 throughout the season, which made the club consider loaning him in order to gain some more experience. 

Istres 

In order to gain more experience as well as playing time, Olivier Giroud was loaned out to the Championnat National side, Istres, for the entirety of the 2007-08 season. Giroud’s loan to Istres proved helpful as he would go on to feature prominently throughout the season and end up scoring 14 goals in all competitions, including several braces.

With him now more developed and confident as a striker, Giroud came back to Grenoble with the hope of helping the club in their first campaign back at Ligue 1 but Grenoble’s manager at the time, Mehmed Baždarević, who was appointed to his role while Giroud was out on loan, did not think highly of Olivier’s talents and declared that Giroud, putting him on the club’s transfer list. Giroud later spoke of his disappointment about the whole situation as well as Grenoble’s wasted potential as the club was soon relegated from

.

Tours

After Grenoble made Giroud surplus to requirement, the former Grenoble CEO, Max Marty, who was now working as

’ sporting director pounced on the opportunity and signed Olivier Giroud to Tours on a permanent deal on 28 May 2008. Tours was managed by Daniel Sanchez back then and Giroud later expressed how Sanchez, who was himself a former striker, helped Giroud improve a lot and learn what is actually required from a striker.

After a month of injuries and a dry spell of goals, he finally scored his first for Tours against Lens. He soon made a habit of scoring braces and even managed to shine in the Coupe de la Ligue, scoring 4 in a single match. However, a string of injuries kept him out until the latter part of the season. Giroud ended the season with 14 goals in 27 matches.

Giroud’s second season (2009-10) at Tours was one to remember as he began the season in style, scoring twice on the opening match day. Giroud ended up scoring 13 goals before January. In January, it was reported that the Ligue 1 side, Montpellier, was interested in signing Giroud and they eventually did for a fee of around €2 million, which was a Ligue 2 record back then, but Montpellier decided to let him finish the latter part of the 2009-10 at Tours.

Giroud finished the season scoring 24 goals in 42 matches for Tours and he ended up winning the top scorer award for Ligue 2 as well as being named the Ligue 2 Player of the Season and was included in the Team of the Season. but he couldn’t even dream of what was to come in the following seasons.

Montpellier

Olivier Giroud officially joined Montpellier in the Summer of 2010 and he soon made his club debut in a Europa League qualifying round, scoring the only goal of the match in the first half. His goalscoring form continued for the first half of the season and he helped Montpellier massively in reaching their first major final since the 1993-94 season as they beat PSG in the semi-final of the Coup de la Ligue courtesy of a 117th minute goal from Giroud. However, they were defeated by Marseille in the final.

In the latter half of the 2010-11 season, Giroud went 2 months without scoring a single goal, a bad habit that he still possesses to this day, but he ended up the season as Montpellier’s top scorer by scoring 12 goals in the league. his second season at Montpellier was something else though as Giroud started the 2011-12 campaign with a bang, scoring in the opening two matches of the season and then going on an impressive streak of scoring more than 15 goals in the first half of the season, earning the nickname ‘the charm striker’ because of his habit for scoring important and match-winning goals.

His impressive form carried on throughout the season despite him being linked heavily with a move away in January of 2012. Montpellier as a whole, achieved something almost impossible when they topped the Ligue 1 in March of 2012 thanks to Giroud’s goals and remained there till the end of the season, earning their first and only Ligue 1 title above the likes of

,

and

.

Giroud later would describe the feat as that of Leicester City who won the 2015-16 Premier League title against all odds. Giroud would finish the 2011-12 season with 21 goals and 9 assists and was named as the top goalscorer in the league. having fought his way from France’s lowest leagues, Olivier Giroud’s hard work had finally paid off and now at 26, he was on top of French football, ready for his next big move.

Arsenal

With Robin van Persie gone to United, Arsenal needed to bolster their attacking options and

decided to go back to the basics and find another great French striker. He soon settled on Olivier Giroud as well as bringing in Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla. Despite a slow start to his Arsenal career, Giroud did not disappoint in his first season, scoring 17 goals and assisting 11 more. His second season was even better as he managed to hit 22 goals in competition but more importantly, he helped Arsenal end their 9-year trophy drought by winning the FA Cup in the 2013-14 season.

In the following 2014-15 season, Giroud kept his steady stream of goals and even picked up the Player of the Month award for the month of April in 2015 but a string of injuries limited his game time and he ended up scoring 19 in 36 games. He also managed to score Arsenal’s 4th goal in a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa in FA Cup final, winning the competition for the second season in a row.

The 2015-16 season was to be Giroud’s best personally but as a team Arsenal failed to capitalize on the other Big 6 teams not performing well and they ended up finishind 2nd behind an incredible Leicester City team who had fought off relegation a season prior only to win the league against all odds. 

Despite hitting his career best by scoring 24 in all competitions, Giroud was blamed for many of Arsenal’s misfortunes as he once again hit a dry spell (a 12-match scoreless run) in the second half of the season and in the most crucial parts of the campaign despite having player like Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla, arguably at their best, behind him.

The 2016-17 season saw Giroud’s playing time get reduced significantly but the Frenchman was able to once again produce goals, scoring 16 in all competitions. Arsenal once again reached the FA Cup final that year but despite Giroud starting the game on the bench he came on in the 69th minute to assist the cup-winning goal a minute later to Aaron Ramsey and win his 3rd FA Cup medal. He also scored that memorable Scorpion kick goal against Crystal Palace that season which earned him the FIFA Puskas award.

Giroud’s last season at saw the arrival of Alexandre Lacazette in the summer which limited Giroud’s playing time severely but the final nail in the coffin was when the club went and splashed the cash on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang that same January. With zero prospect of getting back a starter role at Arsenal, Giroud decided to move to Chelsea. The move was finalized in the deadline day of January 2018 as Giroud signed an 18-month contract with the Blues.

Chelsea

Now 32, Giroud was aware of his role as an impact sub, something he excelled at even when he was at Arsenal. So he fulfilled that role perfectly, scoring a goal here and there in the Premier League but shining in the cup matches where the main strikers were rested. He managed to win his 4th FA Cup a few months after he joined Chelsea but one of the highlights of his career proved to be the 2018-19 Europa League campaign where he scored 11 goals in 14 matches, including a goal in the final against his former team Arsenal as they thrashed the Gunners 4-1.

The following 2019-20 season saw him score 10 goals in 25 matches, most of which was as a substitute, despite his severely limited playing time.

reached the FA Cup final that season thanks to Giroud’s goal in the semifinal but they ended up losing to Arsenal 2-1.

2020-21 season was a surprising one for Chelsea and Giroud. Under Lampard, the club struggled in the first half of the season but after his departure, the new manager Tomas Tuchel managed to turn the ship around and led the club to win their 2nd Champions League title. Olivier Giroud played a massive part in that victory since he scored 6 goals in 8 UCL matches for Chelsea on their way to the final and was their best goal scorer in the competition. Following the title however, it was apparent that Giroud’s days at Chelsea were numbered.

AC Milan

Following an amazing 9 seasons at the highest level of English football and on the back of the Euro 2020, Olivier Giroud decided to try his luck in his ancestral home, Italy, by joining the

giants, AC Milan. He joined the Rossoneri in July of 2021 and has since scored 2 goals, both of which came in a 4-1 victory over Cagliari.

International Career 

Olivier Giroud nationality

is French. He made his debut for his country on the 11th of November 2011 after his impressive performances with Montpellier. He then went on to feature heavily on Didier Deschamps plans for Francce since Karim Benzema was no longer being called up to the national team. He managed to score a goal in the 2014 World Cup and 3 in the Euro 2016, where France reached the final but was defeated in the extra time by Portugal.

However, Les Bleus redeemed themselves to years later, winning the 2018 World Cup. Euro 2020 was a disappointment for France but Giroud managed to score a couple of goals prior to the competition, bringing his goal tally to 46 in 110 game, only five behind France’s top scorer of all time, Thierry Henry.

Style of Play 

Olivier Giroud is a proper target man, capable of great link-up play, decent finishing and an unmatched heading accuracy and aerial ability. He is very much like the center-forwards of the 90s and 80s era in the sense that his physical and finishing abilities are what makes him good at his job rather than his sped or technique which most modern strikers possess.

Giroud’s excellent one-touch link-up play is what makes him excellent in teams like Arsenal, Chelsea or France where there are a lot of technical players behind him which eventually leads to Giroud making chances by opening up the opposition’s defense. he is also known for his spectacular and beautiful goals, either from headers or bicycle and overhead kicks.

Reception

Despite him being one of the most decorated French players of all time as well as him having played a big role in much of those trophies he has been involved with, Olivier Giroud is kind of an underrated figure. This is due to many facts but mainly because of his perceived unglamorous way of playing football in an era where technical players are the norm.

However, those who have followed him closely are aware of his genius, namely Arsene Wenger and Didier Deschamps with whom he has previously worked with. Deschamps in particular, put a lot of faith in him, making Giroud a starter over the likes of Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette and Anthony Martial.

Goal Celebration

Since he scores a lot, Olivier Giroud uses a lot of different goal celebrations but his most famous one is perhaps his ‘Glamour Slide’ celebration which he did many times during his time at Arsenal. The celebration even made it into FIFA16 video game. His most memorable goal with this celebration would be the one against Crystal Palace in the January of 2017 where he scored that incredible Scorpion kick goal. 

Olivier Giroud Outside Football

Olivier Giroud dabbles in men’s fashion and style a lot, citing David Beckham as one of his idols, especially when it comes to style and fashion. Because of his good looks and interest in fashion he has been offered many sponsorship deals. He has been sponsored by Puma since 2009 and even appeared in a Puma advert with fellow France teammate, Antoine Griezmann. In 2014 he also became the face of Hugo Boss’s Boss Bottled fragrance line.

He has also shown an interest in acting and was even cast in a role in the dubbed version of Sony’s

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse

alongside Presnel Kimpembe. Giroud played the role of the supervillain, Green Goblin and Kimpembe was cast as Scorpion.

Olivier Giroud Personal Life

Our Olivier Giroud biography wouldn’t be a complete without mentioning his personal life. So continue reading on as we take a look at

Olivier Giroud life story

, relationships and philanthropy in this Olivier Giroud bio.

Family, Children and Relationships

Olivier Giroud has been married since 2011 to Jennifer. The couple have 4 kids together, the oldest being their daughter Jade (born in 2013), then there is their eldest son, Evan (born in 2016), their third child is aaron (born in 2018) and Aria is their youngest daughter who was born in 2020.

Despite Olivier being a very private person, him and Jennifer’s marriage has been subject to a few controversies, namely Giroud’s supposed affair with model Celia Kay as Olivier was pictured in her hotel room in his underwear before an Arsenal game. The incident made waves in British tabloid circles and Olivier ended up apologizing to his wife despite him claiming that he didn’t actually commit adultery.

As far as his personal beliefs go,

Olivier Giroud religion

is Christianity and he is a devout Roman Catholic and has even tattooed the phrase "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" in Latin on his right arm which is from Psalm 23. He has also stated that he prays before every match.

Philanthropy

As far as his efforts with charity goes, Olivier has been involved with a number of foundations over the course of his career even going as far as stripping for Dieux du Stade, a French charity calendar featuring naked sportsmen, in 2013. He has also been involved with the Monaco Collectif humanitaire, a foundation that helps sick and unwell children.

He claims that although many footballers can make mistakes they have big hearts and has also shown that he stands for what he believes in since he has been involved with the Open Doors and Holistic Sports France, organisations which help persecuted Christians, since Giroud is himself a devout Christian.

Legal Issues

Olivier Giroud does not seem to have had any legal issues as of us writing this article.

Olivier Giroud Career Statistics

It’s time to review some statistics in this section of Olivier Giroud biography, both for the clubs he played at and the Spanish national team:

Club

Olivier Giroud biography

isn’t complete without going over his stats for club and country, starting with his time at Grenoble where he failed to make become a regular starter for the first team despite impressing in the reserve team. He ended his career at the club in 2007, having played 25 games in all competitions for the Ligue 2 side in which he scored 2 goals in. he then moved to Istres on loan, where he scored 14 goals in 34 matches in the 4th tier of French football before joining Tours on a permanent deal in 2008.

During his two-year stay at Tours, Giroud established himself as a class striker and went on to become Ligue 1’s top goal scorer and best player by his second season, scoring 21 in a single season. he then moved to Montpellier in summer of 2010, having scored 39 goals in 85 appearances for Tours. At Montpellier, Giroud experienced top-tier football for the first time in his career but he adjusted to it beautifully, scoring 14 in his first season before hitting 25 (in all competitions) and winning the top scorer award in his second season as well as helping Montpellier win the league.

Giroud then moved to Arsenal in the summer of 2012 where he arguably hit the best form of his career constantly hitting near 20 goals a season in all competitions. He ended up spending 5 and half seasons with the Gunners, scoring 105 in 253 matches for them before moving to London rivals, Chelsea in January of 2018. At Chelsea, Giroud became more of a super-sub rather than a first-choice target man but he still put up impressive numbers, 39 in 119 matches for the Blues.

His impressive run of 11 goals in 14 matches for Chelsea in 2018-19 season of Europa League becoming the first Chelsea player to score more than 10 goals in a European competition as well as breaking the record for most goals scored by a French player in a European competition. He has since moved on to AC Milan where, as of writing this article he has scored 2 goals in 5 appearances

International

Olivier Giroud has scored 46 goals in 110 appearances for France and he is the nation’s 2nd best goal scorer of all time behind Thierry Henry (51). He may be able to break Henry’s impressive record if he is called up to France once again.

Managerial

Olivier Giroud is still a footballer and hasn’t gone into management yet.

Olivier Giroud Honors

In the final section of Olivier Giroud biography, we take a brief look at his achievements, either team or individual achievements, starting from his time at Grenoble:

Despite now being one of the most decorated French players of all time, Giroud didn’t have the most promising of starts to his career and was playing lower-league football well into his 20s. but he rose to prominence when he helped Montpellier to an unlikely Ligue 1 title in the 2011-12 season by becoming the league’s top scorer.

Having won his first trophy, Giroud then moved to England where he was crucial in helping Arsenal win 3 FA Cups in the 5 and half seasons he stayed at the club. he then moved to London rivals, Chelsea, where he won his 4th FA cup as well as a Europa League and a Champions League title, playing a crucial part in both achievements.

A favorite of Didier Deschamps, Giroud also became France’s main striker for the majority of the past decade, helping Les Bleus reach two major finals in Euro 2016 and 2018 World Cup and winning the latter, which earned Giroud a Knight of Legion of Honor medal. He has also been named Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 top goal scorer once as well as being named in the Team of the Season for both competitions once.

And with that we come to the end of this

Olivier Giroud biography

. Widely considered to be one of the best French strikers of all time, Olivier Giroud is an underrated player that loves to prove doubters wrong even well into his 30s. we hope that you enjoyed reading it and for more articles like this just check out the links below!

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