Christian Karembeu

Christian Karembeu (French pronunciation: ​[kʁistjɑ̃ karɑ̃bø]; born 3 December 1970) is a French former professional footballer who is currently the Strategic Advisor for Olympiacos.

This article is about the footballer. For his former wife, see Adriana Karembeu.

Christian Karembeu
Karembeu in 2014
Personal information
Full name Christian Karembeu[1]
Date of birth (1970-12-03) 3 December 1970
Place of birth Lifou, New Caledonia
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Olympiacos (Strategic Advisor)
Youth career
FC Naitcha
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1995 Nantes 130 (5)
1995–1997 Sampdoria 62 (6)
1997–2000 Real Madrid 51 (1)
2000–2001 Middlesbrough 33 (4)
2001–2004 Olympiacos 88 (5)
2004–2005 Servette 23 (2)
2005–2006 Bastia 7 (0)
Total 414 (23)
National team
1992–2002 France 53 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

During a glittering playing career, Karembeu represented Nantes, Sampdoria, Real Madrid, Middlesbrough, Olympiacos, Servette, and Bastia. He found much success on the national stage as well representing France, having been born in the overseas territory New Caledonia, and was a vital part of the squad that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup on home soil and featured in one match in France's victorious UEFA Euro 2000 campaign.[2]

He is a part of a Paris-based consortium to expand the A-League with a Pacific Island team.[3]

Early life

Christian Karembeu was born on 3 December 1970 in Lifou, New Caledonia, a French overseas territory in the Pacific Islands. He played youth football for Nouméa-based FC Naitcha.[4] At the age of 17, he moved to France on a scholarship to study and play football.[5]

Club career

During his career Karembeu played for Nantes (1990–95), Sampdoria (1995–97), Real Madrid (1997–2000), Middlesbrough (2000–01), Olympiacos (2001–04), Servette Genève (2004–05), Bastia (2005–06). With Real Madrid, he won the Champions League in 1998 and 2000, starting in the former but remaining on the bench for the latter. He also played for the Real Madrid Veterans against Barcelona in Qatar, on 13 November 2012. He last played midfield for Bastia in the French Ligue 1. He announced his retirement on 13 October 2006, although he added that he would "be having a kickabout from time to time". He also took part in a friendly competition for Kettering Town FC with Gianfranco Zola, Les Ferdinand and Gus Poyet.

International career

Born in the French territory of New Caledonia, he was able to represent France on the international stage. He compiled 53 caps in his career, earning his first one on 14 November 1992 against Finland in a 2–1 victory.

Karembeu was a member of the French team that won the 1998 World Cup. He played in 4 matches in the tournament, including starts in the quarter-final, semi-final, and final, totalling 242 minutes.[2]

He was also part of the victorious French team at Euro 2000.[2]

Post-retirement career

On 9 December 2005, Karembeu represented the Oceania Football Confederation at the draw for the 2006 World Cup which took place in Leipzig, Germany.

In May 2006 Karembeu became a scout for English Premiership side Portsmouth Football Club. In 2007, he was appointed as non-executive director of Birmingham International Holdings.[6] He left after 2010 annual general meeting.[7] However, in August 2009, Karembeu decided to join Arsenal's ever expanding scouting network.[8]

In June 2013, Karembeu was handed an administrative role at Greek club Olympiacos along with former South African footballer Pierre Issa.[9]

Commitment

Karembeu is a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.[10]

Deeply involved in Peace and Sport's activities, Karembeu visited Haiti in August 2010 with Founder and President of Peace and Sport, Joel Bouzou, to strengthen the role of sport in the country's reconstruction efforts and attract the attention of the international community to urgent needs that prevail there. He went to meet sports instructors and young beneficiaries of the emergency program that the Haitian Olympic Committee has set up in survivor camps.[11]

Personal life

The great-grandfather of Karembeu, who came from New Caledonia, was one of a hundred Kanaks taken to Paris in 1931 for the Paris Colonial Exposition and exhibited there as "cannibals". Later the "cannibals" were swapped with Germany for some crocodiles.[12] Karembeu refuses to sing France's national anthem, La Marseillaise, due to the colonial past of the country.[13]

Karembeu was married to Slovak model Adriana Sklenarikova, whom he met on an aeroplane.[14] The couple split in March 2011 and divorced in December 2012.[15] In May 2017, Karembeu married Jackie Chamoun, a Lebanese skier, in Greece, followed by a wedding ceremony in Lebanon.[16] The couple announced the birth of their daughter on September 27, 2017.[17]

Following the 1998 World Cup, he was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1998.[1]

Television

Karembeu is the host of French TV series "Des Iles et des Hommes" (Of Islands and Men), aired on Planete in 2010 and 2011, a travel programme visiting among 6 of the most beautiful islands of the world. He also became part of the ITV broadcast team for Euro 2016.

Career statistics

Club
Source:[18]
Club performance League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
1990–91NantesDivision 140------40
1991–92280------280
1992–93352------352
1993–94290------290
1994–95343------343
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
1995–96SampdoriaSerie A32520----345
1996–9730120----321
Spain League Copa del Rey Copa de la Liga Europe Total
1997–98Real MadridLa Liga16020--53233
1998–9920040--60300
1999–200015050--51251
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2000–01MiddlesbroughPremier League3342010--364
Greece League Greek Cup League Cup Europe Total
2001–02OlympiacosAlpha Ethniki241------241
2002–03222------222
2003–04220------220
Switzerland League Schweizer Cup League Cup Europe Total
2004–05ServetteSwiss Super League120------120
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
2005–06BastiaLigue 170------70
CountryFrance 1695
Italy 626
Spain 510
England 334
Greece 683
Switzerland 120
Total 39518

International
France national team
YearAppsGoals
199210
199300
199460
199541
1996130
199740
1998100
199940
200040
200160
200210
Total531

Honours

Nantes[19]

Real Madrid[2][20]

Olympiacos[19]

France[2][20]

Individual

Orders

  • Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur: 1998[1]

References
  1. "Décret du 24 juillet 1998 portant nomination à titre exceptionnel" [Decree of 24 July 1998 appointing on an exceptional basis]. Journal Officiel de la République Française (in French). 1998 (170): 11376. 25 July 1998. PREX9801916D. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  2. "Christian Karembeu - he's not worth it". The Guardian. 6 December 2001. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  4. Weir, Christopher (21 July 2018). "Christian Karembeu: The Outsider Who Divided France". These Football Times. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  5. "From New Caledonia to Stade de France". Pacific Islands Report. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  7. GENERAL MANDATES TO ISSUE AND TO REPURCHASE SHARES, RE-ELECTION OF RETIRING DIRECTORS AND NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
  8. "Van Persie is more of a killer than Giroud, says Arsenal scout Karembeu - Goal.com". Goal.com. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  9. https://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=2102792.html
  10. "Peace and Sport, L'Organisation pour la paix par le sport". Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  11. Christian Karembeu en Haïti avec des enfants sinistrés du séisme lepoint.fr, 12 août 2010
  12. Political Football: Lilian Thuram Channel 4, accessed: 25 December 2011
  13. "Biographie de Christian Karembeu" (in French). Le Figaro. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  14. "Perfect People". perfectpeople.net. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  15. France Today. "France Today". Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  16. "The Marriage of Jackie Chamoun and Christian Karembeu". beiruting.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  17. "Christian Karembeu papa : l'ex-footballeur présente sa fille sur Instagram". closermag.fr. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  18. "Christian Karembeu". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  19. "Christian Karembeu". Olympiacos. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  20. "Where are they now? Real Madrid's 1998 Champions League winners". Four Four Two. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  21. "Oceanian Player of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  22. "Oscars du football - Trophée spécial UNFP". Palmarès Trophées UNFP (in French). Retrieved 12 February 2020.
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