Matt Le Tissier
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| File:Le Tissier.jpg | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Paul Le Tissier | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking Midfielder | ||
Matthew "Matt" Le Tissier (born October 14, 1968) is a retired footballer who played for Southampton and England.
He is rated by many Southampton fans as the club's best ever player. An attacking midfielder, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon, and is currently the only midfielder to have scored over 100 goals in the English Premier League.
Biography
Le Tissier was born in Guernsey, crown dependency. He played youth football on the island with Vale Recreation - story has it that he "regularly" scored from corner kicks. He was an attacking midfielder playing just behind the strikers.
Southampton F.C.
On leaving school in 1985, he had a trial at Oxford United, but they rejected him for being overweight, so he signed for Southampton instead.
Le Tissier played his first professional game on September 2 1986 and went on to play 443 league games for Southampton, 52 League Cup games, 33 FA Cup games and 12 other official games, making a total of 540. He scored 209 goals for his club including 48 out of 49 penalties (the one save came from Mark Crossley). His top scoring season was 1993-94, when he scored 30 goals, made more remarkable due to his struggling side. The following season he won the coveted Match Of The Day Goal of the Season award for his drifting 40-yard lob against Blackburn Rovers.
Already well established in Southampton folk-lore, he scored the last goal in the final competitive match played at The Dell on May 19 2001 against Arsenal. After being out most of the season due to injury, he was brought on as a substitute near the end of the match to the delight of the fans, and sticking to a "boys-own" script, he scored a spectacular left-footed volley on the turn from outside the penalty box to earn The Saints a 3-2 win; this turned out to be Arsenal's last away defeat for over a year.
England
As a Channel Islander, he was eligible for any of the Home Nations teams; at one point he was rumoured to have been linked with Scotland, although this was denied both by the Scottish Football Association and by Le Tissier himself.
He played 8 times for England from 1994 to 1998 without scoring. He was widely overlooked by then England manager Terry Venables, who received criticism for not picking Le Tissier. Le Tissier himself has claimed that had he been French or Italian, he would have won many more international caps.
His crowning international moment was his hat-trick for the England B team in a game against Russia in which he also hit the crossbar twice, prior to the 1998 World Cup Finals. Despite his sterling performance, in a bitter-sweet end to his international career manager Glenn Hoddle failed to select Le Tissier for the full World Cup squad, or even the preliminary 30 man squad.
Career in retrospect
Le Tissier could use both of his feet equally to pass or shoot with, which combined with his loyalty made him a Southampton fans' favourite [citation needed]. He was renowned as a regular scorer of spectacular goals, often unexpected, when Southampton were in trouble of relegation. For this ability he became known as "Le God" among Southampton supporters. Critics tended to typify him as a 'luxury player' whose talent was balanced by not covering much ground [citation needed]. His commitment to a financially less funded club like Southampton was unusual in the money-driven world of football [citation needed]. In his autobiography he told of rejecting moves to AC Milan and Chelsea FC, and tore up a contract he signed with Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in 1991[1].
Honours post-retirement
Le Tissier has been honoured by receiving the freedom of the city of Southampton and has also had one of the luxurious hospitality suites at the St Mary's Stadium named after him. An apartment block built on the old site of The Dell is also named after him.
On 7 February 2007, Le Tissier had a plane in the Flybe fleet named after him on his home island of Guernsey[2].
Media
After retiring as a player, he now works as a pundit on Soccer Saturday for Sky Sports.
Personal life
Le Tissier married childhood sweetheart Cathy and had two children. But the couple divorced in 1997 and Cathy and his children moved back to Guernsey.
Le Tissier's divorce was due to his affair with soap star Emily Symons. The pair broke up in August 2000, some time after Symons moved to the UK to be with him.
References
- Jeremy Wilson (2006). Southampton’s Cult Heroes. Know The Score Books. ISBN 1-905449-01-1.
- Matthew Le Tissier at Englandstats.com
- Matt Le Tissier at Soccerbase
External links