Mickaël Landreau

Born in Machecoul, Landreau graduated from the Nantes Atlantique "Centre of Excellence" in La Jonelière. His first professional match for Nantes was a 0–0 draw against Bastia on 2 October 1996 and saved the penalty from Ľubomír Moravčík. Since 1996, he remained a mainstay in the Nantes starting line-up, and consistently produced excellent performances. At age 19, Landreau became captain. He was selected to represent the France youth national team at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Landreau during a casting organized by Adidas.

In the next ten years, he hardly missed a mandatory meeting, completed in July 2005 his 300th Point game and was an important support for his team during their successes around the turn of the millennium. Having won two consecutive Coupe de France trophies in 1999 and 2000 (captained in the 2000 final), Nantes were crowned 2001 Ligue 1 champions for the first time since 1995. In the same when Nantes won the Ligue 1, Landreau signed a new contract, keeping him until 2006.[3] His good performance at Nantes led Landreau drew strong interest from clubs like Barcelona,[4] Monaco, Roma, Juventus,[5] Marseille,[6] Manchester United[7] and also from clubs of a lesser-standing such as Celtic.[8]

On 11 October 2003, Landreau had an operation on his articular disk which was a serious injury in his football career.[9] On 22 November 2003, Landreau made his return in a 3–1 win over his (first match in his career) against Bastia. In the semi-final of the 2004 French Cup, Landreau produced several saves, but to no avail as the team could not score and were eliminated from the competition. In the final of Coupe de la Ligue against Sochaux-Montbéliard, the match was 1–1 and played until the penalty shootout. Landreau shot the seventh penalty in a panenka style, only to be saved by Teddy Richert. Nantes were about to lose the game when Pascal Delhommeau missed, allowing Benoît Pedretti to score the winning penalty. After the match, Landreau said he had "no regrets" on missing the penalty in that manner.[10]

At the end of the 2005–06 Ligue 1 season, Landreau's contract with Nantes was set to expire but Nantes was set to offer Landreau a new contract along with Mauro Cetto and Jérémy Toulalan.[11] He gave a press conference and announced that after thirteen years, he would leave FC Nantes to meet new challenges in a more important team. He announced his intention to leave his first club just before the end of the 2005–2006 season. As his contract expired, Arsenal[12] and A.C. Milan[13] were among interested signing him. During his last match at Stade de la Beaujoire on 6 May 2006, he received a tribute from the fans who saluted his dedication and loyalty to the club for thirteen years. The season following his departure, Nantes was relegated to Ligue 2 for the first time since 1963.

Landreau during a match between Dynamo Kiev and PSG.

Landreau then joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer, signing a four-years contract on 15 May 2006.[14] After his move to Paris, Landreau says moving to Paris could earn him a call up from France.[15]

At Paris Saint-Germain, Landreau established himself as a first choice goalkeeper beating Jérôme Alonzo and youngster Nicolas Cousin He also became a fan favorite. On 5 August 2006, Landreau made his debut for PSG in a 3–2 loss against Lorient. In the 2006–07, the 2007–08 and the 2008–09 season, Landreau played all 38 appearance in his PSG Career. At his last appearance at PSG in a match against AS Monaco which resulted in a 0–0 draw and his last clean sheet, he thanked the fans for his time at the club and they passed him with a rare standing ovation. After the 2007–08 season ended, Landreau had been linked with a move away from the club after Grégory Coupet remained keen to play abroad at PSG, who could replaced him as a first choice goalkeeper. However, Charles Villeneuve said he had not confirmed Landreau's place in the squad for next season and had hinted at an interest in Coupet but Sebastien Bazin (the chairman of PSG's majority shareholders Colony Capital) insisted Landreau will not be leaving the club.[16] Reports claims Landreau could be set to move to Real Madrid in order to become Iker Casillas’ understudy.[17] Coupet eventually move to Paris Saint-Germain putting Landreau’s future in doubt.[18]

Landreau in training just before the final of the Coupe de France match with Lille.

After the 2009–10 season, Lille OSC made a €2 million (£1.7 million) offer for Landreau who wanted him to replace the veteran goalkeeper Grégory Malicki who left Lille to join Dijon on a free transfer and was the first choice goalkeeper for Lille in the 2008–09 season. The move was agreed and was completed.[18][19] Five days after signing for Lille, he suffered a massive blow by damaging cruciate ligaments during a training session which kept him out of action for around six months. During his absence due to injury, Ludovic Butelle got more playing time and played about 10 matches until Landreau returned and he later became the first choice-goalkeeper ever since. On 22 October 2009, Landreau was back on the bench in Europa League during the match against Genoa (3–0) and made his league debut for Lille in a 2–0 win over Grenoble on 30 October 2009.

Landreau wearing the medal of the winner of the Coupe de France 2011.

In the 2010–11 season, Landreau was involved in the Lille squad that won the Ligue 1 for the third time in club history and the first time since 1954. He made history by becoming the first player ever to compete in the Trophée des Champions with three clubs.

On 7 November 2012, he allowed six goals from Bayern Munich during a Champions League match. In December 2012 as a remaining first choice goalkeeper, Landreau left Lille by mutual consent after a strained relationship with general manager Frederic Paquet.[20] In the press conference, Landreau said"The most important thing is to blossom on the pitch. I could not anymore. And a year and a half is a long way to go when you have hard days." and left the club both sportingly and psychologically.

On 23 December 2012, Landreau signed a six-month contract with the Corsican club SC Bastia.[21] Upon moving to Bastia, he revealed that he had turned down a move to Italian side Inter Milan.[22] On 4 December 2013, Landreau broke the record for the most appearances by any player in Ligue 1 or Division 1 - the top flight in French football - when he started in the match against AC Ajaccio. It was Landreau's 603rd Ligue 1 match. Three days earlier, he had equalled the previous record of 602 Ligue 1 or Division 1 matches held by former AS Monaco goalkeeper Jean-Luc Ettori when he appeared in the SC Bastia-Evian TG match.[23]

In August 2016, Landreau was appointed assistant manager to Réginald Ray at Championnat National club Paris FC.[24] In May 2017, he was given a four-year contract at Lorient, newly relegated to Ligue 2.[25] He quit that job halfway through the deal in May 2019, having finished sixth and therefore missed out on the objective of promotion.[26]

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