Julien Escudé

Julien Escudé

File:Julien Escudé.jpg Escudé training with Beşiktaş in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Julien Escudé
Date of birth	(1979-08-17) 17 August 1979
Place of birth	Chartres, France
Height
Position(s)	Centre back
Youth career
1994–1998	Cannes
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–1999	Cannes	21	(1)
1999–2003	Rennes	111	(0)
2003–2006	Ajax	61	(6)
2006–2012	Sevilla	164	(5)
2012–2014	Beşiktaş	25	(2)
Total		382	(14)
International career
1999–2002	France U21	21	(1)
2006–2010	France	13	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Julien Escudé (born 17 August 1979) is a French retired footballer who played mainly as a central defender but also as a full back.

After making a name for himself with Rennes, he went on to play abroad with Ajax and Sevilla, being an important part of the latter team as it won six major titles, including two UEFA Cups (he appeared in 237 official games for the club).

Club career

France / Ajax

Born in Chartres, Escudé began his professional career at AS Cannes, playing one season in the second division. On 26 July 1999, after some solid performances, the 20-year-old joined Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais FC, managed by young Paul Le Guen, where he gradually developed into a first division player, amassing nearly 150 official appearances.

In the 2003 summer Escudé signed with Dutch side AFC Ajax, scoring six goals in his first two seasons combined for the Amsterdam Arena outfit and winning the Eredivisie title in his first year. In August 2005, after a defeat against Feyenoord, he fell out of favour with manager Danny Blind, and never played a match afterwards.

Sevilla

In January 2006 Escudé signed for Sevilla FC in La Liga, for €1.5 million. His league debut came on 11 February as he played nine minutes in a 4–0 win at Andalusia neighbours Cádiz CF; in the following round, he played the entire 1–0 home success against Celta de Vigo.

Escudé became an essential defensive unit in the following years for Sevilla, helping it conquer a total of five titles (he played in the 2005–06 final of the UEFA Cup, a 4–0 win against England's Middlesbrough). His importance grew after the long injury layoff which bothered the captain of the club Javi Navarro, but he would also be sidelined for a long part of the 2007–08 season with a groin problem– the team finished fifth, missing on qualification to the UEFA Champions League.

International career

In March 2005, Escudé was called to the French national team for two qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup against Switzerland and Israel, but eventually did not make his debut. His first game was on 11 October 2006, playing as left back against Faroe Islands for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign – he was not picked for the final stage.

On 18 November 2009, in the 10th minute of the second leg of the 2010 World Cup qualification playoffs against the Republic of Ireland, Escudé broke his nose and had to be stretchered off. He was also not selected for the squad of 23 which appeared in South Africa.

Personal life

Escudé's older brother, Nicolas, played tennis professionally, reaching the top 20 in 2000. His father Paul was also a footballer, representing mainly Pau FC.

During his spell with Sevilla, Escudé played several matches with "SQD" on the back of his shirt, it being the phonetic spelling of his surname.

Honours

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 2003–04
• Johan Cruijff Shield: 2005

Sevilla

• UEFA Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07
• UEFA Super Cup: 2006; Runner-up 2007
• Copa del Rey: 2006–07, 2009–10
• Supercopa de España: 2007; Runner-up 2010

External links

• L'Équipe stats (French)
• Julien Escudé – French League Stats at LFP.fr (French)
• Julien Escudé profile at BDFutbol
• Julien Escudé at National-Football-Teams.com
• Julien Escudé – FIFA competition record
• Julien Escudé at Soccerway

Sporting positions
Preceded by Tomáš Galásek	Ajax captain 2005	Succeeded by Tomáš Galásek